Poultry Digest April/May 2017

poultrydigest April/May 2017

www.primarymedia.com.au

Volume 32, Number 5

State of the art hatchery opens to supply Australian egg farmers

VIV Asia 2017 expands its focus

AECL Forum: New name, new direction

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Volume 32, Number 5

April/May 2017

EDITORIAL & DESIGN EDITOR: JOURNALIST/PHOTOGRAPHER PRODUCTION EDITOR

Peter Bedwell Alex Bedwell Rosemary Embery

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Features Page 10: State of the art hatchery opens to supply Australian chicken farmers

by Peter Bedwell

Page 18: Salmonella and eggs – is it inevitabe without effective vaccines?

by George Arzey

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Page 44: Feather-eating hens show specific essential amino acid appetites

by S. Cho; J.M. Kim; and E. Roura, University of Queensland

News Page 4: VIV Asia 2017 expands its focus Page 22: Birds enjoy world class climate control Page 26: AECL Forum: New name, new direction Page 34: ACMF and QFF mourn loss of Gary Sansom Page 35: Inghams expanding network plan into WA Product News Page 32: CCD Animal Health appointed to distribute products for DOX-AL Italia Page38: Munters Drive – revolutionising future farming

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NEWS

VIV Asia 2017 expands its focus The VIV Asia event, held once again at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in Thailand, was held on March 15-17, 2017.

When Poultry Digest first visited the VIV Asia event many years ago, the focus was purely on pig and poultry production.

In 2017 the event covered not only pigs and poultry production but also food technology, aqua, dairy, pets and horticulture.

What this expansion into more aspects of agriculture demonstrates is the change in living standards, not only in Thailand but throughout the SE Asian region.

Dairy products, once a niche market luxury, are now commonplace as kids go to school in Bangkok with their cute little bottles of milk, now almost as ubiquitous as their mobile smart devices.

While the exhibition halls at the gigantic Bangkok centre were crammed full of exhibitors, there was less of a focus on poultry production than there has been in the past.

However, the hundreds of exhibitors concentrating on feed additives, animal health and nutrition in general, covered poultry production in their product ranges.

While many poultry related exhibitors, such as numerous feed additive suppliers, would have little chance of gaining entry into Australia due to potential regulatory issues, there were however a number of internationally recognised suppliers of products that do comply with Australian APVMA requirements, though not quite in the density Poultry Digest has seen in previous visits.

What is not in doubt about VIV Asia is the quality of the turnout on exhibitors’ booths. In short, companies large and small send their ‘A teams’.

Not only CEOs, directors and industry ‘hot shots’, but also their best scientists and researchers.

We met Dr Gary Partridge, Global and Technical Director at Danisco, who is no stranger to Australia’s animal nutrition industry.

With him on the DuPont/Danisco stand at VIV was Dr Kirsty Gibbs, who impressed delegates at the Feedworks conference in September 2016 when she presented details of her research on Enviva Pro, a product that offers potential to improve bird performance

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and reduce dependence on anti microbials.

On the Alltech stand we met Dr Tugrul Durali, now working with Bromley Park in New Zealand and Tara Tiller (nee Jarman).

UK-based MD Steve Bourne told Poultry Digest about some interesting new product developments that we should be able to reveal soon.

Poultry Digest also saw Mark 1 Peebles and Mike Pritchard from Alltech Lienert at the VIV event.

Mike pointed out the LANXESS aerial disinfection misting product on the Virkon stand, a thermal fogging methodology for terminal disinfection in poultry sheds.

“Aerial misting can be effective in the presence of animals during disease outbreaks and can reduce cross infection of respiratory diseases.

“It can also prevent secondary infections of respiratory diseases,” Mike said.

Biomin had a big presence and Dr Neil Gannon and Darryl Meaney from Biomin Australia were on the stand.

Their alternatives to support reduced antibiotic use are as important to SE Asia as they are in Australia and New Zealand.

On the Jefo stand Poultry Digest caught up with Jean Fontaine the founder and owner of the rapidly expanding Jefo company, Australia/ NZ MD for Jefo Wayne Bradshaw, Eric Girard, Jefo’s Chief Operating Officer and Jefo latest recruit, Adam Naylor. w

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1. Brian Cosgriff, Aviagen Group’s Marketing Director and Marc Scott from Aviagen NZ. 2. Cemlyn Martin from Kemin Asia. 3. Bob Nicholls (right) and Jan Wesjohann, EW Nutrition. 4. LtoR: Eric Girard, Jefo COO; Adam Naylor, Jefo’s Sales Director - SE Asia; Wayne Bradshaw, Jefo Australia and founder of Jefo Jean Fontaine.

