Freeranger Open Day

Rather than print hundreds of pages for visitors to take away on our Open Day on Sunday October 13, all Fact Sheets are available on our website as downloadable PDF's

They can be accessed at: http://www.freeranger.com.au/fact-sheet-downloads.html

This is in keeping with the farm's environmental policy to limit unnecessary waste. We haven't quite achieved a paperless office - but we are getting pretty close.

The Open Day is designed to celebrate World Egg Day and showcase free range egg farming.

Free Range Farmers nonsense

It's often hard to understand where people are coming from. It seems that the faceless individuals currently running the Free Range Farmers Association don't like some of the things I have been saying.
Well tough!!
I have stated very openly that I and the farm operated with Anne are no longer members of FRFA because the committee refused to uphold the standards of the Association.
In press coverage I do not claim to represent FRFA or the national association. I tell journalists that I am the immediate Past President of the national body.
What more can I do? I can't help it if the reporters want to obtain factual information from me rather than mindless nonsense from the newly appointed FRFA President or Secretary.
There is nothing on the FRFA website to show members (or anyone else) who are on the committee. But from aggressive and negative letters which have been sent out, it seems that Dianne Moore is currently the President, and Jessica Luketic is the secreatary. WHY HAVEN'T MEMBERS BEEN INFORMED? 

Hopes run high for ACCC action on egg industry

ABC Radio in Victoria ran this today in its rural news programmes.  It was a follow up piece to the news that the ACCC has asked for major egg farms to supply details of their trading actions which may have been anti-competetive.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-11/nrn-egg-accc/4950912 

RSPCA accreditation is questioned

It is surprising that the RSPCA has an accreditation program which it appears may not meet consumer expectations.
Have a look at video footage on http://freerangefraud.com/free-range-fraud/ and see for yourself why consumer faith has been shaken yet again in accreditation systems. Why should consumers trust any labels! This is only the latest in a line of revelations which indicate that accreditation standards are less than adequate. However, RSPCA says that it has visited the farm in question since it viewed the footage and saw nothing like the scenes depicted in the video.

Freeranger Eggs is no longer a member of, or accredited by, the Free Range Farmers Association Inc. because the last committee of that Association did not enforce its own standards. We are also no longer accredited by Humane Choice.

Backlash against Queensland decision on stocking densities

There has been quite a public backlash to the Queensland Government decision to cave in to pressure from big business and the Australian Egg Corporation and allow an increase in stocking densities on free range egg farms.
For 10 years, Queensland has been the only State in Australia with regulations limiting stocking densities to 1500 hens per hectare - in line with the Model Code. The industry there has coped very sucessfully so it is rather bizare that at a time when the Model Code is under review that the Government suddenly made a unilateral decision and took a backward step.
Here are some details from the Weekly Times.
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2013/09/01/581464_business-news.html

Open Day to celebrate World Egg Day

World Egg Day is on the second Friday in October every year - so this year it's October 11. To mark the occasion, we will have an Open Day on the Freeranger Egg farm at Grantville on Sunday October 13. (An open day on a Friday probably wouldn't work and we can't do the Saturday because we have two Farmers' Markets. So Sunday the 13th it is!
We will be able to demonstrate how a genuine free range farm operates with low stocking densities; without the need for feeding pellets containing meat meal and colouring additives; without beak trimming the hens and without having to lock our chooks up - even at night.
The Open Day is in addition to workshops on starting a free range egg farm which are run throughout the year on the Grantville property. The last one was as part of Fair Food Week a couple of weeks ago. (We will probably run another workshop in November but we haven't set a date yet).
We will get information kits together for visitors to the farm Open Day to take away with them.

The first World Egg Day, organised by the International Egg Commission was celebrated in 1996.
Much more info later.
http://thinkegg.com/index.php/world-egg-day/?lang=en

What does 'free range' mean?

Freeranger Eggs is currently not involved with any industry accreditation body other than the Victorian Farmers Markets' Association. We are registered as a free range egg farm with our Council, Bass Coast Shire and with the Department of Environment and Primary Industries.

