Poultry Digest February/March 2012

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Poultry Digest Volume 27, Number 4 February/March 2012

Murphy’s Crossing Free Range Eggs – an evolving and succesful family business

Australian Poultry Science Symposium 2012

New technology fingerprints 37 different mycotoxins in feed

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Contents

10 COVeR sTORy

Murphy’s Crossing Free Range eggs – an evolving and successful family business Murphy’s Crossing Free Range Eggs, located at Wasleys in South Australia, is a successful family run business operated by Stephen and Trish Simpson. Originally the farm was a conventional cage layer operation but has evolved into a free range configuration housing 10,000 hens in three sheds.

Stephen Simpson, Murphy’s Crossing

Poultry Digest February/March 2012 Volume 27, Number 4 editorial enquiries Peter Bedwell or Rosemary embery 0419 235 288 or 0409 944 472 sales: Peter Bedwell Phone: + 61 2 4368 2220 Mob: 0419 235 288 or Mob: 0409 944 472 Fax: + 61 2 4368 2260 email: ilvaril@iinet.net.au website: www.primarymedia.com.au POULTRy DIGesT consists of a bi-monthly management magazine and an annual industry review.

Published by C D supplies Pty Ltd (aCN 091 560 557)

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CHaNGe OF aDDRess FOR sUBsCRIPTIONs ONLy: send details, along with the old address label, to GPO Box 1846, sydney Nsw 2001 (subscriptions only). aLL MaTeRIaL COPyRIGHT (editorial and advertisements) and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the publishers. whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents of POULTRy DIGesT, the pulishers do not accept any responsibility or liability for the material herein.

20 NUTRITION FeaTURe New technology fingerprints 37 different mycotoxins in feed In view of changing weather and the changing volumes of grain and commodities traded internationally, mycotoxins are front of mind with many producers in Australasia. There are more than 500 identified mycotoxins, yet until recently, the ability to test for mycotoxins has been limited to relatively few mycotoxins, and the accuracy of some tests is considered by many to be only semi-quantitative at best.

26 MaNaGeMeNT FeaTURe Comparison of performance of commercial conventional and free range broilers Comparisons of the performance of free range and conventionally housed broiler chickens are scarce. A new free range operation was recently established and an opportunity to compare its progressive performance with conventional broilers under similar management practices and nutrition was taken.

News 4 Australian Poultry Science Symposium 2012 The 23rd Australian Poultry Science Symposium (APSS) 2012, held on February 19-22 at the University of Sydney Camperdown Campus, offered a record 250 attendees a packed program and added new dimensions to a proven format.

18 10th Alltech APSS Breakfast After an opening address by Alltech’s Business General Manager, Adam Naylor, the first speaker at the 10th Alltech Australian Poultry Science Symposium (APSS) Breakfast was Jorge Pena, Alltech’s Technical Manager who described the Latin American commercial industry and that of Chile in particular.

32 BEC celebrates 25 years of successful operation Brisbane based BEC Feed Solutions held a lunch on February 24 2012 at its Carole Park facility for customers, suppliers, friends and staff to celebrate its 25th year of operation.

PRODUCT NEWS 40 New solutions to old problems from OEC

POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012 3

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News australian Poultry science symposium 2012 The 23rd Australian Poultry Science Symposium (APSS) 2012, held on February 19-22 at the University of Sydney Camperdown Campus, offered a record 250 attendees a packed program and added new dimensions to a proven format.

On Sunday 19, an informal Avian Science Forum held at Rydges Camperdown resulted in two thought provoking presentations from Mamduh Sifri (ADM Alliance Nutrition USA) and Nan-Dirk Mulder, Rabobank Europe.

‘Future Challenges in the Poultry industry – Biological and Nutritional Response Limits’ was Mamduh’s topic.

‘Crossroads for growth: changing commodity markets urge poultry industry to change’, was the subject of Nan-Dirk’s paper.

Both presenters are absolutely at the top of their game and the informal nature of the forum allowed for plenty of discussion before the drinks and snacks were served.

The evening set the tone for what was to be a great symposium.

Judy O’Keeffe, President of the Poultry Research Foundation (PRF) and Aaron Cowieson, Director of the PRF, opened the Symposion and SARDI’s Bob Hughes chaired the first session, ‘Free Range Compared with Conventional Poultry Production’.

There was no doubt about the fact that this subject was of vital interest – there was hardly a spare seat in the Webster Theatre as Birger Svihus from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences delivered his paper, ‘Gastrointestinal Tract Development: Implications for free range and conventional production.’

“By allowing birds access to an outdoor area in free range poultry production, they will be able to consume forage such as fibrous plant materials and grit stones.

“This will facilitate gizzard development potentially resulting in better nutrient utilisation and a bird more resistant to enteric diseases,” Dr Svihus said.

In summing up Dr Svihus pointed out that, “birds (in free range production) will possibly be stimulated to a more extensive use of the crop as an intermediate storage organ, and that these changes could result in improvements in nutrient utilisation.”

‘Nutritional immunity: Possible challenges in free range production’, was the topic prepared by Brooke Humphrey of

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Cargill Animal Nutrition USA, but delivered by Eugeni Roura from the University of Queensland.

“The objective of the study was to provide a basic understanding of nutritional immunology with a special emphasis on how use of free range production systems may influence applicability of this approach to affect animal productivity and welfare,” Dr Ruora said.

Don Thomas from Massey University NZ spoke next on the topic of ‘Influence of whole wheat inclusion and pellet diameter on the performance and gizzard development of broilers’.

Berger Svihus got his second run of the day when he presented a paper prepared by Adam Sacranie of Nutreco Spain whose travel plans were upset by Australia’s visa requirements.

“The effect of insoluble fibre and intermittent feeding on gizzard development, gut motility and performance in broiler chickens,” were the subjects of the study.

Tugrul Durali, a postgraduate student at Sydney University, is studying the effects of free-range production on broiler productivity.

As farm manager at Red Lea Chickens, he is in a unique position to deal with this topic as Red Lea has established new freerange broiler farms as well as expanding its conventional tunnel ventilated fully enclosed production.

His paper ‘Comparison of performance of commercial conventional and free range broilers’, is run at length in this issue of Poultry Digest.

The free range compared with conventional poultry production session continued with Paul Iji from University of New England in the chair and the first invited speaker Juha Apajalahti from Alimetrics, Finland posed the question, ‘Does the composition of intestinal microbiota determine or reflect feed conversion efficiency?’

“The importance of intestinal microbiota for the performance of broiler chickens has been studied for decades,” he stated as he introduced his paper.

Robert Swick from University New England revealed interesting research into ‘The effect of litter material and dietary fibre on gut development, gut microflora and performance’.

“Results of trials indicated a performance benefit for dietary oat hulls in young broilers especially those reared on w

POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

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4 1.Sonia Yun Liu, University of Sydney.

2. Shokri Oramary, University of Queensland. 3. Penelope Steer, University of Melbourne. 4. Michael Kidd, University of Arkansas, USA.

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News v paper litter,” he revealed.

Ken Bafundo from Phibro Animal Health USA spoke on the topic of ‘Semduramicin and nutritional responses: the effects of protein source and concentration’.

Stuart Wilkinson from the University of Sydney has long been associated with APSS, making sure that presentations survived digital technology and appeared on the screen in the Webster Theatre.

Now he is at the other end of that very technology presenting his own research: ‘Exploiting the calcium specific appetite of broilers’.

“In this research a group of 144 Cobb 500 broilers were used to investigate if modern broilers can regulate calcium intake using choice feeding,” he said.

“The final paper of this session was presented by Eduardo Serrao from the University of Queensland in which he described “small scale poultry production in Timor-Leste”.

“Village chickens contribute a critical supply of protein to families in the country,” he said.

Wayne Bryden, University of Queensland, in the chair for the First Short Communication Session: Nutrition, was merciless with the stopwatch as 15 speakers delivered their five-minute papers.

That they achieved this on time is a credit to their skills in delivering concise information in a small package.

The final paper of the day, The Avian Taste System was delivered by Eugeni Roura, who in summing up current research stated that, “taste receptor research is far behind that being conducted in mammals”.

“A thorough validation of the sequence and expression patterns of taste related avian genes orthologous to those known in mammalian systems is needed,” he concluded.