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Adam, who has had a long and successful career in animal nutrition, was appointed by Jefo just before VIV Asia to run the company’s growing SE Asian operations.

Just after visiting the Jefo stand we saw Cemlyn Martin, an ex colleague of Adam Naylor. Cemlyn is now with Kemin Asia.

Anpario is a UK based manufacturer of livestock feed additives for animal health, hygiene and nutrition and just prior to VIV Asia 2017 announced the acquisition of its Australian, New Zealand and PNG distributor Cobbett Pty Ltd. Poultry Digest met Anpario’s CEO Richards Edwards on their stand at VIV. UK based Anpario is a combination of three well known UK founded companies, Meriden Animal Health, Kiochagil and Optivite.

Well known products include OregoStim and Salkil.

“Cobbett has been Anpario’s distributor for 20 years supplying the Oceania region with a number of Anpario’s key product brands including Salkil, pHorce, Neutox, Mycostat and Mastercube to animal production and stockfeed customers,” Mr Edwards said.

“The business will continue to trade under the Cobbett name and Jenetta Russell will remain in the position of General Manager.

AGCO is a global company marketing a range of products for the poultry industry from Cumberland feeders to complete livestock housing structures.

Modern intensive livestock rearing and poultry in particular require sophisticated control systems and components of the AGCO Edge range were on display on the company’s stand at VIV 2017.

Climate controlled sheds also need a reliable power source and AGCO had its AG 60 60-250KVA diesel powered generator on display designed for both back up and primary power.

The AG 60 is highly mobile and can be used in a variety of situations and is part of a range of power generators that cater for just about any application on climate controlled intensive livestock farms.

Poultry industry genetic suppliers are regulars at VIV Asia and 2017 was no exception.

Hy-Line and Lohmann each had a display to cater for growing layer demand in SE Asia and Poultry Digest caught up with Brian Cosgriff, Aviagen Group’s Marketing Director and Marc

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Scott, who heads up Aviagen’s New Zealand operation.

On March 16 Aviagen Asia Pacific ran three seminars where Michael Longley presented Grand Parent stock updates on Indian River, Arbor Acres and Ross genetics.

1 Israel ran a ‘guest nation’ display area featuring innovative products that would be well known to Australian growers.

These included the prefabricated Agrotop broiler and layer sheds, the Water on Demand system from Plasson (Australian agent is Technical Services Australia) and AgroLogic shed controllers.

Fan technology for poultry housing has improved dramatically in recent 2 years and on display were some of the latest offerings that provide improved efficiency and power savings.

Termotecnica Pericoli showed a wide range including new centre drive options for both wall and chain mounted destratification fans.

Munters had a sample of its new Euroemme Cone main fans on display and a new ‘chimney’ roof fan, also a range of shed control equipment which includes the Rotem product.

On the SKOV stand Australian based Export Manager Arne Overgaard pointed out SKOV’s latest main fan.

“The centre drive Skov BlueFan will revolutionise the fan market,” he said.

“We believe this fan has a leading high airflow ratio combined with very high energy efficiency.

“Important for markets like Australia, the fan is designed as a knock down system saving on freight costs. It is easy to assemble on site and made of highly durable materials. w

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1. Vencomatic’s Simon McKenzie with Peter Schreurs, Vencomatic Group Director of Operations Asia/Pacific. 2. The AGCO 60 60-2250 KVA diesel powered generator. 3. Munters’ new Euroemme Core main fan on display.

4. Neil Gannon from Biomin. 5. Tara Tiller from Alltech with Tugrul Durali, now with Bromley Park in New Zealand.

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“Our claim that the BlueFan is the most energy efficient with high airflow ratio is not an unsubstantiated claim.

“It is based on test results from the Bioenvironmental and Structural System (BESS) laboratory which is a research, product testing and educational laboratory (University of Illinois USA),” Arne explained.

SKOV has recently completed its first major installation in Queensland and we look forward to reporting on this farm in the near future.

