Benchmarking sustainability performance in UK free-range laying hen flocks

To equitably nourish the world's growing human population whilst halting further transgression of the planetary boundaries, there is a need to evaluate the relative performance of food and farming systems in terms of multiple and often competing food security, environmental, and ethical sustainability objectives. We aimed to benchmark the sustainability performance of 80 free-range laying hen flocks in England and Scotland, in production between 2016 and 2022, and to identify any common characteristics between the best performers to inform supply chain policy. Benchmarking was based on multi-criteria efficiency scores, incorporating six input and two output criteria covering human, animal, and environmental domains, including the neglected measures of animal welfare and antibiotic use. Data Envelope Analysis (DEA) was used to derive efficiency scores. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were then applied to explore production factors that could be associated with the attainment of maximum efficiency. Approximately half of the flocks attained the maximum efficiency score, relative to their peers. Analysis of their component inputs and outputs demonstrated the favourable performance of the most efficient flocks across a broad array of criteria compared to inefficient flocks, indicating that some farms are successfully reconciling production and profitability with superior environmental, animal welfare, and antibiotic use performance. Univariate analysis and multivariate regression revealed no statistically significant predictors of efficiency at the level of p