Until June 30 this year, we were members of (and accredited by) the Free Range Farmers Association. But we chose not to renew our membership as the association failed to uphold and maintain its own standards and had failed to conduct farm inspections during the year (which is about the only significant cost to the Association and is the only benefit for members).

We also had a partnered accreditation agreement with Humane Choice. But with the actions of the committee of the Free Range Farmers Association in destroying the credibility of FRFA, that agreement has lapsed even though it was set to run until next November. Verna Simpson, the CEO of the Humane Society International which operates the Humane Choice program has sent us  this invitation:"As FRFA does not seem to be continuing as a certification body you are welcome to become a full HC farm. Your farm is what free range farming is all about and you would obviously have no trouble meeting our audit requirements. It is just a shame that FRFA’s internal issues could not be resolved."

The problem erupted over the re-accreditation by the FRFA committee of a farm which breached the Association's standards by packaging eggs from non-accredited sources (egg substitution) and not taking action against farms which used pelleted feed containing colouring additives. The use of manufactured colouring additives was specifically banned by the FRFA standards.

As things stand, there is no accreditation body in Australia which meets the standards we have maintained on the Freeranger Eggs farm.

Some of the egg accreditation organisations are formally recognised by Governments – but some are not.

Here's brief view of the accreditation systems currently around in Victoria.


Egg Corp Assured – Allows beak trimming and unlimited stocking densities in sheds or range areas – The Australian Egg Corporation has acknowledged that some 'free range' farms run 40,000 hens per hectare or more. It also has no restrictions on the inclusion of meat meal or colouring additives in feed.

RSPCA - Not interested in accrediting small producers as they have a royalty system in place which provides an income stream for them per dozen eggs sold and they want volume producers. Allows beak trimming and outdoor stocking densities of up to 2500 hens per hectare. It seems there are no restrictions on feed or colouring additives. Apparently there are only two RSPCA accredited free range egg farms throughout Australia.

Humane Choice – Does not allow beak trimming. Maximum stocking density of 1500 hens per hectare. Allows colouring additives. Does not allow the use of same species in meat meal used in hen rations. 

Free Range Egg and Poultry Australia Ltd – Allows beak trimming. Stocking densities appear to be variable. No restrictions on feed.

Free Range Farmers Association – Does not allow beak trimming. Limits stocking density to 750 hens per hectare (but committee members have said they want to increase the numbers to 1500). Now allows manufactured colouring additives in the feed ration. Allows meat meal in the feed (which may be derived from poultry).

Organic certification -  This is probably the closest to the standards we have at Freeranger Eggs. But at least one of the certification bodies (NASAA) allows manufactured colouring additives in the chook food.

Is it any wonder that the industry is in turmoil and that consumers are confused? Happy to hear your comments.

How 'free range' are the eggs consumers buy?

Problems in the New Zealand egg industry appear to be exactly the same as the issues free range egg farmers have here in Australia.
Here's a clear report about what is going on there:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/food-news/9055738/How-free-range-are-your-eggs

Controlling aggression in chickens without beak trimming

Beak trimming of laying hens is still a widespread practice in Australia – even in 'free range' flocks of birds. The majority of so-called free range farms are intensive production systems with flocks of many thousands of hens.

Even the Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals - Domestic Poultry, which provides the only widely accepted national definition of the term 'free range' states that every effort should be made to avoid beak trimming by selecting birds which have more docile tendencies.

But the reality is that intensive free range farms beak trim their birds as a matter of course because they want to run large numbers and they chose to use high producing hens developed for the cage industry. These hens have been selectively cross bred for only two traits – maximum egg production and minimum feed intake. This often means they are aggressive and cannibalistic.

It is important to select a strain of bird that is less aggressive, and to get breeders to breed birds that are more docile. Research has shown that breeding for low aggression can have a marked effect in only 4 or 5 generations. Dr Mike Gentle, a U.S. researcher in this area, has concluded:
" In the long term, beak trimming should be phased out and undesirable behaviour controlled by environmental means and by increased effort being devoted to the genetic selection of commercial stocks which do not engage in damaging pecking, either in cages or when floor-housed in large flocks. "

In our view, hens should be kept in groups small enough to be able to recognise each other. At Freeranger Eggs we run maximum flock sizes of 250 – 300 birds.