We didn’t even have to go to the VIV BITEC venue to meet Vencomatic’s Simon McKenzie and Patarker’s Paul Bigeni as we all arrived in Bankok on the same bird from Sydney.

Peter Schreurs, Vencomatic Group’s Director of Operations for Asia/ Pacific was also on the Vencomatic stand showing off the latest design modifications to the Veranda Aviary system for cage free layer farms.

Roxell, established in Belgium 50 years ago, are global leaders in intensive livestock feed technology.

The company is constantly improving design details in its products and on display at VIV was a range of Roxell’s improved feedpan designs to suit all growth phases and species.

Poultry Digest met Roxell’s Marketing Communications Manager Peggy Matthys when we looked over the ever growing product range.

One trend that was of note in the processing section of poultry industry products was equipment to help broiler meat producers to value add their raw materials.

AFO Heat Technology (a subsidiary of Marlen International), offers gas powered or infra red meat searing technology for grilling, roasting, barmarking and searing applications.

“Poultry is ideal for grilling-roastingsearing or barmarking and to respond to the trend of low fat, we offer the ideal solution to upgrade your poultry products without frying,” AFO stated in its literature.

They also need sophisticated control systems and components of the AGCO Edge range were on display on its stand at VIV. Poultry Digest first met Bob Nicol, now Managing Director of EW Nutrition’s SE Asia/Oceania operations, at our first visit to VIV ASia in Bangkok more than 10 years ago.

The giant family-owned EW Nutrition, well known for its poultry genetics, has expanded into other livestock related enterprises including vaccines and nutritional products.

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On the EW Nutrition stand at VIV Asia 2017, we met both Bob who was with Jan Wesjohann, the head of the global EW Nutrition enterprise.

We were told that EW was making good progress with nutrition strategies for the Australian poultry industry with numerous customers and projects on-going with some of the major producers.

In the future we look forward to learning more about the overall EW enterprise.

The increasing prosperity of SE Asia offers great opportunities for our livestock industries and in particular value added poultry products.

Australia already has a full free trade agreement with Thailand and though price will always be a factor in trading with the region, quality and food safety are just as important to a society that places high value on good food.

Along with increasing wealth, Thailand with a population of close to 70 million, has developed a sophisticated retail sector supplying an ever increasing range of high quality food products and it would be nice to think that Australian poultry products might find a market there.

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1. The Lanxess aerial disinfection misting product on the Virkon stand.

2. Alex Bedwell from Poultry Digest with partner Jessie Upson at the Biomin rooftop party in Bangkok. 3. Biomin hosted people from all over the world at the rooftop party. 4. Peggy Matthys on the Roxell stand.

The internationally renowned company now supplying Australia Superb Engineering Agrotop has been designing and building housing for global markets since 1989.

The prefabricated sheds are not only super efficient but quick to erect, saving labour costs and allowing growers to place their birds faster than with more conventional shed construction.

Versatile design Agrotop sheds have a unique versatile design which allows growers to either operate free range production systems or fully enclosed rearing.

They also have the ability to switch between systems should there be a biosecurity threat or adverse weather conditions.

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Thermally efficient Agrotop sheds incorporate a unique roof space feature that keeps the shed cooler in summer and generates warm air in winter.

This means lower energy costs and better bird performance throughout the growing cycle.

SBA Opening of its new harchery with invited guests.

State of the art hatchery opens to supply Australian egg farmers

By PETER BEDWELL

S

pecialised Breeders Australia (SBA) is the largest supplier of day old chicks and point of lay pullets to the Australian egg industry.

Based close to the Victorian city of Bendigo and employing more than 140 staff, SBA supplies the world’s leading layer breeds, Hy-Line Brown

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and Lohmann Brown to Australian egg producers.

A company press statement released on May 8 announced production had commenced at a custom designed hatchery in Rochester, Victoria.

This hatchery is the culmination of more than five years of sourcing, design and construction work and will provide Australian egg farmers with a secure supply of high quality livestock for decades to come.

Richard Rayner, CEO of SBA, explained “We have been able to take advantage of recent advancements in single stage incubation technology and a new process known as SPIDES (Short Periods of Incubation During Egg Storage).

“These improvements result in more consistent, better quality hatches which means a dependable supply of high quality chicks for our customers.

“The new hatchery has been

designed with an eye to the future, allowing for rapid capacity expansion into the existing structure and site planning permission in place to double capacity through further development.

