Victorian Govt dumps farm food safety inspections

The Victorian Government has trashed requirements for egg farm annual inspections by Councils which ensured compliance with food safety regulations. Councils no longer have any role with the registration of egg farms. Our Council Bass Coast Shire told us “All businesses that sell eggs now fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources”. The government has failed to advise of any proposed inspection requirements.The mega department of DEDJR incorporates Agriculture and we believe that this bureaucratic change will allow more dodgy egg producers to set up businesses without any scrutiny because the Department has few extension staff to undertake inspections, it follows the ludicrous political decision to allow eggs produced in intensive facilities to be labeled free range.

Farm back on line

The farm is back on-line now after last week's electrical storm took out our phone line and fried the modem. We have a new Net Comm Wireless modem bought when we were supposed to be connected to the National Broadband Network.It's finally being put to work after lying on the office floor for 6 or 7 months.

Christmas morning delights

Here's a link to some great food ideas for Christmas morning. Brunch

Freeranger eggs now available at Macca's Farm, Glen Forbes

Our eggs are now stocked at Macca's Farm, Glen Forbes. They have a wide range of produce including Angus beef, free range pork, lamb, strawberries - and now our eggs.

setting up a free range farm

Our eBook, providing details on setting up a free range farm is still available. Check out the freeranger eggs website for details.

An end to culling male chicks at hatcheries?

In addition to a Canadian breakthrough in identifying male embryos in chicken eggs before hatching, German scientists have developed alternative technology which will revolutionise the egg hatching industry. Scientists at Leipzig University, have developed a laser method that may spare millions of male chicks which are culled every year. They aim to provide the technology free to hatcheries throughout the world by 2020. The method allows hatcheries to determine the sex of chicks before they hatch by extracting a small sample from each egg to test for a hormone.

Hens off to new lives in backyards

Sixteen of our second year hens are being picked up today to spend their lives as backyard chooks. We are getting ready for a new flock of pullets which arrive before the end of the month.

Point of lay pullets ready

A small number of 15week old Isa Brown point of lay pullets will be ready for pick up at the farm in the last week of November. They are vaccinated and fully beaked. $28 each. Second year birds are also available at just $14.

record egg sales in Australia

Australian egg farmers responded to fast growing domestic demand with the record breaking production of 6.2 billion eggs in the 2017-18 financial year. Statistics from Australian Eggs also show average consumption in Australia has risen to 245 eggs per person per year. Australian Eggs says the long term trend of increasing free range demand has continued with the proportion of free range supermarket volume increased to 45%, which for the first time was just above cage egg sales at 44%. But, of course, the eggs in supermarkets are not really free range – they are just labelled to maximise profits for corporate producers. Our eBook and webinars will help to boost the number of genuine free range farms to better meet demand.

Every community should be able to buy local food

Help to set up local small farms to secure sustainable farming and combat climate change. Every community should be able to buy food from farmers in their area rather than rely on produce trucked from warehouses across the country Free range webinar participation The first webinar on setting up a free range farm is scheduled for World Egg Day next year, Friday October 11. A crowd funding appeal has been established to ensure a top quality presentation for participants. https://www.gofundme.com/2tar52c Donations will need to pick up by June if we are to run the first webinar on schedule.

World Egg Day

Next Friday, October 12 is World Egg Day. It was founded by the International Egg Commission (in Vienna in 1996. The idea behind the day was raising awareness across the world, of the important place eggs have in human nutrition. The first webinar on setting up a free range farm is planned for World Egg Day next year – Friday October 11 if sufficient funds are raised in a crowd funding appeal by Freeranger Eggs of Grantville, South Gippsland. The farm already has an eBook available for anyone who wants to establish a genuine free range farm. The crowd funding appeal is at https://www.gofundme.com/2tar52c

Extra large eggs and small pullets eggs

The hens as laying a huge number of very large eggs at present, some well over 100 grams each so we have plenty of Megga packs available - net weight is a min of 950 grams with most over 1kg. We label them as 'Meggas'. Now our new flock has started laying we also have pullets eggs available - small egg that are ideal for young children or as canapes.