Hens need to express their natural behaviour, including the strong urge to peck. They must have material in which to forage and dust bathe.

Good husbandry is a major factor in reducing aggression, especially preventing conditions that cause frustration in hens. They must also have an adequate and well-balanced diet, easy access to food and water, enough space, and minimum disturbance.

Egg farmers need to make a much greater effort to control aggression without beak trimming. From our experience talking with consumers at Farmers' Markets, they do not believe that 'free range' production should involve the beak trimming of birds. Aggression and cannibalism is a behavioural problem which is easily solved by effective poultry management and selection of birds.

Egg labelling is a shambles in Australia

Egg labelling laws and accreditation processes are a shambles in Australia because there is no legally recognised national definition of the term 'free range'. The Queensland Government has relaxed its regulation limiting stocking densities to 1500 hens per hectare on free range farms to 10,000 per hectare.

The NSW Government seems set to reject a Truth in Labelling Bill which has passed the Upper House and the SA Government is introducing a 'voluntary' code for the industry in that State.

Egg substitution has been rife for years but probably first came to general notice in Victoria during 2007 with a high profile case when a company was fined for labelling eggs as organic when they were from conventional farms.

In 2012, a NSW barn egg farm was fined for packaging its eggs as free range and a South Australian egg seller was fined for putting cage eggs in free range cartons.

Also in 2012. An egg farm in WA was caught with a huge overstocking rate which breached its planning conditions. This farm was accredited by a national egg quality scheme but despite annual audits which required compliance with planning conditions the farm remained accredited. The accreditation was only withdrawn once the breaches became public and legal proceedings began.

In Victoria in 2012 inspection and audit processes revealed that a farm was packing and selling non-accredited eggs from dubious sources and that colouring additives were being used in poultry feed – breaching particular standards.

Labels can also be misleading, with pictures of hens frolicking on green pasture, which frequently don't resemble conditions on the farm.

A questionable 'organic' accreditation body also exists in Victoria which is not recognised by mainstream organic bodies and which does not have a credible inspection process – but claims that the products which its members sell are certified organic. AQIS, which registers organic certification bodies in Australia, is apparently only involved with export industries – so it has no jurisdiction over domestic 'organic' claims.

Accreditation means different things to different people. Consumers rightly expect it to convey a message of credibility about a particular product, but to many businesses it's simply a marketing tool designed to allow them to make claims which increase their profits.

Similarly, a logo can be a valuable asset if it is trusted by consumers. But it's value can be destroyed if it is shown to be meaningless. Any accreditation program is only as good as the willingness of the accreditation body to maintain its standards and defend its logo.

That is why it is so disappointing that standards are ignored by accreditation bodies. Even using things like egg yolk colourings should be disclosed to consumers. Everyone expects cage farms to use them to enhance yolk colour but it is neither needed nor necessary on a genuine free range farm with low stocking densities and plenty of green feed.

To maintain ethical standards and credibility, all certification bodies need to defend their standards and take action against suppliers who break the rules.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has asked many egg producers to justify the claims made on their packaging – claims such as 'free range'.

Hopefully this will start a 'clean-up' process.

Bird Flu research - report from UK

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine say that a limited cross infection of bird flu from human to human is not surprising.

They say that in China the majority of the 133 confirmed cases reported so far seem to be epidemiologically unconnected, with many patients reporting a recent history of exposure to live poultry, which are suspected to be a main reservoir for the virus. Although an earlier study did report two family clusters of H7N9 cases, it was unclear whether these clusters resulted from person to person transmission or simply from exposure to a common animal source of infection.

The researchers say that although the study, led by the Jiangsu Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention, provides the strongest evidence yet of H7N9 transmission between humans, it probably does not mean that the virus has come one step closer towards adapting fully to humans.