“The $19 million project has been completed using Petersime Incubators and Ecat automation from Belgium and France respectively and contractors from around regional Victoria.

“Designing a new hatchery from the ground up has given SBA the ability to create a state of the art facility with world class bio-security, including an off-site truck and chick basket wash, alongside the best available chick processing technology to ensure efficient processing at the highest possible welfare standards,” Mr Rayner said.

The new hatchery will be staffed by a mixture of workers transferring from SBA’s existing hatchery and residents of the Rochester district.

“Welcome to the world’s newest

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hatchery,” said Mr Rayner, when welcoming guests to the new Rochester facility on March 30.

“We thought that this would be a good opportunity to show you around before we go into biosecurity lock down.

“The facility features the latest and most advanced hatchery design and technology and the company is both ISO and HACCP accredited.

“Apart from being the leading supplier of layer genetics with the world’s best two layer breeds, SBA supply Seqirus (formerly CSL) with hatching eggs for human flu vaccine manufacture.

“Our market share of layer genetics rose to 65% in 2016 and is projected to continue increasing” he said.

“There is the question of our responsibility as a critical supplier to the layer industry where biosecurity, supply continuity and redundancy are our paramount concerns.”

In defining differences between existing hatchery infrastructure and the new Rochester facility, Mr Rayner identified key risks as being the hatchery and production site on the same location and trucks and chick baskets returning to the hatchery.

“The new direction for SBA, to reduce risk and increase security, involves a new hatchery and four parent stock farms with a significant biosecurity buffer between each operation.

“A remote truck wash and delivery basket sanitation depot and three new chick delivery trucks with state of the art Van Ravenhorst bodies with increased systems back up capability.”

These trucks have two generators to ensure that a stable temperature can be maintained for the chicks at all times.

The trucks cover some of the greatest distances on the planet and operate in temperatures from cool temperate in the south to tropical conditions up north.

“There have been years of research devoted to selecting the best design and equipment for our new hatchery with the key aims of improving chick quality, hygiene levels and having the ability for future expansion.

“We experienced 12 months of delays due to objections and VCAT interventions,” Mr Rayner explained.

“The design parameters were to employ the best available incubation and automation technology and achieve the best process flow and building hygiene.

“We wanted to use the best possible heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) for optimum conditions and airflow direction. Water sanitation is also of critical importance.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 w

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1. SBA used Petersime because it provided superior multi-stage incubation equipment that’s easy to clean and efficient. 2. Richard Raynor, CEO of SBA. 3. Richard Kooji from UPEC, Australian agent for Petersime and French company ECAT which provided advanced hatchery handling systems.

4. Technologically advanced chick counter. 5. The new state of the art hatchery near Bendigo in Victoria.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 “SBA partnered with Petersime for a number of reasons including the fact that they were technologically advanced, offered good back up and support in Australia, are easy to clean and energy efficient.

“Most of all however, is that we believe their product will produce the best quality chicks.

“The single stage design feature of the Petersime equipment is superior to multi stage incubation, offers better single batch control with a tighter hatch spread delivering better hatchability, better chick quality and better liveability.”

Mr Rayner went on to explain the “short periods of incubation during egg storage (SPIDES) delivered a more even start to incubation, better hatchability, better chick uniformity and required less donor flocks per placement”.

ECAT Automation is a French based company producing hatchery handling systems for small, medium and large scale operations.

“Our new ECAT systems mean less manual handling of eggs leading to better hatchability and improved chick quality,” Mr Rayner explained.

“The systems consist of auto trolley, tray and basket washing, drying and sanitising to improve hygiene levels.

“Efficient and accurate chick handling which includes technologically advanced chick counters delivers accurate chick numbers per box delivered to our customers.

“In a modern and hygienic hatchery, ventilation and air flow is of critical importance.

“In our clean to dirty airflow strategy we have the highest (+ve) pressure in cleanest areas and lowest in dirtiest areas.

“Achieving maximum possible building hygiene, involved detailed design planning and some major investment.

“Floors are not bare concrete which can degrade but epoxy sealed.

“All drains and automation equipment are fabricated in stainless steel. There is movement sensitive lighting (no manual switches) and no conduits or power points on wall surfaces and finally there is a ring main sanitation system,” Mr Rayner said.

“The new facility will have a capacity of 14 million chicks a year and the design allows for extra incubators within the existing building in order to double that capacity as market demand grows.

