2014 International Year of Family Farming

We hope that 2014 will demonstrate to our politicions in Canberra and all State parliaments that family farms are a greater benefit to the country and the community than the corporate giants which get all the attention.

The International Year of Family Farming aims to stimulate policies for the sustainable development of family farms, communal units, and cooperatives.
When the United Nations declared 2014 as the Year of Family Farming, it announced that family farms were important for sustainable food production to achieve food security. The Year focuses on solutions to combat poverty and hunger.
We will do everything we can to get our politicians to recognise this and we will host a number of events throughout the year. 

 

http://www.timeanddate.com/year/2014/family-farming.html

Truth in Labelling to be discussed at next COAG meeting

Free Range egg farmers across Australia welcome the decision by the NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, to table 'Truth in Labelling' as an issue for discussion at the December COAG meeting (Council of Australian Governments).

It is hoped that the State and Federal Governments will help protect family farms from the onslaught of big business by legislating the provisions of the Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals - Domestic Poultry.
The Australian Egg Corporation has been misleading in its references to stocking densities and its proposals for intensive production systems to be designated as 'free range'.

If the Model Code is enshrined in legislation, it will greatly assist all in the industry, as well as increasing consumer confidence. One of the major problems at present is that the Model Code is a voluntary document. Even though the Australian Egg Corporation says that compliance with the Code is a requirement of its Egg Corp Assured program it does not enforce any of the provisions it contains.

The 'free range' scam keeps going

The Egg Corp still says it is determined to push ahead with its insane stocking density standard for free range production, even though it is against the interests of the free range sector of the industry - and as it is designed to have the impact of driving down prices, it will also affect the botom lines of the cage egg boys. One day they might wake up that once the price of eggs labelled as free range drops - so will the price of cage eggs !

TheTruth in Labelling (Free Range Eggs) Bill is likely to go to the NSW Lower House of Parliament sometime in November. The Egg Corp says that the Liberal Government won't support it - so it is likely to fail.

The Free Range Egg & Poultry Association of Australia has written to the Premier, Barry O'Farrell  and various other Ministers, asking them to support the Bill and we have also written to the NSW Farmers Association asking for their help in protecting family farms from the onslaught of big business.