On the evening of the first full day of APSS, the Gourmet Barbeque Welcome Reception, apart from being an opportunity to enjoy good food, liquid refreshment, catch up with old friends and make new ones, is the event which sees the introduction of post graduate and masters students.

This year 26 students were introduced, some already well into their studies as well as new faces. The Poultry CRC sponsors this event.

On February 21 the first session of the day was devoted to ‘Feed Additives: Mythbusters’ and Aaron Cowieson was in the chair.

The first of the keynote speakers in this session was Michael Kidd, University

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of Arkansas, USA, and in his paper asked the question ‘Feed additives mythbusters: how should we feed synthetic amino acids?”

In summing up and in response to this question he stated that, “from an environmental standpoint, the inclusion of each subsequent amino acid (L-isoleucine and Larginine) into broiler diets allows for formulating closer to the bird’s requirement, which reduces overages.

“This leads to a reduction in nitrogen pollution and a likely reduction in the amount of nitrous oxide produced, which provides a significant portion of the CO2 equivalence in greenhouse gases,” he explained.

Michael Bedford from AB Vista UK in the second of the keynote mythbusters papers, spoke about ‘Enzymes in the spotlight’.

“Over the past twenty years the use of enzymes has been refined in practice to the point that in most cases they are used successfully and with a good return on investment,” he said.

“However some grey areas remain in their use and in the case of phytase there has been the association of wet litter.

“Recent work suggests that the ‘wet litter effect’ may be more due to the formulation changes made to accommodate the enzyme rather than the use of the enzyme per se,” he concluded.

Greg Siragusa from Danisco USA in his paper ‘Modern Probiology – Direct fed microbials and the avian gut microflora’ introduced his paper by stating that, “Direct fed microbials (DFM) – microorganisms, which when fed exert beneficial effects on poultry performance, health and immunity, routinely demonstrate efficacy in enhanced feed conversion and growth performance that is comparable to subtheraputic antibiotic usage,” he said.

“The mechanistic basis of the probiotic is largely unknown,” he added.

“In concluding his paper Greg Siragusa stated that, “though used for over a century DFMs were frequently disparaged by skeptics.

“From these very humble beginnings has evolved a scientific foundation to understand the biological mechanisms and improve the technology of probiotics for livestock.

“Used properly, the efficacy of modern DFMs is rarely debated. Probiotics are not antibiotics: they are a different approach to achieve efficient poultry production.

“This author considers the myth that CONTINUED ON PAGE 44 w

POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

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4 1. Michael Bedford, AB Vista. 2. Ian Lean, SBScibus Australia. 3. Bob Pym (left) President WPSA with Trevor Bagust, President WVPA. 4. Greg Siragusa, Danisco USA.

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Hoop sheds are ideal for free range housing at Murphy’s Crossing.

Murphy’s Crossing Free Range Eggs – an evolving and successful family business

By PETER BEDWELL

T

oday Murphy’s Crossing Free Range Eggs, located at Wasleys in South Australia, is a successful family run business operated by Stephen and Trish Simpson with the help of sons Lachlan and Angus.

Originally the farm was a conventional cage layer operation established back in 1959 by Stephen’s father, John Simpson.

He set up the farm as an alternative to dealing with miscreants as a policeman in

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South Australia and is still involved with the farm that has evolved into a free range configuration housing 10,000 hens in three sheds and attached foraging paddocks.

Poultry Digest was introduced to the Simpson family and their innovative layer farm by long time formulater of the hen’s diets, Tina Grech, Animal Nutritionist at Lienerts Australia, based at Roseworthy in South Australia.

Tina has supplied Murphy’s Crossing through its transition period to free range and worked with the business to obtain optimum performance using a combination of supplied materials and the farm’s own crop production.

The Simpsons didn’t rush into free range production.

“It was at least a five year process and Stephen took much advice from SAARDI’s Phil Glatz whose research work in the poultry industry is highly regarded,” Trish explained.

A happy result of working with Phil has been that many students have been on the farm when trials have been organised.

POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

Of the three sheds now in operation two are hoop barn designs, the first to go into operation being an adaption of a commercially available shed supplied by Jacksons of Murray Bridge and the second, a larger unit, was built by a local engineering company Sharmans of Long Plains.

Started pullets, Hy-Line Browns, are supplied by Scott Harley who represents Hy-Line in South Australia. Stephen is happy with both the performance of the hens and the service provided by Scott.

In the sheds the Jensen automated nest system has virtually eliminated any problem with floor eggs, according to Stephen.

A Big Dutchman chain feeder system delivers the diets and bell drinkers the water.

With the move to free range came lower stocking densities in the shed and hoop barns and this, Stephen states, has resulted in very low mortality rates.

The Simpsons have, by managing their flocks, eliminated the need for antibiotic use with the exception of one outbreak of spotty liver some time ago. w

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Though plenty of thought has gone into the design and equipment in the sheds themselves and the management of the HyLine Brown birds in a free range environment, the Simpsons’ innovation in the paddocks is a key element in the success and sustainability of Murphy’s Crossing Free Range eggs now and into the future.

To create a better overall environment, remediation tree planting has been undertaken and with 400 hectares there is ample scope to grow mostly winter crops – barley, clover peas and triticale have all been successfully grown and now contribute significantly to the overall diets of the hens.

The availability of significant fodder creates opportunities for Tina Grech to put her experience and the capabilities of Lienerts to use in making the most of the feed materials grown on the Simpson’s farm.

“Though the hot dry summer months significantly reduce the ability to grow fodder crops, the low moisture levels reduce disease risk and this combined with an isolated biosecure farm location mean there is little or no requirement for antibiotics,” Tina points out.

“Also for consumer appeal of the Murphy’s Crossing Brand, issues like antibiotic and GE free feed are significant factors in feed formulation.

“We have to take factors like this into consideration and formulate diets that suit a variety of housing systems from large cage layer farms to alternative systems like the Simpson’s farm,” she added.

“Stephen has experimented with deep banding fertiliser application on their paddocks and it appears that this practice has resulted in improved protein levels in their grain crops.

“We have developed diets based on three different rations for the age group segregated flocks which are early lay, mid lay and late lay, all based on Hy-Line specifications.

“Lienerts has an NIR facility in-house which greatly assists in the accuracy of our layer nutrition program,” Tina explained.

“Obviously in the case of the Murphy’s Crossing Free Range operation, we assume a valuable forage intake during the winter months from crops like barley and triticale,” she added.

Good shed design, winter forage crops and good layer performance are obviously vital to the success of the Simpson’s free range business but so too is their marketing strategy.

Building the Murphy’s Crossing Free Range brand through a simple but effective web site and regular participation at growers markets, has generated plenty of both consumer and retailer awareness in their

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Top: Though paddocks offer little forage in summer, winter crops of barley and triticale offer variable diet opportunities. Centre: Hy-Line Brown age group segregated flocks. Above: Ability to deliver fresh eggs that suit consumer needs means a growing business.

POULTRY DIGEST February/March, 2012

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locality and further afield.

“About 25% of our production sells through the markets and the rest we deliver to our retailers within 24 hours of lay,” Stephen explained.

“We do our own grading and packing on site and pride ourselves on quick turn around resulting in the consumer being able to enjoy fresh eggs – this is very important to us,” he said.

Having tackled optimal shed design and the growth of fodder crops as well as overall paddock improvement, the next task that has attracted Stephen’s interest is sustainability.

“We pride ourselves on being able to produce our eggs with minimal power usage and we avoid water wastage.

“In the future I would like to look at the possibility of being able to generate at least some of our energy requirements through solar cells and utilise our roof space to harvest rain water.

“In the next 25 years I think that energy and water use will be as significant to protein production as feed costs have been in the last two decades,” Stephen predicted.

So where will the Murphy’s Crossing Brand go next? Well like it or not, the area in which the farm is situated will soon become a major development area for new housing.

Though WA and Queensland are most often mentioned as the states where growth is being propelled by the minerals and energy boom, the South Australian economy will also be boosted by similar factors as well as a growing industrial and hi-tech capability.

This means that in the not too distant future the Simpsons could be living in close proximity to thousands of potential new customers.

With 400 hectares and plenty of accumulated experience the family is well placed to expand its business to meet possible future needs in a sustainable and economically viable way that suits their brand message.

It’s not all work on the Simpson’s farm - the family has an interesting collection of old military vehicles including a WW2 Chevy Blitz.