“Planning approval is in place to extend the building when required in order to increase capacity and we can move to four day hatching and use the same processing areas and equipment.

“New farm sites will also contribute to our ability to double current capacity. v

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1. State of the art trucks have two generators to ensure stable temperature.

2. New ECAT system means less manual handling of eggs. Floors are epoxy sealed so they don’t degrade. 3. Phillipe Boxho, Petersime’s Area Sales Manager , Australasia. 4. The new facility will handle 14 million chicks a year.

“So we have a new hatchery, new farms, new trucks and a dedicated truck and chick basket sanitising depot.

“All this will improve our quality, biosecurity and capacity to supply a growing industry,” Mr Rayner concluded.

Poultry Digest has twice visited the SBA Rochester site. On the first occasion in February 2014, Richard Rayner took us to see the recently acquired greenfield site at Rochester.

We also met Derek Shotton, Projects Manager for SBA and Chris Rowell, SBA’s Marketing Manager at the company’s office to learn about the ambitious plans for the new hatchery.

Just over a year later we returned and along with SBA’s staff and leading members of Australia’s layer industry, we toured the new Rochester facility to inspect the completed project.

The ‘belts and braces’ approach to biosecurity, efficiency and product quality is impressive. SBA, the staff and investors deserve huge credit for the timely completion of a project that is vital to the layer sector in Australia.

At a time when egg consumption is on the rise both through per person increase and population expansion, reliable and quickly expandable layer chick production is essential to satisfy a growing demand.

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HEALTH FEATURE

Salmonella and eggs – is it inevitable without effective vaccines?

By GEORGE ARZEY, Poultry Veterinarian I have seen the confusion, misery and sense of guilt experienced by egg producers when human Salmonella outbreaks were traced to their farms.

Many of these farms that became implicated in human Salmonella outbreaks had good quality assurance programs.

Some farms were with brand new sheds and good hygiene practices.

These were mostly main stream industry farms.

Over 17 years as the registrar of the NSW/Victoria Salmonella Enteritidis Accreditation Program, I encountered a variety of Salmonella on many layer farms. Based on these accumulated data a study that I published in Proceeding of the WPSA Conference (Qld, 2008), highlighted the lack of association of Salmonella with poor farm standards.

Some farms implicated in human egg-linked salmonellosis went to great lengths to control Salmonella including feeding vegetable protein, pelleting feed, acidifying feed, installing UV on the grading line, egg washing and oiling, prompt egg collection and refrigeration.

A farm in Tasmania described by the authorities as an “Operation that appears to be as good as, or better than, other egg producing operations” suffered repeated outbreaks (Smith, Mercury, March 2009).

The prevalence of Salmonella on clean graded eggs was estimated to be 0.06%. (NSW FA Periodic Review of the Risk Assessment, 2013). This translates to approximately three million clean, graded eggs with Salmonella reaching the market (based on annual egg production of 421 million dozen eggs in 2015).

Is it possible that we tend to blame egg producers with little justification?

Why do eggs from well managed farms carry Salmonella?

Farm surveys carried out in NSW (2013) and Queensland (2014, 2015) revealed that Salmonella is common on many egg farms regardless of their standards. Only the incurable optimist would believe that when Salmonella is present in the hen’s environment, eggs

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would be free of it.

Furthermore, many cry foul when the odd egg carries Salmonella and causes Salmonella in humans but somehow forget that as the egg is laid it shares the same orifice – the hen arse (vent) as faeces. This is a good opportunity for egg contamination.

More opportunities for shell contamination exist once the egg is exposed to the shed environment (e.g. dust). Visible dirt or faeces is not necessary for Salmonella shell contamination and subsequently penetration into the egg.

The regulatory approach to egg safety that is currently operating in Australia, imposes certain requirement on egg producers and egg businesses.

These requirements do not address one fundamental risk aspect – the chook arse.

Ignoring the simple anatomical fact of eggs and faeces sharing the same space has resulted in quite a few producers being caught in the web of the regulatory framework and being blamed, or worse, blaming themselves for outbreaks of human egg-linked Salmonella.

Ignoring this risk also leads to a less cautious approach by food handlers to eggs. Indeed egg-implicated Salmonella outbreaks are being triggered mostly by sub-optimal hygiene practices in food outlets, restaurants and catering businesses as well as temperature abuse of raw egg products (e.g. mayonnaise, aioli).