The full report in the British Medical Journal is here:
http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f4730

Queensland decision ridiculed

This was published today in the Canberra Times and the Brisbane Times and perhaps other newspapers across the country.  It is a comment piece written by John Birmingham and it paints an accurate picture of the Queensland Government decision to cave in to big business.

It’s hard to imagine anyone getting excited over the prospect of squeezing 10,000 chickens into something like a suburban block.

But the local minister for chickens, John McVeigh, seems very excited indeed at the prospect. As no doubt are the giant egg producers who’ve been lobbying for years redefine ‘free range’ eggs as ‘free to make enormous sodding profits from a lot of gullible punters and even grumpier chickens’.

If the industry could only sell millions more tasteless pale little yellow eggs from sad old cluckers imprisoned in closely packed sheds for the same price those free range hippies are selling their bloated inconveniently tasty golden eggs of goodness, why, the giant industrial farming companies which make up most of membership of the Australian Egg Corporation Limited would make a lot more money.

You can see why a state government with close ties to an industrial agribusiness like factory-scale egg producers would want to give them a free ticket to cash in on people’s desire for a half decent goog into which to dip their Vegemite toast soldiers. But I can’t see why we’d let them get away with it. This is such a blatant shakedown.

For some people, including most genuine free range farmers, it’s a matter of ethics, of not treating the chooks poorly. But even if you don’t much care about that, you should totally care that these bastards are trying to sell you a vastly inferior product at a grotesque mark up simply because their mates in the government have tipped them the nod to get away with it.

Queensland stocking density decision is pathetic

The Queensland Government's decision to amend the Animal Care and Protection Regulation 2012 to allow and allow greater stocking densities for free range layer hens is a complete cave-in to Coles supermarket and corporate egg preoducers.

The regulation previously limited stocking density to 1,500 birds per hectare a step taken some years ago to enforce a major provision of the Model Code. It argues that  other states allow higher densities and this placed Queensland egg farmers at a disadvantage.

They've done OK for the past ten years or so and there are plenty of free range egg farms across Australia operating very successfully with maximum stocking rates under 1500 hens per hectare.

The consumer group Choice has a petition running aimed at getting the Queensland Government to revert to its previous regulation.
http://choice.good.do/save-free-range-in-qld/email-queensland-s-premier-and-minister-for-agriculture-fisheries-and-forestry/

Chicken challenge

From the WeeklyTimes:

PETA has written a letter to an egg producer offering to give charity up to $3400 if he confines himself to cage.The animal welfare group’s proposal has been made to egg producer Andrew Postregna who owns Tamarix Egg Farm in Dandenong South and states that PETA will donate $100 per hour to charity if Mr Postregna confines himself to a cage of similar proportions to his body, as the chickens' cages are to theirs for 34 hours, the time it takes a chicken to produce an egg.

PETA's Australia campaigns director Jason Baker said the group made the proposal to Mr Postregna after a statement he made on the Australian Egg Corporation Limited website.

Mr Baker said that Mr Postregna wrote on the website: "When there's a few birds in a cage they tend to know each other. They're happy. Their stress levels seem to be a lot less than what it is in free-range [chickens]".

Mr Baker said maybe after Mr Postregna gets a real feel for being caged, he'll stop claiming that caged hens are "happy".

Mr Postregna had not received any letter from PETA when the Weekly Times Now contacted him.

PETA's campaign co-ordinator Claire Fryer said the letter had been faxed and posted.

She said it was the first time PETA had made such a proposal. 

Environmental Management on egg farms

Environmental Management Systems have become essential tools for maintaining the sustainability of farms and other rural enterprises. Many egg producers have already implemented full EMS procedures on their farms.

An EMS is a flexible business management system that helps farmers develop their own strategies for integrating environmental considerations into the daily operations of a farm. An EMS builds on existing management strategies, such as emergency, pest, or nutrient management plans.

It can be critical in improving environmental performance, reducing livestock health risks, assisting with regulatory compliance and improving the farm's reputation and community relationships.