But Trish’s passion is for old Land Rovers and lurking in one of the machine sheds is a particularly rare, running and original early Series 1 Landy that almost certainly was originally acquired for work on the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme.

Subsequently it may have spent some time in military use when South Australia was host to UK atomic tests and missile trials in the fifties.

Trish plans to restore it to roadworthy condition without loosing its originality.

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POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

Top: It looks simple but a lot of research with SAARDI went into setting up the free range operation housing. Centre: Stephen Simpson with Lienerts’ Nutritionist Tina Grech.

Left: John Simspon (left) set up the original farm in 1959. It was converted

by Stephen (right) to free range.

Above: WWII Chevy Blitz, one of a number of historic vehicles on the farm.

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News 10th alltech aPss Breakfast After an opening address by Alltech’s Business General Manager, Adam Naylor, the first speaker at the 10th Alltech Australian Poultry Science Symposium (APSS) Breakfast was Jorge Pena, Alltech’s Technical Manager who described the Latin American commercial industry and that of Chile in particular.

“Chile is a country with a population of 17 million which consumes 3.42 bilion eggs annually and 27.7 kg of chicken meat per person per anum,” Jorge said.

“The country’s poultry industry is challenged by exotic diseases such as Avian Influenza, Newcastle Disease, and Salmonella – antibiotic use is vet only and it is a particulary sensitive issue as Chile exports to the EU,” he said.

“Use of Bio Mos instead of resorting to antibiotics during nine months of the year when weather is a challenge in Chile, resulted in a mortality drop from a high in male broiler birds of 12% to 5.34% and in female birds of 5.34% to 3.71%,” he added “On the topic of Actigen use in trials, FCR in broiler production was reduced from 1.92 to 1.81 while mortalities were reduced from 3.5% to 1.79%.

“Actigen was developed on the basis of our knowledge on yeast cell wall chemistry and the understanding of the interactions of carbohydrates with key receptors in the intestine,” Jorge said.

“It is well established that any

production animal is faced with sub-clinical challenges, this challenge will lead to a proinflammatory immune response and ultimately a reduction in available nutrients for growth.

Up to 9% of dietary nutrients can be required for the immune response.

Dampening this pro-inflammatory immune response will make more nutrients available for growth, hence permitting growth for the animal. This can most notabley be seen in a significant improvement in FCR. “In summary Actigen effectively binds bacteria with type-1 fimbriae. It is a natural growth permitter developed and tested through the science of Nutrigenomics and it helps the animal to effectively utilise nutrients without compromising the defences,” Jorge concluded.

Nigel Meads, Corporate Accounts Manager Alltech NZ, spoke on the topic of mycotoxins in Australian and NZ livestock production and his outline on Alltech initiatives to deal with growing mycotoxin concerns are covered in an article in this issue of Poultry Digest.

Andreas Kocher, Alltech’s Asia Pacific Regulatory Manager was the final speaker at the Alltech APSS Breakfast 2012 and his main topic was catabolic reaction.

Catabolism refers to chemical reactions resulting in the breakdown of more complex organic molecules into simpler substances.

Lohmann Layers australia to launch in 2012 In a significant move for the Australian layer industry, a new organisation headed up by Dr Greg Underwood with Joe Wegryzyn as National Sales and Marketing Manager will be officially launched at PIX 2012.

Lohmann Layers Australia has signed an agreement with Lohman Tiezucht GmbH to distribute this leading genetic brand in Australia.

“The launch of Lohmann Brown layer hens will offer the latest international genetics to the Australian layer industry,” said Dr Underwood.

“The Lohman Brown is sold in more than 100 countries and has proven performance in a variety of management systems, and especially in alternative and free range operations,” he added.

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Michael Seidel (left) from Lohmann Tiezucht GmbH with Dr Greg Underwood.

This initiative comes at a time of major change in the layer industry as Inghams exits the sector and the trend toward alternative production systems continues in 2012.

POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

1

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3 1. Adam Naylor, Alltech’s Business General Manager made the opening address at the Alltech APSS Breakfast.

2. Jorge Pena, Alltech’s Technical Manager. 3. Andreas Kocher, Alltech’s Asia Pacific Regulatory Manager.

Inghams phases out layer breeder operation Ingham’s Enterprises has taken the decision to phase out its Hisex Brown Commercial Layer Breeder operation during the remainder of the fiscal year 2012.

The Hisex customers have been advised and the phase out is progressing smoothly.

Ingham’s Stockfeed (Layer Feeds) sales remain unchanged. Contact Joe Wegrzyn for any further enquiries 0407 261 922.

Business relationships are forged over many years. Ingham’s Enterprises wishes to thank everyone for their ongoing support and friendship in the past, and during this time of change.

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NUTRITION FEATURE

New technology fingerprints 37 different mycotoxins in feed

By NIGEL MEADS, Corporate Accounts Manager, Alltech New Zealand

I

n light of the changing climatic patterns and adverse weather in Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the world, producers are experiencing more difficulties with mycotoxin contamination in raw materials.

In view of this changing weather and the changing volumes of grain and commodities traded internationally, mycotoxins are front of mind with many producers in Australasia.

There are more than 500 identified mycotoxins, yet until recently, the ability to test for mycotoxins has been limited to relatively few mycotoxins, and the accuracy of some tests is considered by many to be only semi-quantitative at best.

Mycotoxins can have negative consequences on the profitability of animal production operations. With recent poor harvest conditions throughout Australia and New Zealand, it is clear that there is a need for a wide ranging assessment technology to assist producers make decisions in the face of threat.

Recently in Sydney, representatives from the poultry industries in both Australia and New Zealand were given an insight into the latest establishment of new technologies that will equip them with accurate assessments of mycotoxins in their feedstuffs.

Traditional methodology has used either enzyme linked immune-suppression assays (ELISA) or thin layer chromatography (TLC). Both these technologies have had their limitations, potentially leading to an underestimation of toxicity in feed.

A new technology has been developed

by Alltech, a company that is well poised to deliver breakthroughs in the area of mycotoxins. Having supported the research thesis of 16 PhD and 19 Masters students, the company has over 60 peer reviewed articles published utilising both in vitro and in vivo models.

Following on from a research program at its US bioscience centre, Alltech has developed exclusive methodologies to

Nigel Meads, Alltech New Zealand.

analyse the presence of mycotoxins through the use of liquid chromatography double mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to fingerprint mycotoxins both in raw materials and in feed.

Termed 37+, this new approach confers several advantages over other technologies; • up to 37 toxins are both identified and quantified in a single test.

• the 37+ programme helps detect ‘masked mycotoxins’ – mycotoxins joined to sugar molecules that are otherwise missed by traditional methodology. This exposes a more accurate picture of the true toxicity of the feed.

• rapid analysis, needing only a 16 minute run time of the equipment, which means results are relevant.

• Accurate to parts per billion, meaning no second guessing is required on the margins of error.

• 37+ can be done on complete feed.

Traditional tests lose accuracy when testing a compound feed, now producers have more flexibility in monitoring.

• The 37+ programme allows for the identification of the so called ‘silage’ mycotoxin group. This is only the second testing facility in the world with this capacity, the other being a research laboratory in Scandinavia.

The silage mycotoxins are unfortunately

20 POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

mis-named. They appear in all feed types, not just silage. In fact, in a recent survey of North American feeds and raw materials, 25 from 72 samples had the silage mycotoxin group present, and of those, 21 samples were not silage.

To date, survey work completed in South Asia, North America and Europe has turned up surprising findings.

One phenomenon was the presence of multiple toxins. In fact, over 60% of samples in North America contained between two and 10 toxins in a single sample.

At the time of writing, current survey work has been commissioned and is underway on the 2012 harvest of Australian grains.

Work on the 37+ programme continues, by constantly researching the future expansion of testing beyond 37 mycotoxins, and with more facilities being established throughout the Asia Pacific region.

The 37+ programme forms one part of a four pronged approach that collectively makes the Alltech Mycotoxin Management program.

The presentation in Sydney of the 37+ programme generated discussion on a topic that is relevant to all animal producers.

Different regional surveys conducted by Alltech show that mycotoxins are an unavoidable risk in animal production.

The 37+ programme offers an exciting new level of quantification that will help the producers make the best decisions in the face of challenge.

POULTRY DIGEST Magazine has moved. New number: (02) 4368 2220 or fax: (02) 4368 2260.

Mobile: 0419 235 288.

