Page 2 - National Poultry Newspaper

Poultry Industry Calendar of Events
2019
FEB 12 - 14 – International Poultry Expo, Atlanta, US www.ippexpo.com
FEB 18 - 20 – Australian Poultry Science Symposium, Sydney, NSW www.apss2019.com.au
JUN 10 - 13 – European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition, AmberExpo in Gdansk, Poland www.espn2019.com
JUN 12-13 – Australian Biosecurity Symposium, Gold Coast, QLD www. biosym.com.au
SEP 16-20 –World Veterinary Poultry Association Congress, Bangkok, Thailand www.wvpac2019.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
07 3286 1833
Innovative chicken farming concept developed by Elgin Valley Free Range
☛ from P1
area not more than five
minutes from the pro- cessing facility.
As well as the huge increase in production capacity, the new sheds located ‘just down the road’ will massively cut transport costs and times, allowing more time and money to be spent on fur- ther improving welfare of the birds and developing optimum feed options.
At a cost in excess of $10 million, this expan- sion is no small invest- ment, but one that is ex- pected to pay off.
As well as adding the netting-enclosed free ranging area attached to the existing sheds, the re- purposing involves open- ing the sheds right up to allow the birds optimum access to the outdoors, with Elgin Valley com- mitting to doors at least 40 percent larger than competitive free range farms (and double the re- quired free range stand- ard).
Both indoor and outdoor spaces are similar in size to minimise stress for the birds and the barn doors are opened all day from about 4.30am to 5pm to allow the chooks maxi- mum ability to roam.
Going above and be- yond for the welfare of its chickens saw Elgin Val- ley Free Range receive the ‘Accredited Free
Range’ stamp early on from Free Range Egg and Poultry Australia.
Recently, a more recog- nisable tick of approval has been garnered by the brand, with RSPCA giv- ing Golden Cockerel the nod to affix the RSPCA Outdoor Approved label to its products.
This is big news and will certainly improve Elgin Valley brand rec- ognition for consumers shopping at independ- ent retailers, barbecue chicken shops and butch- ers who meet Wayne and Kerry’s high standards for product display and brand positioning, with butchers making the cut needing a good shopfront presence and the ability to add extra point of sale material.
Adding another string to its bow is Elgin Val- ley’s capacity to distrib- ute either plain or mari- nated birds throughout Australia, depending on the request of the cus- tomer.
Price wise, the free range chooks meet the market and while in some instances they may be priced slightly above the competition, the team be- lieves the premium is jus- tified thanks to the higher standards of welfare and biosecurity afforded to the birds.
All those involved in El- gin Valley understand the
importance of differen- tiating the premium free range chickens from con- ventional chooks and as such the free range birds are always processed first at Mount Cotton, with a 30-minute break before conventional bird pro- cessing begins to ensure total segregation.
In terms of feed, of course the Elgin Valley birds are fed a special blend of wheat, sorghum, canola and soybeans free from antibiotic growth promotants, preservatives and added growth hor- mones, as well as what- ever else they can find while safely free roaming in the yards.
With several new farms in the Redlands soon to
come on-line and pro- duction capacity set to increase accordingly, ex- pect to be seeing a lot more Elgin Valley Free Range-branded product in retailers near you.
Also keep an eye out in coming editions of Na- tional Poultry Newspa- per for coverage on the
expansion and a more up-close look through the Elgin Valley opera- tion to see exactly how the brand is doing things differently and standing head and shoulders above the crowd.
For any more informa- tion, visit elginvalleyfre erange.com.au
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Get noticed by key poultry industry members!
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