The Model Farm Project will establish multi-species farms in Brazil and China to demonstrate high animal welfare and food quality while delivering a sustainable financial benefit to the farmer. The farms will be used for animal welfare research projects, education, training and demonstration to producers and organisations.

At Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, a 140 ha site will rear free-range broilers, layers, beef cattle, sheep pigs and sugar cane (the region’s predominant agricultural product). In China, a 7 ha site in Huairou district, Beijing, will rear free range broilers, layers, pigs and sheep. The farms will be fully operational in early to mid 2008.

The key objectives of the Model Farm Project are:

• Identification and development of farms that will promote the FAI philosophy in the target countries of Brazil and China;
• Development of solutions to improve farm animal welfare that are regionally relevant and scientifically robust in Brazil and China, so building on the philosophy that FAI is currently applying to its model farm in Oxford;
• Establishment of an international community to promote the practical benefits of animal-centred farming to all those who are involved, via a website, information leaflets and a programme of seminars, training and conferences at the Model Farm Project farm sites in Brazil and China.

“Global agricultural sustainability means looking at every element of food production, including the food source for animal protein production, transport costs, implications for human communities of changing farming practice as well as the economics, ethics and environmental impact of what we are doing,” said Mike Gooding, managing director of FAI. “We hope that the results of these very exciting projects will guide farmers, retailers and governments around the world to plan food production for the future.”