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News asian representatives visit Poultry Research Foundation, Camden On February 23 following APSS 2012, a group of representatives from feed and poultry producers in key Asian markets visited the Poultry Research Foundation at the Camden Campus of the University of Sydney.

Following this the group proceeded to a Red Lea Chickens contract broiler farm at Marulan NSW. The event was organized by Dr David Cresswell, principal of Cresswell Nutrition and sponsored by AB Vista. The visitors included representatives from Malaysia (Federal Flour Mill and Gymtech Feedmill), Charoen Pokphand, (CP) Indonesia, AB Vista (Singapore & Thailand) and from Thailand, PNP, Sunfeed, Betagro, Topfeed, Thai Food, Varluaid, and CP. Liberato Castro from Crown Pacific Biotechnology, Singapore was also in the group.

At the Camden Campus Dr Aaron Cowieson, head of the Poultry Research Foundation and Dr Cresswell welcomed guests and after explaining the research work being undertaken by the research unit the group was shown specific research

projects and visited the feed mill at Camden.

There was a lot of interest in Australian poultry diets including the use of whole wheat and canola meal. In the SE Asian poultry sector corn soy diets dominate but as corn costs rise other raw materials are now more frequently being adopted in diets throughout the SE Asian poultry sectors.

After lunch at the Camden site visitors were taken to the Marulen broiler farm run

by Steve and Keely Lichtenberger where Sydney University post graduate researcher and Red Lea Farming Manager Tugrul Durali explained typical features of a

Top: The group at University of Sydney Camden Campus and (centre left) at the Marulen broiler farm belonging to Steve and Keely Lichtenberger.

Centre right: Aaron Cowieson explains wheat and sorghum based diets at Camden feed mill. Right: Dr David Creswell (Creswell Nutrition), Stuart Wilkinson and Aaron Cowieson, Sydney University. Above: The Marulen 6 shed farm has 45,000 birds per shed with Skov controllers.

22 POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

modern Australian broiler farm.

“Each of the six sheds has a Skov computer system tunnel ventilation and house up to 45000 birds, “Tugrul explained.

“Arne Overgard from Skov Australia joined us for a brief explanation about the Skov tunnel computer system.

“Another reason for the visit was to discuss wheat based diet and the benefits of whole wheat addition.

“We talked about broiler production in Australia overall with a focus on wheat and sorghum based diets and specifically the effect of whole wheat addition post pellet on GIT,” Tugrul concluded.

PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:28 PM Page 23

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MANAGEMENT FEATURE

Comparison of performance of commercial conventional and free range broilers

By T. DURALI*, P. GROVES and AJ COWIESON

C

omparisons of the performance of free range and conventionally housed broiler chickens are scarce.

A new free range operation was recently established and an opportunity to compare its progressive performance with conventional broilers under similar management practices and nutrition was taken.

Growth, mortality and feed conversion of eight paired batches of broilers from the same breeder flocks and hatchery in a similar geographical location over 16 months was compared.

Although the initial batch performance of the free range sheds was similar to conventional, the free range performance demonstrated a continuous decline, with slower growth, higher mortality and deteriorating feed conversion efficiency over time. The implications for the industry and consumer and the need to better understand the reasons for this poorer performance are discussed.

Introduction Farm animal welfare is an important subject in higher income countries particularly in the EU, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA especially for commercial poultry production.

It has been demonstrated that there is a strong relationship between Gross National Income and Animal Welfare Legislation (Van Horne and Achterbosch, 2008).

According to Bennett’s (1996) study, 21% of respondents were ‘very concerned’ and another 60% were ‘concerned’ about the welfare and mistreatment of farm animals in food production.

Harper and Makatouni (2002) reported that the two main reasons behind the purchasing of free range products were animal welfare and a perceived health benefit.

Consumers identify free range products as more advanced than conventional products in terms of health benefits.

Free range broiler production is in its

Tugrul Durali

infancy in Australia but is growing rapidly.

In the mid-1990s in Victoria, it was estimated that free range broiler production per week was around 1000 birds, with total broiler production around 171,000 per week (less than 1% of total broiler production) (Dixon, 2002).

In 2006, free-range broiler production accounted for 4% of total broiler production and today it is around 15% of total broiler production (ACMF, 2011).

Free-range broiler production is associated with poorer bird performance, higher

feed conversion and higher mortality compared with conventional broiler production. This ‘performance gap’ is not well understood but is thought to be as a result of poorer digestive health, coccidiosis and dysbacteriosis challenge, nutritional inadequacy and variable pasture consumption.

These performance challenges contribute to poor economic sustainability in the industry.

It is the purpose of this paper to describe performance of free-range and conventionally-reared broilers at the same location, under commercial production constraints.

Comparative benchmarking is an important prerequisite to further exploratory empirical or mechanistic research.

Materials and methods Two farms from the same geographical area (1.5 km apart) were selected in order to compare flock performance over time.

Placements of day old chicks were synchronized as much as possible using the same donor flocks.

Both farms received an identically formulated diet from the same feed mill differing only in that the free-range diet did not contain in-feed antibiotics as per the requirements of Free Range Egg & Poultry Australia (FREPA, 2009). w

Table 1: Mortality rates by age and production system Production System

0-7 d.

0-14 d.

0-21 d.

0-28 d.

0-35 d.

Free Range

1.262

2.025

2.806

3.819

5.281

Conventional

1.032

1.482

1.798

2.180

2.893

P value <

0.06

0.01

0.001

0.001

0.01

RMSE

0.2245

0.3087

0.3922

0.7076

1.2547

Differences between growth rates for each production system were significant only from day 28-35, resulting in an interaction (P<0.01) between age and production system.

26 POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:28 PM Page 27

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PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:28 PM Page 28

MANAGEMENT FEATURE v

Dead birds were collected and recorded daily. Birds on both farms were weighed at 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days. Feed conversion was calculated at the end of each batch for each farm and corrected to 2.45 kg live weight to be able to compare different killing age and final weights. Data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and exported to JMP v.8 (SAS Software).

Production system and age were used as leverage terms in a least square model to explore the main effects of both and interactions between the two on body weight and mortality.

As FCR was only known for a whole batch (not by age) the main effect of production system only was explored.

Significance was set at P < 0.05 and where differences existed means were separated using Tukeys HSD. Results The effects of age and production system on mortality rate and body weight are shown in Tables 1 and 2. There was a significantly higher mortality for free-range compared with conventional production.

Mortality rates for the first week did not differ between production systems.

However mortality rates from the second week and thereafter were significantly different.

Differences in mortality especially in the second week were mostly the result of yolk sac infection. Antibiotic treatment is not allowed in free range broiler production due to FREPA regulations. On the other hand, in a few batches, predator attacks occurred (mostly chicken hawks), and resulted in high mortality due to packup in the free range broiler farm when free range broilers had range access.

Discussion and conclusions That free range production systems return poorer performance in broiler chickens has been previously observed.

Weeks et al. (1994) showed that conventionally reared broilers had heavier (4.49 ± 0.08kg) body weight than free range broilers (4.08 ± 0.08kg) at ten weeks of age.

This performance gap was attributed to the fact that free range broilers perform walking, running and ground pecking behaviours more often than conventionally reared broilers and so the poor performance was associated with increased activity.

The results of the study by Weeks et al.

(1994) are comparable to the results presented herein where, at 35d, body weights of the conventional birds were around 7.5% greater than their free-range counterparts (Table 2).

Extrapolating the results from the

Table 2: Bird live weights by age Production System

7 d.

14 d.

21 d.

28 d.

35 d.

Free Range

151

398

803

1283

1776

Conventional

156

419

816

1318

1917

P value <

NS

NS

NS

NS

0.001

RMSE

10.776

25.674

43.674

45.485

65.129

FCR corrected to 2.45kg body weight was higher (P<0.05) in the free range production compared to the conventional production (Table 3). Growth rate was significantly slower in the free range system than in the conventional production system. Birds in the free range production system required 2 more days to reach 2.45 kg body weight than those in the conventional system.

Table 3: Effect of production system on feed conversion rate and growth rate

Free Range

1.975

Age Corrrected to 2.45 kg (days) 43.25

Conventional

1.874

41.20

P value <

0.05

0.05

RMSE

0.067

1.551

Production System

28

FCR Corrrected to 2.45 kg

POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

current study to the free range broiler industry in Australia, the impact of this higher FCR in free range production would cost around $8,000,000 per year. Further, the higher mortality in free-range systems may be indicative of stronger disease challenges and/or metabolic disorders.

