| 55 PRODUCTION The Ultimate Egg & Poultry Co The Free Range flock usually venture out at about 9 am in the morning and come back by themselves whenever they are ready. Free-range is the ‘ultimate situation’ T Sue Russell Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? Nick Bennik’s history with ‘all things egg’ stems back to his childhood growing up on his parents poultry farm in Levin. The early 1990’s saw the establishment of Valleyview Partnership in Kimberley Road, and was the first foray in cage free egg production. Happy to be doing their own thing, and working with a set of values as to how chooks should be cared for and good eggs created 20 years later two other local egg producers and Valleyview joined forces to become The Ultimate Egg & Poultry Co. “We realised that to protect our business we needed to become a limited liability company. We had all the facilities so it made sense with other egg producers nearby that they brought their eggs to us to process and market,” Nick explains. Hyline Brown are the breed of choice. Nick says they are well suited to the environment and lay well. Currently jointly there are approximately 75,000 birds, housed in barn and free-range conditions. “I would say in terms of volume, we’re about 80% free-range and the balance in the barn. It’s been like that for about the last three years.” Nick says that both the barn and free range chooks enjoy good lives. Both have barns to live in, except the free range have the option to go outside. Rules dictate the ratio of birds to square metres is slightly different, with barn chooks at up to 7 birds per square metre and free range at 9 birds per sqm. “For me free-range is the ultimate situation. A modern well run cage-free or free range system is very good and very cost effective. It ticks all the boxes for cost of production and animal welfare.” Given this Nick intends to drive his production toward totally free-range. Asked where his markets are Nick says about 25% of production works its way into retail packs, under the Freedom Farms brand. “We supply all their free range eggs on a national level. The rest of our eggs go to hospitality.” With such a long history in the industry Nick has strong opinions on the health of the industry generally. He points to a lack of proper and enforceable regulations around animal welfare as the key impediment to the sector maturing. “In terms of what you can call free-range it’s a very loose definition and consumers don’t necessarily appreciate that there is a wide variety of systems, egg producers describe as free-range.” “A modern well run cagefree or free range system is very good and very cost effective. It ticks all the boxes for cost of production and animal welfare.” T to page 56 Hawke’s Bay Eggs Truck and Industrial Vehicle Servicing and Repair Specialists 06 367 6338 levintruckservices.co.nz office@levintruckservices.co.nz 24/7 Breakdown Service ADAS Calibration for windscreen replacements Authorized COF inspector on-site • Full mechanical repairs 24/7 breakdown service • Mobile mechanical & hydraulic services Industrial and agricultural repairs • Full engineering services Complete truck services, repairs and maintenance throughout Horowhenua Levin Truck Services Keeping you on the road
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