Page 2 - National Poultry Newspaper

Poultry Industry Calendar of Events
2018
JUL 22 - 24 – Chicken Marketing Summit, Florida, US www.wattglob almedia.com/chickenmarketingsummit
JUL 23 - 26 – Annual Poultry Science Association Meeting, Texas, US www.poultryscience.org/psa18
AUG 1 - 5 – Asian Australasian Animal Production Congress, Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, Sarawak
AUG 31 - SEP 2 – International Exhibition on Poultry, Livestock & Technologies, Bangalore India www. iplexpo.com
SEP 17 - 21 – European Poultry Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia www. epc2018.com
OCT 28 - 30 – International Poultry Symposium, Chitwan, Nepal www. afu.edu.np/vet/ips2018
NOV 11 - 13 – Australian Veterinary Antimicrobial Stewardship Conference, Sunshine Coast QLD www.avams2018.w.yrd.currinda.com
2019
FEB 12 - 14 – International Poultry Expo, Atlanta, US www.ippexpo.com
JUN 10 - 13 – European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition (ESPN), AmberExpo in Gdansk, Poland www.espn2019
How to supply event details: Send all details to National Poultry Newspaper, PO Box 387, Cleveland, Qld 4163, call 07 3286 1833 fax: 07 3821 2637, email: design@poultrynews.com.au
poultrynews.com.au
07 3286 1833
Opening the eyes of the public
EGG Farmers of Aus- tralia has had an incred- ibly busy year.
The animal welfare standards and guidelines for poultry farming have been a trying process for farmers.
EFA understands the frustration in farming communities for the way our industry has been rep- resented in the media and we know it has been par- ticularly problematic dur- ing the public consulta- tion, which was complet- ed at the end of February.
But now it is onwards towards a finalised ver- sion of the poultry ani- mal welfare standards and guidelines that will be de- cided upon by Australian Ministers of Agriculture.
During this public con- sultation, we took a beat- ing from animal welfare organisations in the media and I know how tough that was for each of us.
However, it is notable that at the end of this pe- riod only one minister had voiced dissent with the in- dustry.
We may have lost the trial by media but we are still in this fight and have a plan to press our case.
Animal activist cam- paigns may have been well funded but we were prepared for them.
In the media and in par- liamentary offices around the country, we have ped- alled the message that we are open to criticism and want to improve.
All we want in return is for people to have a proper look at our farms and seek to understand what they are truly like and why we farm the way we do.
Over the past couple of months, we have invited people onto farms to see the reality of farm life.
These people were from a range of different back- grounds – some bought cage free, some bought caged, some voted Greens and others voted Coali- tion.
We had a broad church when it came to engage- ment and we want to con- tinue in that manner.
On these farm tours, participants were given the opportunity to hear presentations from a rep- resentative from EFA, an animal welfare scientist, a vet and a farmer.
On completing farm tours, participants were impressed with the level of care farmers had for their birds.
In exit surveys conduct- ed at the end of visits, most reported feeling pos- itive shifts in the way they perceived egg farming.
The announcement of Australian Eggs’ sustain- ability framework re- leased at the end of April has greatly enhanced our ability to discuss the long- term plans the egg indus- try has for animal welfare
improvements.
This framework has pro-
vided EFA with a road- map for the egg industry’s future – a future in which the egg industry will re- claim the respect of com- munity through ongoing and direct channels of communication.
EFA has had strong en- gagement with represent- atives from federal and state governments.
This current period of the standards and guide- lines process will be less media but more work.
We’ll need even more engagement, farm tours and a greater commitment to prove farmers care for our birds and about the community.
We know welfare is im- portant – we know we must improve and we know we must show how we do that every day.
We can win this argu- ment.
We can regain control of the issues.
EFA Female Leadership Grant – Angela Griffin (EFA Policy Advisor)
On International Wom- en’s Day, EFA announced it was going to invest in the future leadership of our industry by launching a female leadership pro- gram in partnership with the Australian Federal Government.
For the first time, the egg industry has a specif- ic scholarship that is dedi- cated to the development of our promising female farmers.
As we all know, women are incredibly well repre- sented on our farms.
They work in packing, admin, planning and man- ufacturing.
When you enter our boardrooms, however, fe-
male representation dra- matically declines.
This is a real shame when you consider the calibre of the young women coming through the generations, eager to take on leadership in the future.
EFA’s program gives
participants the op- portunity to hone their leadership skills through participation in a series of workshops run by the Australian Rural Leader- ship Foundation.
We have been over- whelmed by the quality of applicants and are cur- rently going through the confirmation stage, after which, participants will be chosen.
EFA believes it is the responsibility of those in current positions of lead- ership to ensure the next generation of leaders is equipped to take on re- sponsibility for feeding our nation.
EFA also recognises there is a long way to go
when it comes to having equal representation of men and women in board- rooms for any industry.
This being said, we want to show that the egg in- dustry is committed to diversity.
We have already proven ourselves to be the in- dustry that leads the way on animal welfare – now we have set our sights on being the industry that has taken a proactive ap- proach to solving gender inequality.
I am incredibly proud to be providing opportuni- ties for the smart and ca- pable young women who will be the future of the egg industry.
NATIONAL
Page 2 – National Poultry Newspaper, June 2018
www.poultrynews.com.au
by JOHN DUNN CEO
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Participants in farm tours discussed all things eggs.
The farmer taught the city people.
Brian gave participants a tour of an egg farm.
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