National Poultry Newspaper

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NATIONAL
Vol 2. No. 8 August 2019 National Poultry Newspaper PO Box 387 Cleveland 4163 Phone (07) 3286 1833 Fax (07) 3821 2637 Email ben@poultrynews.com.au
PoultryGrad 2019 an inspirational experience
OVER 20 poultry science students attended Poul- tryGrad 2019 for two days during July in Toowoo- mba, Queensland.
PoultryGrad provides stu- dents with the opportunity to meet people from indus- try and students from other universities.
The event enables them to think about and discuss their future careers, build peer networks and discuss how their research can ben- efit the poultry industry.
On the first day, which was hosted by the Depart- ment of Agriculture and Fisheries, six speakers from a variety of different back- grounds including research, government and industry talked to the students about their current job role, career
path and experiences.
The students had the op- portunity to discuss their re- search and get career advice
from all our speakers.
They said they found this day “inspirational” and “very useful to develop con- nections and explore career
opportunities”.
Following this, each stu-
dent participated in a va- riety of activities designed to get them thinking about their own pathway and to build relationships with their peers.
On the second day, half the group visited a chicken hatchery and half visited a
☛ continued P2
by TAMSYN CROWLEY Director
PoultryGrad attendees at a hatchery.
Commercial Egg Producers Association WA president Ian Wilson speaking, while seated were Egg Farmers of Australia CEO Melinda Hashimoto, Australian Eggs managing director Rowan McMonnies and WA Minister Alannah MacTiernan.
CEPA sundowner event in Perth
ON July 31, following on from the Flock Health and Egg Quality forum held by Australian Eggs, the Com- mercial Egg Producers Asso- ciation of Western Australia held its annual Sundowner event at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Perth.
The event was well attended by producers and supporters of the egg industry.
An address was given by the Honourable Alannah MacTi- ernan MLC, WA Minister for Regional Development, Agri- culture and Food, Ports and Minister Assisting the Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade.
Australian Eggs managing director Rowan McMonnies also gave an address, as did Egg Farmers of Australia CEO Melinda Hashimoto.
Rowan spoke about the sus- tainability framework and how work being undertaken has pro- vided information around trust consumers have in the industry. Melinda spoke on the Stand- ards and Guidelines and posi- tion of Egg Farmers of Aus- tralia and the issues raised with her during her visit pertaining to egg prices and future invest- ment in the industry.
A question and answer ses- sion was held before further networking continued through- out the evening.
During the Q&A, egg farm- ers expressed to the Minister concerns that retailers have not responded to the plight of egg producers during the severe drought and that retailers have not passed on price increases.
Additionally, they felt their concerns need to be taken up
by the WA and other state gov- ernments and price support be recognised as to the impact it is now having on lack of egg supply on the shelves in WA and across the country.
Explanations were provided to the Minister on how market dy- namics is the key issue with the concept of changes to production systems, and governments need to recognise farmers’ willing- ness to provide consumers with what they want, however it needs to be realistic and affordable to farmers.
Supermarket interference in the production process has cre- ated egg shortages.
In the Minister’s speech, she stated she wrote to the ACCC to highlight the concerns of WA egg producers, particularly around allegations of egg mis- labelling, inadequate penalties and the imbalance of bargaining power between individual egg producers and large retailers.
The WA Government is also strengthening its egg stamping and traceability requirements to provide assurances to con- sumers.
In terms of the power imbal- ance with large retailers, the Minister stated industry needs to analyse the various reports produced on this matter and decide on a strategy forward.
As a first step, the Minister has offered the Government’s support to the industry in deter- mining its cost of production.
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WA Farmers corporate operations manager Melanie Tolich and Egg Farmers of Australia CEO Melinda Hashimoto.
NEW INTEGRATED ALIS SENSORS*
The sensors clip onto the same patented induction power cable used for lighting in poultry sheds.This creates an aerial
network of lights and sensors looking down on the animals and monitoring critical parameters for WELFARE, PRODUCTIVITY and
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ALIS Greenhouse sensors (Co2, ammonia and humidity)
ENVIRONMENT.
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ensors include:
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Stockyard Industries 54 King Street,
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*Co
ALIS Chirpy sensors (bird vocalisations)
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LIS Cluster Sensor (Flock mobility)
LIS Ambient Sensor (Temp and Lux)
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Clifton QLD 4361
ming soon
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