Considerable demand exists for chicken meat that has been produced under freerange systems and this is expected to grow in the foreseeable future. This demand is partially emotive and linked to anthropomorphic interpretation of intensive animal practice.

However, the performance gap is substantial and may not be sustainable in the long-term. The reasons for this performance gap are obscure and further research is required to delineate the effects of the absence of antibiotic growth promoters and the effects of range access.

A greater appreciation for the challenges that free-range broilers face, whether immunological, nutritional or behavioural, will allow more appropriate and strategic intervention by producers on one or all of these axes.

Ackowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistances of free range farm managers Noelene Lewis, Graeme Stewart and conventional farm owner Mark Attard. The study could not have been conducted without the support of Red Lea Chickens and the Poultry CRC. References: ACMF (2011) http://www.chicken.org.au/page.php?id=6 Bennett RM, (1996) Animal Welfare, 5, 3-11.

Dixon J, (2002) The Changing Chicken.

University of New South Wales Press Ltd. Pp 89-90.

FREPA (2009) http://www.frepa.com.au/standards/meatstandards/ Harper GC, Makatouni A, (2002) British Food Journal, 104, 2887-299 Van Horne PLM, Achterbosch TJ, (2008) World’s Poultry Science Journal, 64, 40-52.

Weeks CA, Nicol CJ, Sherwin CM, Kestin SC, (1994) Animal Welfare, 3, 179-192. *Tugrul Durali is a post graduate researcher at the University of Sydney, Camden Campus and this research for his PhD has been supported by the Poultry CRC. He is also the Broiler Manager for Red Lea Chickens and qualified as a vet in Turkey. He worked in the growing poultry industry there before coming to Australia.

PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:28 PM Page 29

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PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:29 PM Page 30

NEWS Balancing profitability and comsumer demands at alltech’s 28th International symposium How can the poultry industry keep up with the increasing demand for poultry meat and also stay profitable in a world where transparency and sustainability are paramount?

Alltech’s 28th Annual International Symposium, held May 20 – 23 in Lexington, Kentucky, aims to answer this question by looking at solutions from the areas of nutrition and genetics, and from highly successful poultry regions in the world.

“Poultry meat has a fantastic reputation for being one of the world’s healthiest and most versatile products. This has resulted in a rise in global demand and also an increasing consumer focus on food safety, animal welfare and environmental impact,” said Nick Adams, co-chair of the poultry seminar.

“At this year’s Symposium the focus will be on maintaining consumer confidence while sustaining profitability. Both are essential if this industry is to grow at the rate necessary to meet global needs.”

Poultry focussed session topics will include: • Smarter Feed Solutions to Start your Birds Better – The facts.

• What do Birds Really Need? – The Brazilian perspective on real nutrient requirements, so different from ours.

• Reaching New Limits – Genetic advances in poultry and the challenge for nutritionists.

• Econometrics – Delivering more eggs by delivering the right nutrients at the right time.

The 2012 Symposium will be the forum for more than 100 presentations by industry experts.

Among the speakers at the poultry session will be Peter Ferket, North Carolina State University, USA; Osler Desouzart, OD Consulting, Planning and Strategy, Brazil; Gertrudes Corção, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and Bill Williams, Tegel Foods, New Zealand.

Looking to 2050’s burgeoning population, Alltech’s 2012 Symposium will focus on ideas for better use of resources, improved business practices and natural nutritional solutions.

New in 2012, breakout sessions will include legal, marketing, information technology and designer food in addition to the popular aquaculture, beef, dairy, equine, poultry, pig, pet and regulatory-focused offerings.

The event is expected to draw more than 2,500 delegates from around the world making it the industry’s largest symposium. To secure your place at the 2012 Alltech Annual International Symposium, visit www.alltech.com/symposium or contact symposium@alltech.com.

Act now to save 20% on registration through April 14.

If you would like to advertise in the PIX Preview edition of POULTRY DIGEST Magazine call (02) 4368 2220 or Mobile: 0419 235 288.

Email: rembery@iinet.net.au

30

POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:29 PM Page 31

NEWS American Humane Association awards Seal of Approval to Potters Poultry Potters Poultry International was recently awarded the Manufacturers Seal of Approval by the American Humane Association for their bird welfare friendly Aviary the Avitier 125-4 + Avinest.

Potters has been making and designing aviary systems for more than 22 years and this is the latest in the design based on work carried out on their own farms and customers around the World.

The Seal was presented to Potters at the IPE 2012 in Atlanta recently by Kathi Brock – Senior Director and Will Gillis Technical Co coordinator for the Farm Animal Program.

“We are extreamly pleased to achieve the high standards set by the American Humane Association for equipment and we see this as an endorsement of the research we have done in producing a unique, welfare friendly multi-tier system and nest boxes,” said Mike Button, Export Manager for Potters Poultry

Auspac Ingredients has appointed Harun Rashid AusPac ingredients has appointed Harun Rashid as Manager –Technical Services.

Harun qualified as a Veterinarian (DVM, 2002) in Bangladesh.

After graduation he worked for Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd (2004 – 2009) in the department of Veterinary Technical Services and Product Management.

He then joined Rivalea (Australia) Pty Ltd (2009 – 2011) where he had the opportunity to work in a large integrated pig production system.

Harun remained at Rivalea until his enrolment in Veterinary Science at Charles Sturt University.

Overall he has seven years of solid experience working in intensive poultry and pig production.

International.

“With the changing market to welfare friendly systems in America we look forward to working further with the industry and American Humane.

Go to info@potterspoultry.co.uk for more information on these products.

LtoR: Justin Potter, Mike Button of Potters Poultry with Kathi Brook and Will Gillis of American Humane Association.

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PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:29 PM Page 32

NEWS BeC celebrates 25 years of successful operation Brisbane based BEC Feed Solutions held a lunch on February 24th 2012 at its Carole Park facility for customers, suppliers, friends and staff to celebrate its 25th year of operation.

Originally established as Brisbane Export Company, an export trader of rural commodities, mainly to Europe and Asia, back in 1985, the company quickly developed into a domestic supplier.

Richard Reeder one of the founder members of the original and on-going enterprise, described the early days when 3 family groups with an investment of $10,000 each.

“Our slender resources taught real fiscal diligence as we grew the business,” he said.

“We sent out 8000 letters, got 400 replies which we converted to 20 customers in an era when the phone and telex where, apart from the mail, the main means of communication.

“Having achieved the original goal of establishing an export oriented company the partners were bought out and the business changed into a domestic feed supply organization,”Mr Reeder said.

“In 1988 a premix blending facility was established at Carole Park to be an adjunct to the development and expansion of the feed ingredient and additive product portfolio: further expansion took place when we acquired an adjacent property and opened a new office and warehouse facility in 1998.

Richard Reeder left) and Brett Antonio, current Managing Director of BEC Feed Solutions.

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“Our manufacturing operation was rebuilt in 2005 and this not only modernised and greatly increased our production capacity but enabled us to implement process control and state of the art concepts that further tightened our quality assurance and automated traceability.

“We aimed to achieve QA systems that would satisfy pharmacutical rather than feed industry standards,” he said.

“In 2007 we acquired the Adisseo Australia premix and additive business in Carole park and in 2009 this site was designated a dedicated non-medicated site, making it the only premixing facility in Australia with this feature.

“Now with a staff of more than 50, many of whom have been with us since early days we have developed a business that by giving good service, has grown along with the growers we supply,”Mr Reeder explained.

“Tony Reynolds our finance officer, for instance, has been with us for 22 years.

“Our growth through the last 25 years has not been without its challenges, including merging companies and a period in the late 1980s when interest rates hit 23%.

“Every so often we have had to focus on why we are here and how we intend to face the future, “he said.

“We could not have got to where we are without the help of our suppliers, consultants, and yes- our bank.

Brett Antonio, the current Managing Director of BEC Feed Solutions said that “Richard Reeder’s optimistic outlook on life CONTINUED ON PAGE 43 w

PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:29 PM Page 33

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PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:29 PM Page 34

NEWS Commercial free range broiler farm sold for $3.06 million Colliers International Rural & Agribusiness has sold a quality commercial free range broiler farm located approximately 58 kilometres north of Adelaide near Mallala for $3,060,000 and in a separate transaction, the former ‘Pro Poultry’ chicken processing plant at Tailem Bend for $300,000.