Crowd funding for free range webinars needs a boost

Starting a free range egg farm can be a rewarding business – as added income for an existing venture or as a stand-alone business. Low density production results in more sustainable production and climate benefits in the form of carbon sequestration, it also produces eggs that taste better than those from intensive systems where the hens are fed a processed diet. Political changes to the definition of ‘free range’ has put the spotlight on eggs and has increased demand for genuine free range eggs. But where do people start. A series of webinars on establishing small free range farms is being designed by Anne and Phil Westwood of Freeranger Eggs. We believe that encouraging new small-scale start up farms is a better option for the industry and consumers than trashing regulations to allow intensive production systems to label eggs as free range.The current fundraising appeal has stalled and we need to kick it along so we will be ready for the first webinar in October next year on World Egg Day Anyone who wants to encourage more people to set up genuine free range egg farms can support our Crowd Funding appeal to develop a series of on-line webinars. These will encourage more traditional free range egg farms to be established throughout the country and overseas. Freeranger Eggs is getting more requests about running workshops from people wanting to enter the free range industry. The extra activity has been brought on by the political decision to allow consumers to be misled by industrial-scale egg producers who are now legally allowed to label their eggs as free range. The Crowd funding appeal is at: https://www.gofundme.com/2tar52c

Grain price rises mitigated on genuine free range farms

Genuine free range poultry farms should be best placed to ride out the storm coming with spiralling feed costs caused by a shortage of grains. The cost of poultry feed is certain to continue to rise given the expectation of a lower grain harvest this year. Our feed cost is currently $475 a tonne and it will probably peak at around $550. With a low stocking density. our hens are able to get around 50% of their feed from the paddocks, so the cost of the supplementary ration may not be a major financial burden.

Crowd funding support needed for Webinars on free range production

We areencouraging people to set up more free range farms to help meet strong consumer demand for genuine free range eggs. Local and overseas enquiries are being received asking about the suitability for different climates of an eBook and webinars being developed for egg production. The answer is Yes, the information in the webinars and the eBook is applicable virtually anywhere. The only significant differences are in local regulations and climatic conditions. Clearly extreme weather will require special attention – as will potential predators. It’s rather different protecting chickens from Grizzly bears, lions or tigers compared with protecting them from foxes or Tasmanian Devils. A growing number of people realise that all eggs on supermarket shelves are from intensive production systems – despite claims on labels.To ensure that the webinars are produced to a professional standard, we need significant support for our crowd funding appeal. Details about the eBook and a crowd funding appeal for the webinars can be found on the Freeranger Eggs website. www.freeranger.com.au The crowd funding appeal is here: https://www.gofundme.com/2tar52c

Unfair competition for family farms

The action of Australian politicians in allowing poultry farms with stocking densities of 10,000 hens per hectare to describe their eggs as free range, opens up some major issues. One is the level of unfair competition from big business against small family farms.Another is that consumers won’t accept that definition. Most planning authorities are unlikely to accept such a density because of issues like odour, contamination of land, aquifers and waterways. It's likely that many planning authorities will refuse permits for new free range farms because of the absurdly high standards developed by politicians.

New flock of ISA Browns is just days away from starting to lay

Our new flock of ISA Brown pullets will start laying any day to keep up supplies for our regular customers. The 200 young hens settled in well and quickly accepted their big white Maremma guardian. We will soon have pullets eggs eggs available as well as our normal range of egg sizes from 950gram Megga dozens, 840g, 750g and 700g packs.UPDATE Monday, they have now started laying 3 or 4 eggs a day.

Feed costs may force egg farmers out of business

Many egg producers could be forced out of business with looming increases in the cost of poultry feed as a result of an expected poor grain harvest caused by drought. Egg farmers across Australia are facing skyrocketing costs for feed, with grain prices rising as much as 60 per cent, from $280 to $450 per tonne in six month and expected to climb higher. With feed making up at least 60 per cent of egg production costs, many producers are losing 20 per cent on their farm gate or wholesale prices. the problem is most acute for cage and barn operations and the many thousands of intensive producers who pretend they are free range. Businesses with high stocking densities of 10,000 hens per hectare are unlikely to remain viable - so maybe we can all say 'goodbye' to the crooks.

Egg industry wants community views on the sustainability of the industry

CSIRO is calling for community input into research for Australian Eggs, covering sustainability,animal welfare and foods safety. To help them get a full picture, have your say! The survey is simple and doesn't take long to complete. https://research.csiro.au/eggs/

Poultry Hub warns about disease potential created by intensive egg production

The spread of disease through large flocks of poultry has been a farming issue for years and was one of the key reasons for introducing cages to allow for intensive egg production designed to meet demand.High outdoor stocking densities - such as the 10,000 hens per hectare approved by politicians in Australia is a recipe for disaster - not only for the hens but for food safety and the viability of farms. Details about poultry disease control have been published by the Poultry Hub http://www.poultryhub.org/health/health-management/ The article does not cover the additional problems of land sustainability, potential contamination of eggs sold to consumers as well as contamination of waterways and groundwater caused by high nutrient loads.