Poultry Litter After April 2027: Where Will It Go?

Closures possible from1 April 2027

–days

–months

What is your litter worth on your own farm?

Birds per crop56000 Crops per year7

About 1.25 kg of litter per broiler per crop. At around 32% moisture it gives about 2 kWh of heat to hot water per kilogram on a ZEDE plant.

Litter a year–

Heat to hot water a year–

Heating oil equivalent–

Running a ZEDE 300 (265 kW)–

Anaerobic digestionLimited

Land applicationGoverned by nutrient rules

ExportSubject to decisions elsewhere

Mushroom compostFinite, largely committed

New combustion plantNone consented at this scale

On-farm drying and pyrolysisModular, farm by farm

Litter at 1.25 kg per bird per crop; heat at ~2 kWh per kg as fed (ZEDE 300: 260–270 kW from ~130 kg/h at 32% moisture); heating oil at about 10 kWh per litre. Estimates, not a quotation.

600k t

of poultry litter a year used by the UK’s litter power stations

Dec 2026

consultation on closures expected to begin

Apr 2027

the earliest closures could come

2 kWh

of heat per kilogram of litter, recoverable on the farm

What is happening

In written evidence to Parliament in March 2026, Melton Renewable Energy said its plants “process more than 600,000 tonnes of poultry litter each year”, that Renewables Obligation support expires from 2027, and that it expects to begin consultation on closures from December 2026, with “closure of sites from as early as April 2027”. In September 2026 it was reported that the government had declined transitional support.

The routes, and how much more each can take

Route	Capacity	Assessment
Anaerobic digestion	Limited	High ash and nitrogen make litter a demanding digester feed; taken as a co-substrate in limited proportions.
Land application	Governed by nutrient rules	A valuable fertiliser, limited by nutrient management plans and available land.
Export	Subject to decisions elsewhere	Depends on rules set by others; the June 2026 pause on imports into the Republic of Ireland showed how quickly that can change.
Mushroom compost	Finite, largely committed	A long-standing outlet at modest scale.
New combustion plant	None consented at this scale	The subsidy expiry also removes the support that made new ones viable.
On-farm drying and pyrolysis	Modular, farm by farm	Installed one holding at a time, in months rather than years.

A replacement plant of comparable scale is a decade-long project. A gap measured in months is better met by many smaller installations, added as individual farms decide.

What it means for farm businesses

When capacity is short, whoever holds it sets the price, and haulage is paid on every tonne of water moved. Producers who can dry litter or process it on site are in a stronger position whatever happens. Turned into heat for the farm and a dry, stable biochar, litter’s value stays with the producer.

Practical steps now

Know your outlet. When does your current arrangement end, and what does it depend on?
Cost the alternatives. Gate fees, haulage and storage against what the material is worth to you.
Take the water out. Drying makes every other option cheaper.
Look at processing on site. Heat for the farm and a stable biochar product.
Start the paperwork early. Planning and permitting take longer than building.

How we can help

Process litter where it is produced

ZEDE turns poultry litter and manure into renewable heat and stable biochar on the farm, from 300 kW to 6 MW. Our infeed hoppers and augers keep wet, stringy litter moving, and a Material Handling Audit shows what your site needs.

See ZEDE Book an audit

Sources

General information based on public sources at the date of publication. The calculator gives estimates, not a quotation.