An initial part of the EMS process is to clarify the farm environmental policy — how the farm identifies and addresses environmental concerns. Once an environmental policy is in place it helps to influence the development of a management system for on-farm activities. The policy guides the business through planning, implementing and reviewing farm management decisions that affect the environment, as well as the bottom line.

It allows for improved farm management and continual improvement of an operation.

Contact us if you want more info or help in developing an EMS for your farm.

Fly larvae could bring down the cost of poultry feed

A South African company, AgriProtein Technologies has developed a manufacturing process to produce fly larvae for use in poultry feed and other animal diets. The company is using slaughterhouse waste, animal manure and discarded food to grow the larvae, which are dried and ground into a powdered ingredient for monogastric animal feeds. AgriProtein says the product has a nutritional composition that is as good as fishmeal and better than soy - an increasingly expensive component of poultry feed.

Production by AgriProtein Technologies is relatively small scale at the moment. The company is currently producing two tonnes of larvae protein a week in its plant near Cape Town in South Africa, but is gearing up manufacturing capacity with the creation of two full scale production plants in Cape Town and Germany.

“We are passionate about expanding our business to recycle more waste nutrients and supply a natural protein to feed farm animals,” said Jason Drew of AgriProtein. The company recently won a $100,000 Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA), an award that was established by the African Innovation Foundation and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to encourage innovative achievements that contribute towards developing new products, increasing efficiency or saving cost.

The company says that larvae are a natural food of chickens in the wild and fish in streams. “Their nutritional composition is as good as that of fishmeal and better than soya. As a natural food it has excellent take on and digestibility properties,” says the company. “The most impressive part of the process is nature. A single female fly will lay 750 eggs in under a week, which will hatch into larvae which grow in weight over 400 times in just a few days. Our plant and machinery are modular in design, enabling plants to be built to suit each location. Each production line can produce up to ten tonnes of larvae protein per day.”

Jason Drew says the company, which is based in Stellenbosch, South Africa, has spent nearly six years working out how to get billions of egg-laying flies and larvae to work together. AgriProtein has had interest from nearly 30 countries wanting to license the process. And as well as setting up full-scale factories, the company has also developed a smaller unit for rural areas where small-scale animal owners can recycle their waste. Jason Drew said it was taken for granted that society should recycle tin, plastic and paper. Within 10 years it would be considered normal to recycle waste nutrients.

Here at Freeranger Eggs, we have seen chooks eager to eat fly larvae whenever they come across them so we have no doubt that they could become a great food source.

The cost of feed has been a big issue for egg farmers, especially with the escalating cost of soya. Professor Louise Fresco of the University of Amsterdam told delegates at the International Egg Commission conference in Madrid in April, “There is a fantastic source of protein that we are not using and that is insects, insects in all kinds of forms.”

New SA voluntary egg code

It's great that the South Australian Government is moving to establish a code for egg production in that State which will set a maximum stocking density of 1500 hens per hectare for the free range sector.
As it is proposed to be voluntary, it will really be just a marketing tool as other eggs from intensive farms will be able to be labelled as 'free range' as long as they don't claim to meet the new standard.
You can access details about the proposal at:
 http://www.agd.sa.gov.au/sites/agd.sa.gov.au/files/documents/Initiatives%20Announcements%20and%20News/130612%20-%20Eggs%20Discussion%20paper.pdf

Comments are invited and close on July 12.

The comments we will be sending are:

The proposed standard for free range egg production in South Australia is an excellent idea given the absence of a Federal initiative to implement a national standard.