“The free range broiler farm known as ‘Banero’ was being marketed online only when an approach was made by a motivated private buyer,” said Jesse Manuel, Rural & Agribusiness Executive at Colliers International.

He said there is increasing activity in the general market place for poultry industry assets and most of this is occurring offmarket or with limited marketing.

“As well as existing producers and agribusiness funds, there are several parties from outside the industry looking at investment in the sector.”

Mr Manuel said Banero Broiler Farm is a quality chicken grow-out complex which currently operates as a free range farm and comprises a total land area of approximately 50.49 hectares.

Jesse Manuel from Colliers International

“The broiler operation consists of six climate controlled tunnel sheds and is contracted to Baiada Poultry, Australia’s largest chicken meat processor.

“This is a significant commercial farming operation, modern compared to many other broiler farms recently offered to the market and well located within close proximity to Baiada’s processing facility,” he said.

“This was an opportunity to secure a property with an instant cash flow with a good balance of lifestyle and business.”

In a separate transaction, Mr Manuel said the former ‘Pro Poultry’ property was sold to a local investor for $300,000 after being offered for sale late last year.

The property is located approximately 100 kilometres east of Adelaide at Tailem Bend and comprises a site area of approximately 45,980sq m.

“The improvements were constructed over 2006 to 2007 and designed to process up to 50,000 birds (chickens) per week,” he said.

According to Mr Manuel, Australia’s poultry industry continues to emerge as a key sector for property investors as global demand for poultry products helps to drive industry growth.

If you would like to advertise in the PIX Preview edition of POULTRY DIGEST Magazine call (02) 4368 2220 or Mobile: 0419 235 288.

Email: rembery@iinet.net.au

34

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News santrev has Inghams breeder complex on course Santrev, one of Australia’s leading poultry house builders, is well on the way to meeting the tight build timelines at the Ingham’s South Australia Hamley Bridge breeder complex.

The 4 farms at the complex will be more than tripled in capacity and are due to be completed in the middle of the year; bringing the monumental project of building new sheds and refurbishing the old sheds to a close.

Farm number one was completed on time and within budget in November with the first batch of breeders having been placed.

Steve Buckley, Inghams Breeder Service Person said “the Santrev team has been making excellent progress.

“We have very tight timelines for all four farms.

“Santrev has been fantastic, working on three farms simultaneously with up to 80

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News men across the sites. Our CEO Kevin McBain inspected the first farm and was very impressed”.

Santrev Director, Garry Sanday who is overall construction manager, made the decision to relocate to live near the site for the duration of the project to ensure there was hands-on, experienced control, under which the project is thriving.

“This project is very important to Inghams and to us and we wanted to make sure that we delivered on all our undertakings and build a world class breeder facility to support Inghams in South Australia,” Garry said.

“Santrev was selected by Inghams because of our outstanding success in designing and bringing large and complex development projects on time and within budget,” Garry said.

“The current success of the project has not come without setbacks, but any concerns have and will continue to be met with lasting enthusiasm.”

“There has been some interesting issues to solve, for instance, the conversion of the existing breeder sheds to full tunnel, extending them and marrying in the old with the new as well as planning for the full conversion to automated egg collection, packing and storage,” Garry continued.

“This is contained within the requirements of a fully biosecure, shower in/shower off facility.”

“The redeveloped complex will safeguard Ingham’s fertile egg production for the state into the future.

“In an ever more frequent role, Santrev was engaged as the prime contractor allowing Inghams to only have to deal with one supplier.

“This meant that Santrev took on overall responsibility for all the subcontractors and equipment suppliers,” Garry said.

“We have worked closely with Inghams to ensure we are delivering a facility that will perform and be reliable for now and well into the future at high efficiency.

“Products specified include Jansen nest systems and packers and VDL chain feeders and feed pans supplied through our existing arrangements; SKOV controllers and drinkers and mini-vents supplied through FarmMark.

“This will be a facility to rival any of the best in the world and we at Santrev are very proud to be a part of it”.

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News PIX 2012 Trade show â&#x20AC;&#x201C; more than 100 exhibitors PIX 2012 running from 20-23 May 2012 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre features the trade show with more than 100 exhibitors booked for the event. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is by far he biggest trade show ever put on for the poultry and stockfeed industries in Australia and in fact twice the size of PIX 2010 (the first to be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre). â&#x20AC;&#x153;In fact, the trade show has come to be seen as a must do event for suppliers to the poultry industry,â&#x20AC;? said Rod Jenner, President of the PIX organizing committee.

The Tunnel Ventilation Workshop on Wednesday 23rd May 2012 is back by popular demand.

Run by Mike Czarick with Brian Fairchild (University of Georgia US), the one day tunnel ventilation management workshop is aimed at meat chicken growers, though some sections will be useful to egg producers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mike and Brian will lead discussion about getting the most from your equipment, understanding your flockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s requirements, managing ventilation in various climatic scenarios and innovation in shed design,â&#x20AC;? revealed Rod. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the past this event has been booked out so it is important to book as soon as possible (www.pix.org.au/program/workshops) to ensure a place,â&#x20AC;? Rod added.

During the two days of PIX/AMC 2012, a number of free workshops will be conducted, covering areas such as breeder management, hatchery management and disease investigation all run by leaders in their field â&#x20AC;&#x153;For breeders, Dr Keith Bramwell from the University of Arkansas will lead workshops discussing how to optimise egg quality and viability â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with a maximum of 50 attendees per workshop (one and half hours repeated x 4) there will be plenty of opportunity to get your questions answered,â&#x20AC;? Rod said.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Scott Martin from Cobb Vantress will again lead our successful hatchery workshop (1 hour sessions x 4) and the groups are limited to 27 participants. â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;?Ask a Vet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; four of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading poultry veterinarians are making themselves available to lead discussions on disease management in both chicken meat and layer flocks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These workshops are for farmers and technical service personnel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Check the times for these workshops in your programs of events: bookings are not essential but advise us early if you want to guarantee your place,â&#x20AC;? Rod suggested.

The key message apart from resolving to attend the biggest PIX ever in 2012 is to plan early so that you achieve the maximum benefit from whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on offer be it talking to suppliers at the trade show or attending one of he special interest workshops.

Got to www.pix.org.au to book.

Dr Kevin Whithear accepts his 2012 Australian Poultry Award from Julie Roberts at the APSS Dinner. Professor Whithear has made an outstanding contribution to Poultry Science throughout his career and has also played an important role as an unselfish mentor to colleagues, helping the development of their careers.

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Key Facts About Mycotoxins • There are approximately 500 known mycotoxins.

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NEW PRODUCTS New solutions to old problems from OeC OEC has recently introduced some new products that offer a solution to long standing problems in broiler sheds.

The first is algae and scale in cooling pad systems which lower efficiency and ultimately lead to expensive pad replacement.

The answer, according to Martin Simmons, Managing Director of OEC is firstly OEC BioStrip, “which eliminates algae from within the pads, without the damage that can be inflicted by chlorine use in algae control”.

“Then OEC ScaleStrip prevents the build up of mineral scale in the cooling pad pipes and tanks that restricts water flow: this two stage approach will increase the working life of the pads and save on costly replacement, “Mr Simmons said.

“It’s not high tech or expensive, you just add OEC BioStrip and ScaleStrip to the cool pad basin once a month.

“The strips dissolve slowly over the first month releasing the ingredients that eliminate algae and scale: these chemicals are safe to use for birds and animals.

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“Once scale is under control, the OEC ScaleStrip needs only to be added to the water supply every two months.

“Each OEC BioStrip and OEC ScaleStrip covers 25 linear metres of cooling pad length,” Mr Simmons stated.

The other problem tackled by OEC is Poultry shed heating.

“Poultry shed heating presents risks such as fire hazard, fumes and attendent risk to both birds and farm staff, as well as serious financial and production implications,” warned Martin Simmons from OEC. “One solution is the new OEC ‘OziHeat’ heat exchange and destratificator system which eliminates shed fire risk by using external heating systems with water heat exchange transfer to the sheds,” he said.

“In each shed the destratificator system takes the hotter air from the shed roof, passes it through the heat exchange then delivers the hot air at ground level.

“This operation delivers the freshest and warmest air to the chickens, and at the same time flushes away ammonia odours.