In February 2017 the Qld Minister for Health warned the public to “stop playing Russian roulette with raw egg” (Media Statement, Sunday February 05, 2017).

Inappropriate storage temperature plays a crucial role in Salmonella outbreaks and the lack of a national regulatory requirement to refrigerate eggs once delivered to various food outlets (including supermarkets and corner shops) is enigmatic when it is considered that Salmonella are able to multiply most effectively in older eggs and according to SA Health “Eggs age more in a day at room temperature than in a week in the fridge”.

Dr George Arzey.

In its periodic Review of the Risk Assessment (2013), NSW Food Authority concluded that the eggs with a damaged yolk membrane (as a result of ageing) are likely to be a key factor in outbreaks.

When simple anatomical and ecological facts are ignored and when a key risk is overlooked, resulting in the absence of a mandatory requirement to refrigerate eggs along the entire chain, the likelihood of a successful regulatory outcome could be questioned.

The success of the regulatory approach Qld was the first to introduce Egg Food Safety regulations in 2005. NSW followed in 2010. In May 2011 Food Standards Australia New-Zealand (FSANZ) gazetted a Food Standard (Standard 4.2.5) that was adopted nationally. FSANZ stated that “with the implementation of the Standard the reduced disease burden is expected to be in the range of 35% -70%”.

The Australian Institute of Food Safety (Food Safety Notes, 2015) described the situation in Queensland “Not so Egg-cellent; Queensland 2015 Salmonella Crisis”.

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HEALTH FEATURE v

Qld Chief Health Officer said in a Media Statement (Feb 2017) that the rate of Salmonella infection in Queensland is concerning.

Queensland Salmonella outbreaks demonstrate an increase in egglinked cases despite the operation of regulatory program since 2005 (see graph).

Microbiological surveys of the Salmonella egg environment (Microbiological Baseline Survey of the Queensland Egg Production Environment 2014 and 2015 ) after 10 -11 years of operation of the Queensland Egg safety scheme, still found a wide presence of Salmonella on Queensland’s egg farms and the results were comparable to NSW. In South Australia, although the Egg Safety Scheme has been operating since December 2012, according to the South Australian Director of Public Health Services, Salmonella cases reached a five year high in November 2015 with egg related cases forming a significant element of the problem (The Advertiser November 2015).

In NSW where the egg safety scheme has been operational since 2010, Salmonella notifications among NSW residents has gone up in recent years from 2906 in 2012 to 4478 in 2016.

Salmonellosis notifications in NSW residents January 2012 to December 2016 (updated 4.4.17) In NSW like SA, a significant proportion of the notifications can be attributed to eggs.

Are dirty and cracked eggs at the core of the problem?

FSANZ, in its justification for the proposed regulation, stated that the main problems that the regulations seek to address are the prevalence of dirty and/or cracked eggs in the market.

Furthermore, it argued that clear identification of the source of each egg is needed to ensure that unsafe eggs (dirty and cracked) do not enter the market.

Stamping each egg is incapable of

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(Based on FSANZ data and OzFoodNet Annual and Quarterly Reports for 2011, 2012, 2013).

Salmonellosis notifications in NSW residents January 2012 to December 2016 (updated 4.4.17).

delivering this outcome as the stamped egg shown demonstrates. However it is a major regulatory component of cost to producers.

The Productivity Commission in its draft review of regulations in Australia (2016) stated that • the costs of egg stamping represent about 65% of the total costs of the regulation and it does not appear that egg stamping delivers superior traceability than labelling on egg cartons or requiring businesses to keep records, • The Commission did not find evidence that egg stamping provides higher net benefits to the community than alternative approaches.

The commission comments in conjunction with the apparent lack of attention to fundamental biological and ecological elements, over-simplified approach to dirty and cracked eggs as well as the lack of mandatory refrigeration of eggs along the entire food chain perhaps illustrate that the thrust of the regulatory efforts somehow misses the mark.

Dirty and cracked eggs may impose higher risk but often are not the cause

of outbreaks. On occasions cracks are a result of mishandling of eggs after leaving the farm.

The Salmonella Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for the Australian Egg Industry (Thomas et al, 2006, Table 2.1) outlined that in only 31% of outbreaks were dirty and cracked eggs involved.