In our view the key points of the production standard need to specify:

• A maximum outdoor stocking density of 1500 hens per hectare with an emphasis on maintaining ground cover for sustainable farm operations. This may require lower stocking rates when vegetative cover is depleted (such as during drought).
• Beak trimming of free range hens should be prohibited as it is not necessary with low stocking densities.
• Some limitation should be made on the number of hens in a shed as this can impact on whether or not the hens actually go outside. A maximum of 1000 or perhaps 2000 hens per shed at densities specified in the Model Code could be adopted.
• The hens must have full access to the outdoor area for at least eight hours every day

Environmental Guidelines for the egg industry can be found at: http://www.aecl.org.au/assets/Uploads/Resources/Environmental-Guidelines-for-the-Australian-Egg-Industry.pdf

Discussion about beak trimming can be found at:

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/includes/documents/cm_docs/2008/c/controlling_feather_pecking_and_cannibalism_in_laying_hens.pdf

and
http://ciwf.org.uk/includes/documents/cm_docs/2010/l/laying_hen_case_study_austria_ciwf.pdf

To provide consumer confidence in the standards an auditing system will need to be introduced for participating farms.

Egg farms not exempt from climate change

There is little doubt that climate change will cause serious supply chain disruptions over the next few decades. And egg producers won't be exempt from the problems. Despite persistent denials by climate change sceptics, the connection between human behaviour and the warming of our planet has been well established.

Carbon dioxide emissions between 1850 and 1950 amounted to an average of 2 billion tonnes per year. During the 1980s this rose to 7.1 billion and by 2020 it's estimated to reach 9.8 billion.

Freak weather events caused by these changes are triggering unexpected commodity shortages and price volatility as well at causing havoc with many farming operations. This creates unprecedented supply chain instability and introduces new levels of risk and uncertainty into markets.

Only those farm and other businesses that can adapt will survive. Stable supply chains in the future will depend on action being taken at multiple levels to reduce greenhouse gas emission and mitigate climate change.

Most businesses currently externalise the cost of natural resources, creating a distorted picture of financial performance and business value. It can be demonstrated that many of the ‘services’ provided by the environment and which are essential for long term viability, are not factored into mainstream financial reporting.

The pressure on business to correct this distortion through True Cost Accounting is growing—a system in which the monetary value of natural resources such as water, timber and fossil fuels are included as costs that are reflected in the bottom line.

If True Cost Accounting is accepted as a normal business tool, and businesses pay for their use of natural resources, market dynamics will drive businesses to reduce their dependency in order to survive.

Production at Freeranger Eggs is aimed at sustainability and we believe we are well placed to meet an uncertain future – although there are bound to be problems from time to time with feed shortages and cost increases.

Vic Government releases food safety requirements for egg farmers

Many egg producers thumb their noses at food safety issues because they don't understand (or don't care) about the implications for consumers or for their businesses.

 

At last, here in Victoria the Government has sent out its requirements for meeting the new national standards for egg production which came into effect on November 26 last year. It gives producers until November 26 2014 to comply with egg stamping regulations!
 

Which means that for more than another year, many Victorian consumers will continue to have no idea where the eggs they buy actually originate. There have been many examples of substitution, with eggs brought in from other farms using different production systems - some of them interstate. These eggs are packed and marketed as being produced on a particular farm, to specific standards.
 

At least when stamping each egg with a unique farm identification code, consumers may be able to tell who is cheating. But until November next year the con merchants will have a ball.

 

Once the Department of Primary Industries has issued us with a code to put on our eggs, we intend to buy the necessary equipment and start stamping Freeranger Eggs even though we don't have to for almost 18 months.

 

It makes sense to us that consumers should be able to tell the source of the eggs they buy.

 

At Freeranger Eggs we've had a fully operation HACCP-based Quality Assurance and Food Safety Program in place for several years, so we don't have to do anything more apart from stamping the eggs. 

 

One dumb thing in the new regulations is that eggs can be stamped on the farm where they are laid - or at the grading floor. (This means that smart operators of the grading floor can put on any identifier they like. What a loophole!)

 

24 egg packs at Frankston Farmers Market

We will be at the Frankston Farmers' Market this Saturday with a full range of eggs from 500 gram ten packs to 950 gram Megga Eggs. But we will have a new deal on offer.

New 24 egg cartons are available now, so we will be selling 24 packs of 65 gram eggs at $14.50 -  a 50 cent saving on buying two 12 cartons.

We will see how it goes and we may extend the range in 24 packs!