“The OEC Ozi-Heat system simply takes advantage of the phenomena of hot air rising by drawing the hottest air in the shed, at roof level, into the heat exchange and delivering it at ground level.

“OEC is the Australian distributor for the critical components of the system which are manufactured in Italy.

“While the heat exchange system is primarily designed for oil or gas burning power sources it has potential for burning shed related products including old oil or used chook litter so it offers a ‘green’ as well as a safe shed heating solution,” Martin concluded.

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The ScaleStrip and BioStrip dissolve slowly over a period of time in the cool pade drain basin to eliminate algae and scale.

PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:29 PM Page 41

News study compares free range, cage-free and conventional egg production There are no overall performance advantages associated with free range production, said Dr Kenneth Anderson, Department of Poultry Science, North Carolina State University, during the Egg Production Workshop at the 2012 Midwest Poultry Federation Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota in the US. The workshop presented study results conducted at the Piedmont Research Station comparing free range, cage-free and conventional egg production.

The study observed the performance, egg quality and component percentages of eggs from hatch mates of two commercial brown egg strains and a heritage strain among the three housing environments.

Man-hour requirements and beak trimming were also examined. The birds within all three environments were raised with the same rearing program.

Eggs produced by the hens with full free range access had no quality advantage, but there were differences associated with the yolk color and shell strength, with the free range hens producing eggs with darker pigmentation of the yolk material.

The cage-free hens produced eggs with the lowest percentage of blood spots. Other quality factors were similar between all three environments.

Beak trimming appears to positively impact production characteristics, according to Anderson, which favors the continued use of beak trimming to control cannibalism mortality and feather pecking in egg layers. Mortality was the highest

among the free range hens at 22%.

Moving from intensive to extensive production systems requires significant increases in time commitments: a 45% increase in man-hours from conventional to cage-free, a 279% increase in man-hours from conventional to free range, and 161% increase in man-hours from cage-free to free range.

Dr Kenneth Anderson.

efficiency and longevity key to success of Gasolec G12 shed heaters Martyn Templeton, Sales Manager at Gameco for livestock heaters, reports new interest in the Gasolec G12 Radiant Space Heater.

“The heater, made in Holland, is of excellent quality and built to withstand the often corrosive atmosphere typical of poultry housing.

“Stainless steel is used in the construction of the Gasolec G12 unit which now has Australian Gas Association (AGA) approval,” Martyn said.

“Though a compact heater that is easy and simple to install (or move location in the shed), it has a 45 megajoule capacity and is designed to deliver even heat distribution to a diameter of up to 12 metres.

“There are two models; a stand alone option and a unit suitable for centralised control via a typical modern computer

based shed control system,” he added.

“The heater has been in service throughout the poultry industry for many years and the reputation of the Gasolec G12 just continues to grow and the fact that Gameco, Australian agents for the product, maintains a comprehensive stock of spares for our heaters ensures that they continue to deliver excellent service over a long life span,” Martyn explained.

“When first introduced, the initial cost of the Gasolec G12 was sometimes an issue but now as the reputation of the heater grows customers appreciate that their investment has resulted in sustained longevity as well as efficiency,” he said.

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HEALTH FEATURE

Biofilm and water quality – why are they gaining importance in modern poultry production systems?

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hat is Biofilm? Biofilm is a gelatinous tough layer consisting of cells immobilized in an organic polymer matrix of microbial origin.

Biofilms are collections of microorganisms (ie bacteria, yeasts, and protozoa) that form on a hard surface with the presence of water.

Some examples of biofilms are the plaque that forms on teeth and the slime that forms on surfaces in watery areas surrounded by slimy secretions. Over 90% of all bacteria live in biofilms.

Formation of biofilm Biofilm development is a result of successful attachment and subsequent growth of micro-organisms on a surface.

Biofilm harbours colonies of pathogenic bacteria.

Biofilm formation is a multi step process whereby bacteria adhere to equipment surfaces, surround themselves with a protective layer of polysaccharides and grow into a network of microcolonies and water channels (Geldreich & Rice, 1987).

Three development phases: 1) The surface is modified by attachment of organic molecules (eg. glucose, milk, vitamins etc.)

2) Reversible attachment of microbes to the organic layer and colonization 3) Irreversible attachment and biofilm formation. In a mature biofilm, the cells are organized into columns surrounded by large void spaces that form channels to carry nutrients (O2) deep into the biofilm Thus enclosed watering systems designed to keep birds and animals healthy, turn into the sources of delivery of

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pathogen rich water.

Detrimental effects of biofilms Several investigators have shown that the multiplication of micro-organisms in biofilms along the distribution systems results in the deterioration of the bacteriological quality of drinking water, the development of odour or colour as well as the acceleration of the phenomenon of corrosion within the pipe network (Nagy & Olson, 1985).

The most alarming results of biofilm formation are the presence and multiplication of pathogenic and opportunistic pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas, Mycobacteria, Campylobacter, Klebesiella, Aeromonas, Legionella spp., Helicobacter pylori and occurring within the biofilms (Engle et al., 1980; Wadowsky et al., 1982; Burke et al., 1984; Mackey et al., 1998) Problems caused by biofilms • Clogging of pipes and water filters and nipple drinkers. This can cause the drinkers to leak.

• Poor water flow leading to higher water temperatures, low flushing effect and limited water supply to the animals • Can cause proliferation of diseases mainly due to the source of E. coli and Salmonella • Can form almost anywhere that water is present, including water and liquid feed channels • Extra cost for maintenance and cleaning Control and prevention of biofilms • By preventing the initial adhesion of bacteria, but practically very difficult • By decreasing humidity, reducing leaks from pipes and improving poor drainage • By allowing the surface to dry on which the biofilm is formed. This is effective but difficult to perform.

• By removing biofilms once they have

PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:29 PM Page 43

NEWS formed. This is difficult to achieve but is the only current practical approach in poultry housing.

• By proper cleaning and disinfection by Chlorine, Hydrogen Peroxide etc. Chlorine has limited use due to inherent odour and a negative effect on live vaccine and medications. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) will effectively remove the biofilm, but is very unstable.

• Control and prevention can be achieved successfully once the system is cleared of biofilms by frequent and routine sanitation of the system with effective organic acid products designed for this purpose.

Sources: http://www.biofilmsonline.com AHMAD et al. / J. Agri. Soc. Sci., Vol. 4, No. 2, 2008.Biofilm Formation and Drinking Water Quality in Relation to Escherichia coli at Commercial Poultry Farms: Lehtola, M.J., T. Juhna and I.T. Miettinen, 2004. Formation of biofilm in drinking water distribution networks, a case study in two cities in Finland and Latvia. J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 31: 489–94 Mackay, W.G., L.T. Gribbon, M.R. Barer and D.C. Reid, 1998.Biofilms in drinking water systems – A possible reservoir for Helicobacterpylory. Water Sci. Technol., 38: 181–5

business have to worry about shareholder returns, potential takeovers, or worse (maybe), lack of interest in being taken over!

Those behind BEC Feed Solutions have basically taken the long term view and 25 years on that view has got them to where they want to be.

It is often said that one of the reasons for the rise of Asian success in global business is that where western oriented developed economies think in terms of five years, in Asia there may be a five year plan but its just part of a 25 year philosophy.

Twenty five years on since the Brisbane Export Company opened its doors as a commodity trader with just $30,000 to support the business, it has developed into an organisation that occupies a commanding position in its chosen sector – the livestock industry.

p

v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32 had instilled decades of loyalty in BEC staff and his ambition to transform the company into a leading stockfeed supplier through both drive and investment in infrastructure and people, had been truly realised.”

It is good that a company like BEC Feed Solutions can celebrate its milestones by getting together with all who contribute to their current and potentially future success at an event like the one they held on February 24.

Though Richard Reeder and Brett Antonio spoke of steps in the growth of the business there was plenty of focus on just having a good time.

The master of ceremonies and talented entertainer at the event kept proceedings from ever getting too serious.

BEC Feed Solutions today is an interesting company that has its roots in people involved in farming and livestock generating a business for farmers and their livestock.

Richard Reeder spoke of keeping focus and ‘who we are and what we do’, and without doubt keeping that focus has contributed to the emergence of a highly successful business.

As a private company with long held family interests it contrasts with public companies who in addition to running their core

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NEWS v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 probiotics could not replace subtheraputic antibiotics to be no more, i.e, myth busted!

