Phil Westwood: "We need more free range egg farmers." By Phil Westwood
WITH the closure of Inverloch Freerange Eggs, Freeranger Eggs at Grantville is now the only genuine free range egg farm in Bass Coast Shire.
We need more free range farms to be established in the region to meet local demand.
I would urge anyone thinking about making a career or lifestyle change to consider free range farming. Genuine free range eggs are never found in supermarkets. It’s a niche market with strong consumer demand.
WITH the closure of Inverloch Freerange Eggs, Freeranger Eggs at Grantville is now the only genuine free range egg farm in Bass Coast Shire.
We need more free range farms to be established in the region to meet local demand.
I would urge anyone thinking about making a career or lifestyle change to consider free range farming. Genuine free range eggs are never found in supermarkets. It’s a niche market with strong consumer demand.
Anne and I started Freeranger Eggs in the 1990s after we bought 200 acres on the Bass River at Grantville. A significant part of the property was bushland linking the Grantville Nature Conservation Reserve with the river. We recognised its importance and had to come up with a way to make a living without clearing the land, turning it into pasture and sheep or cattle.
Free range chickens were an obvious choice because they could utilise the already cleared area of the property.
The Freeranger Eggs farm management plan takes a three pillars approach: animal welfare is one pillar, but equally important are land sustainability and food safety.
Growth is not a part of our philosophy. Rather than upscale existing egg businesses, we need to encourage people to set up more farms. We believe that will support more people working the land fairly and will ensure long-term food security.
Free range chickens were an obvious choice because they could utilise the already cleared area of the property.
The Freeranger Eggs farm management plan takes a three pillars approach: animal welfare is one pillar, but equally important are land sustainability and food safety.
Growth is not a part of our philosophy. Rather than upscale existing egg businesses, we need to encourage people to set up more farms. We believe that will support more people working the land fairly and will ensure long-term food security.
Maremma dogs guard the Freeranger flock from foxes.
If you decide to set up a free range egg farm, take the time to plan it properly. Find out the zoning of the land and talk to your local council planning department about their requirements. It’s also worth contacting the State Department of Agriculture. You can access on-line resources.
Once that’s sorted, talk to the council’s environmental health department about any specific requirements they have before you get underway. It’s not too difficult, as long as you have thought through your plans.
One key element for success is to limit spending. If you have a big mortgage and lease payments on vehicles and equipment, it will be hard to stay in business. Regular financial payments will be a drain on resources when there is a drop in revenue for whatever reason.
Buying expensive chicken caravans with automatic nest boxes and feeders will give you a crippling debt burden and endless pain – so make do with existing sheds and equipment until you are ready to take another step.
Pricing will always be important if you aim to produce top quality eggs. Work out your costings and don’t try to compete on price because bigger producers will always undercut you.
The legal definition of “freerange” is 10,000 birds per hectare but if you want to minimise land degradation and ensure the long-term viability of the land, the maximum sustainable stocking density is 1500 hens per hectare.
Some people are fixated on the issue of animal welfare and they lose sight of matters like food safety and land sustainability. Outdoor stocking density is a key example. Academics found it easy to come up with results from research on small scale or short term projects to demonstrate that stocking densities had little or no impact on hen welfare. But it has been impossible for them to demonstrate that high densities have no detrimental impact on pasture quality, pollution of waterways, groundwater and the long term productivity of the land as a result of excessive nutrient loads.
We chose our own very low stocking rate because it ensures there is no aggression within the flocks, nutrient loads on pasture are not excessive, pasture growth can be maintained and egg collection/packaging can be handled by one person.
Once that’s sorted, talk to the council’s environmental health department about any specific requirements they have before you get underway. It’s not too difficult, as long as you have thought through your plans.
One key element for success is to limit spending. If you have a big mortgage and lease payments on vehicles and equipment, it will be hard to stay in business. Regular financial payments will be a drain on resources when there is a drop in revenue for whatever reason.
Buying expensive chicken caravans with automatic nest boxes and feeders will give you a crippling debt burden and endless pain – so make do with existing sheds and equipment until you are ready to take another step.
Pricing will always be important if you aim to produce top quality eggs. Work out your costings and don’t try to compete on price because bigger producers will always undercut you.
The legal definition of “freerange” is 10,000 birds per hectare but if you want to minimise land degradation and ensure the long-term viability of the land, the maximum sustainable stocking density is 1500 hens per hectare.
Some people are fixated on the issue of animal welfare and they lose sight of matters like food safety and land sustainability. Outdoor stocking density is a key example. Academics found it easy to come up with results from research on small scale or short term projects to demonstrate that stocking densities had little or no impact on hen welfare. But it has been impossible for them to demonstrate that high densities have no detrimental impact on pasture quality, pollution of waterways, groundwater and the long term productivity of the land as a result of excessive nutrient loads.
We chose our own very low stocking rate because it ensures there is no aggression within the flocks, nutrient loads on pasture are not excessive, pasture growth can be maintained and egg collection/packaging can be handled by one person.
The low stocking rate means one person can handle collecting, labelling and distribution. It’s also essential to choose the right type of hens. You need docile birds with calm temperaments and which are prolific layers. We have found Isa Browns to be ideal.
Laying hens perform best when they are able to follow their natural behaviour. They clearly need shelter, food and water but they also need to wander around freely to forage, scratch, dust bathe and interact socially with others in the flock.
We don't send off our hens to make soup when they finish their first laying season. We keep them longer and find homes with local people who want chooks for their backyards. They lay happily for another three or four years and often longer.
Our Maremma dogs protect the birds from fox attacks. Eggs are collected by hand, graded and packed several times every day ready for delivery to restaurants, shops and direct to customers.
Sixty acres of our farm are protected by a Trust for Nature covenant and we are also part of the Land for Wildlife Scheme. Amongst animals living here are Powerful Owls, Barking Owls, Lace Monitors, Mountain Brushtail Possums, Swamp Antechinus, Potoroos and Bandicoots.
The property is demonstrating that primary production can be commercially viable without compromising ecological values and that cost-effective farming, environmental protection and enhancing species biodiversity are not mutually exclusive.
Based on 30-plus years in the industry, Freeranger Eggs has produced an eBook with information for starting a free range farm, including shed requirements, food safety, egg packaging and labelling. The book is for sale at www.freeranger.com.au.
Laying hens perform best when they are able to follow their natural behaviour. They clearly need shelter, food and water but they also need to wander around freely to forage, scratch, dust bathe and interact socially with others in the flock.
We don't send off our hens to make soup when they finish their first laying season. We keep them longer and find homes with local people who want chooks for their backyards. They lay happily for another three or four years and often longer.
Our Maremma dogs protect the birds from fox attacks. Eggs are collected by hand, graded and packed several times every day ready for delivery to restaurants, shops and direct to customers.
Sixty acres of our farm are protected by a Trust for Nature covenant and we are also part of the Land for Wildlife Scheme. Amongst animals living here are Powerful Owls, Barking Owls, Lace Monitors, Mountain Brushtail Possums, Swamp Antechinus, Potoroos and Bandicoots.
The property is demonstrating that primary production can be commercially viable without compromising ecological values and that cost-effective farming, environmental protection and enhancing species biodiversity are not mutually exclusive.
Based on 30-plus years in the industry, Freeranger Eggs has produced an eBook with information for starting a free range farm, including shed requirements, food safety, egg packaging and labelling. The book is for sale at www.freeranger.com.au.