Page 2 - National Poultry Newspaper

Egg farmers of Australia counters community distrust
Poultry Industry Calendar of Events
2018
SEP 17 - 21 – European Poultry Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia www. epc2018.com
SEP 25 - 26 – Poultry Hub Ideas Exchange, Brisbane, QLD www. poultryhub.org
OCT 28 - 30 – International Poultry Symposium, Chitwan, Nepal www. afu.edu.np/vet/ips2018
NOV 5 - 7 – Poultry Tech Summit, Atlanta, US www.wattglobalmedia. com/poultrytechsummit
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
FEB 18 - 20 – Australian Poultry Science Symposium, Sydney NSW http://sydney.edu.au/vetscience/apss
JUN 10 - 13 – European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition, AmberExpo in Gdansk, Poland www.espn2019.com
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
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IN the wake of the be- ginning of the Poultry Animal Welfare Stand- ards and Guidelines process, Egg Farmers of Australia has com- mitted to openness and transparency in the egg industry to counter community distrust in animal-based agricul- tural practices.
Farmers understand im- plicitly that this distrust has been created as a result of incorrect infor- mation and images cir- culated by animal rights activists.
It is our duty to show our community the re- alities of egg farming in order to dispel these dam- aging mistruths.
As such, in the past year, EFA has sought out farmers with the gener- osity to allow interested members of our commu- nity to come onto their farms and learn more about egg farming.
We have completed a number of these tours around the country and a huge range of people of different backgrounds and political beliefs have come along and learnt more about our practices.
We have seen people of all walks of life, from politicians and animal welfare scientists to inner city community mem- bers, come onto farms.
From this, we have been heartened by the largely positive responses we have received, with many participants report- ing changing their opin- ions on the nature of egg farming.
On August 24, repre- sentatives from EFA and Queensland United Egg Producers had the pleas- ure of visiting a Millmer- ran egg farm to assist in giving a farm tour.
This tour was attended by members of the State Development, Natural Resources and Agricul- tural Industry Devel- opment Committee in Queensland Parliament.
This is a Queensland Government-based com- mittee that produces re- ports and legislation re- garding issues specifical- ly relating to agriculture.
EFA felt it important that Committee members have a working understanding of the reality of egg farm- ing so that, if and when the time comes to discuss the animal welfare standards and guidelines, this Com- mittee would have all the facts.
EFA and QUEP feel this visit went extraordi- narily well.
Members of the Com- mittee were interested and engaged in the tour and asked a number of questions about egg farming practices.
We believe moving for-
ward, those Committee members will go on to be advocates for the egg industry.
This demonstrates the power of open engage- ment.
This aligns with the vi- tal Sustainability Frame- work being rolled out by Australian Eggs.
The framework aims to
ensure the Australian egg industry is farming in a manner that is socially, environmentally and eco- nomically responsible.
As an industry, we must ensure we are meeting community expectations.
It is therefore impera- tive we have a mean- ingful understanding of those expectations and the values that inform those expectations.
As such, the first stage of the Sustainability Framework is a commu- nity survey being con- ducted by the CSIRO.
This survey will give the egg industry a true picture of communi- ty concerns and from there, we will be able to respond in a way that re- ally and truly addresses
those concerns.
If you want to com-
plete this survey, you can access it via aus tralianeggscommunityre search2018w.question pro.com
In a time in which farm- ers face uncertainty on so many bases – with drought, political un- certainty and more – it is more important than ever to demonstrate to the community the signifi- cant impact of losing an affordable, local source of protein.
If you are a farmer in- terested in opening your farm as part of EFA’s openness and transpar- ency push, please feel free to contact Angela at angela@eggfarmersaus tralia.org
by JOHN DUNN CEO
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