DFMs offer a great potential as a technology for producing poultry meat in the post-antibiotics era, and assure a sustainable livelihood for farmers and poultry producers,” he concluded.

Nasser Odetallah from Novus International USA next spoke on ‘Effects of protease supplementation on broiler performance and in vitro digestibility’.

In the session after lunch on Feb 21 with Julie Roberts from University of New England in the chair, ‘Poultry and vet science association global addresses,’ two individuals who have truly exerted a global influence on poultry science explained the functions and achievements of their respective organizations.

Trevor Bagust, Global President of WVPA spoke first: his paper, ‘Enhancing poultry production: the world veterinary poultry association (WVPA) and Australia to present and beyond 2020’.

In his address Dr Bagust warned of the problem of zoonotic food-borne pathogens particularly Campylobacteria, Salmonella species serotypes and Listeria monocyto-

genes; “they can present huge threats to the economic viability of commercial poultry companies in both the egg and meat sectors of the industry,” he warned.

“In dealing with these issues and others, our best approach lies in forward defense, by ensuring that we have well trained professionals in place within the poultry industry and then we must support them with accurate information from past and current occurrences,” he said.

Dr Bob Pym, Global President of the WPSA spoke of the “100 years of service to the worldwide poultry industry”.

Firstly Dr Pym pointed out that not only had the WPSA contributed to the world’s poultry industry but since 1956 had a significant effect on the ever growing Australian poultry industries.

“In response to the major projected increase in poultry meat and egg production as well as consumption in developing countries, WPSA has focused increasing attention on facilitating efficient, sustainable and socially equitable poultry production in these countries.

“Associated with this, WPSA and WVPA are working towards a closer degree of cooperation and collaboration,” he said.

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Top: Eugeni Roura from the University of Queensland. Above: Dean Powell (left) and Robert Swick from the University of New England.

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PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:29 PM Page 45

NEWS It is worth noting that, in what must be a unique circumstance in the history of both of these important and globally significant organisations, a pair of highly regarded and experienced scientists like Trevor Bagust and Bob Pym are global presidents of the WVPA and WPSA. In the second of the short communication sessions: ‘Health & Welfare’ 13 five minute papers were delivered including, ‘Determination of the virulence and pathogenicity of Australian Fowl Adenovirus field strains in chickens at two different ages,’ by Penelope Steer, a post graduate PhD student from Melbourne University.

This paper won the Poultry CRC Award for the ‘Best Presentation by a Student’ which was presented by Poultry CRC CEO Dr Mingan Choct.

For the Symposium Dinner 2012 delegates took to the magnificent waters of the Harbour aboard the Star Ship Sydney for a fabulous dinner cruise.

The quality of APSS Dinners in recent years has risen magnificently and the 2012 event will be a challenge to beat – food, scenery, company all excellent!

The Australian Poultry Award, presented

annually to an Australian resident who has made a long term outstanding contribution to poultry science and/or the Australian poultry industry, went in 2012 to Dr Kevin Whithear.

On February 22, the final day of formal proceedings with Bob Swick from University of New England in the chair the first of the Hot Topic sessions – ‘Laying hens: current issues and opportunities’ was introduced.

James Kellaway, CEO of AECL delivered the first keynote paper ‘Major strategies and challenges within AECL’.

“The Australian Egg Industry continues to evolve into a large scale professional business servicing a dynamic market with a range of eggs and egg products by farmers who care about producing the highest quality, safest product, our environment, providing choice, the welfare of our hens and feeding our growing population,” Mr Kellaway said, in his introduction.

He went on to describe an industry which has managed to dramatically increase consumption in the face of major challenges from minority interest groups and ever-rising production costs.

The next keynote speaker, Michael Elliot from A&E Nutritional Services in the USA spoke about ‘New concepts in layer nutrition’.

“This is an exciting time to be involved with laying hen nutrition,” he said.

“Genetic potential improves with each generation with earlier maturity and improved production persistency: all this with smaller body weight and reduced feed intake capacity.

“The ever increasing cost of feed ingredients has made us more acceptable of alternate ingredients and additives.

“Available to us are various enzymes, pro and pre-biotics, organic minerals and an assortment of synthetic animo acids.

“Universities and suppliers continue to help us advance nutrition knowledge and provide us with tools to properly evaluate ingredients.

“It is our job as commercial nutritionists to put all this knowledge together and deliver a nutrition package that best optimizes the cost of production,” he concluded.

In the final session of the 2012 APSS with Peter Groves in the chair from the University of Sydney, the 2nd Hot Topic w

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POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

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NEWS

20-23 MAY 2012 POULTRY INFORMATION EXCHANGE (PIX2012) AUSTRALASIAN MILLING CONFERENCE (AMC) Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Australia

FEATURING

THE TUNNEL VENTILATION WORKSHOP WITH MIKE CZARICK FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, USA The conference also includes specialised workshops on Breeders, Hatchery and Ask a Vet.

JOHN KERIN AM Chairman, Poultry CRC

JULIAN CRIBB Author and Journalist

JOHN KENIRY Chairman, Australian Farm Institute

MICHAEL BROOKS Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand

JACKIE HEALING Coles Supermarkets

The conference includes specialised workshops on Breeders, Hatchery, Ask a Vet and Tunnel Ventilation.

Visit our trade exhibition with over 100 Exhibitors - local and international.

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WWW.PIX.ORG.AU 46

POULTRY DIGEST, February/March 2012

v was ‘Retailer pressure and global commodity markets – a ticking time bomb’.

Ian Lean from SBScibus, Australia, spoke passionately and convincingly on the topic of, ‘Effects of retailer pressure on the efficiency of agricultural industries.

He painted a picture of a developed and potentially developing world, (and Australia in particular), where growing populations with increasing food requirements are sleep walking into potentially cataclysmic food shortages as a direct result of the influence of sectional interests.

“It is very clear that we will need more food in the future.

“The increase in production will need to substantially come through the adoption of new technologies.

“The rejection of technologies such as antibiotics in chickens or HGPs in beef, that increase producer profit, improve animal well being, provide safe highly nutritious food at reasonable cost and that reduce the environmental impact of production should be regarded as unethical,” he said.

“The additional risks that may increase the costs and barriers to adoption of new technologies needed to feed the future population should be regarded as extremely worrying.

“The ban on HGPs by Coles stimulated an unprecedented response by senior leading agricultural and veterinary scientists for these reasons,” Ian Lean concluded.

“Crossroads for growth; changing commodity markets urge poultry industry to change feed grains outlook’ was the critical topic tackled by Dean Smith, senior analyst in the Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory division at Rabobank Australia & New Zealand.

Mr Smith warned that when it came to global feed stocks we were in effect ‘running on empty’.

“When it came to corn stocks there is likely to be a seven million tonne deficit in 2011/2012,” he warned.

“The US corn to ethanol strategies were using 130 million tones of crop – the equivalent to the total global barley crop “The poultry industry needed to minimize volatility in its feed cost by managing changes,” he said.

These are just a selection of papers mentioned mostly concentrating keynote and overseas-based invited speakers.

There is plenty of good material in the shorter presentations from Australian based scientists also postgraduate students who contributed 5-minute presentations.

Another innovation at the 2012 APSS was electronic posters shown on video screens during meal breaks.

For a PDF file of the proceedings go to: http://sydney.edu.au /vetscience/apss/documents/2012/APSS2012Proceedings.pdf Full marks to the organisers, the Poultry Research Foundation (University of Sydney) and The World’s Poultry Science Association (Australian Branch).

Without sponsors theses events just don’t happen. Invited Speaker Sponsors were: AB Vista Feed ingredients, AECL Egg Program, ADM International, Danisco, Poultry Research Foundation, RIRDC Chicken Meat Program.

Gold Sponsors were: DSM Nutrition Products Pty Ltd, Feedworks/Danisco, Poultry CRC. Silver Sponsors were AB Vista, Alltech Biotechnology Pty Ltd, BEC Feed Solutions, Evonik Degussa Australia Pty Ltd, Kemin (Aust) Pty Ltd, Novus International Pty ltd, Pfizer Animal Health.

Bronze Sponsors were: Aviagen Australia Pty Ltd, Biomin Australia, Elanco Animal Health, JEFO Australia, Kemin (Australia), Kemira, Phibro Animal Health Alternative Sponsors: Taylor & Frances.

PDFebMar2012:PDFEBMAR09 5/04/12 4:29 PM Page 47

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