Furthermore, the NSW Food Authority reported that where the type of eggs used were able to be identified the majority of outbreaks were associated with using intact eggs, not cracked eggs (FSANZ Final Assessment, page 7, 2011). Arzey (2008, WPSA Proceedings) reported that in cases investigated following Salmonella food poisoning, Salmonella organisms were found on the shell of intact, clean eggs.

All of the above suggests that eggborne human Salmonellosis may not be predominantly associated with dirty or cracked eggs.

Small producers One of the stated reason for the regulatory intervention (FSANZ Final CONTINUED ON PAGE 46 w

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NEWS

Birds enjoy world class climate control The Casaccio Egg Farm, near Terang, Victoria is operated under the careful eye of Farm Manager, Geoff O’Brien.

Over the past two years the owners have begun the process of upgrading the farm, retrofitting existing infrastructure and preparing land for new developments.

Motivated by seemingly everincreasing operating costs and the benefits of improved production output, security and system reliability, Geoff has turned to new technologies to provide the answers.

In 2016 one of the farm’s old crossventilated grower sheds was converted to a new tunnel fan-ventilated cage layer shed.

The shed upgrades utilise the latest in agricultural technology, such as the AgriCool shed ventilation system, and effective farming design to ensure high production outputs and bird health.

With a completely enclosed system Geoff is confident that his birds will receive optimal climate control even in the harsh Australian conditions.

“Holding 40,000 birds in Zucami cages, the renovated shed with the complete AgriCool ventilation system provides a comfortable environment for the birds, promoting good laying conditions,” he said.

Prior to the upgrade Geoff had a series of ebm-papst stirring fans installed into the farm’s free-range shed and was confident in the quality of product he would receive.

The ventilation system and supporting agricultural and construction infrastructure was advised on and supplied

by Agricultural Automation.

The retrofit After crunching the numbers of shed size and air flow requirements, Christopher Hauck from ebm-papst was assured that he had the best solution for the retrofit. 10 EC direct drive 1250mm (50 inch) tunnel fans from ebm-papst were installed in the newly renovated shed.

The ventilation interface works seamlessly alongside the main shed controller system, AgroLogic.

The results Since installation, the AgriCool shed ventilation system has been a huge asset to the farm’s operations.

Geoff’s confidence in the system grew exponentially over Summer thanks

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Top: Christopher Hauck (ebmpapst A&NZ), Ash O’Brien and Geoff O’Brien from Casaccio Egg Farm and Steven Davies, Agricultural Automation.

Left: Christopher Hauck using the AgriCool interface to check fan performance. to the ability to monitor the system and the maintenance-free design of the fans.

“It’s got to be a direct drive. We’ve got a lot of fans on site here, they’re old.

We don’t do a lot of belt replacement in a year but one is too many… doesn’t matter how good your maintenance is, you can burn a belt out any day,” he said.

Through the ventilation interface Geoff is able to accurately monitor and look back on how hard the fans have been running, the shed’s internal temperature variation, ventilation rates, and system diagnostics.

In addition, the maintenance and direct monitoring of the AgriCool system will alert Geoff and his secondin-command, Ash, directly should an issue with the tunnel fans or AgriCool control system occur.

If an alarm is triggered the back-up system activates to overcome the error and provide adequate ventilation for

the birds.

Geoff is especially impressed by the fans’ low noise output, partly realised by the direct drive motor and its soft-starting function, resulting in more comfortable and less startled birds.

“In this shed the fans seem to be really good. It’s very noticeable when you come into this shed, and if it’s a hot day outside you can feel the air on you. You can feel the breeze across your face.”

With improved peace of mind, supported by local technical support and back-up systems, Geoff is able to focus on operating the farm rather than fixing equipment over the Summer period while the birds in his newest shed live in comfort.

The team at Casaccio Egg Farm love the new ebm-papst AgriCool shed ventilation system and are already looking at upgrading the remaining sheds with the AgriCool system with EC tunnel fans.

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NEWS

AECL Forum: New name, new direction The AECL 24th Forum wa sheld at Rydges World Square in Sydney during May 24-25, 2017.

Following the AECL Board meeting, workshops on ‘Marketing to grow your business’ and concurrently, ‘Food Safety/Salmonella’ the first session of the Forum were held after lunch on March 24.

AECL Chair Danny Jones welcomed delegates and AECL Managing Diector Rowan McMonies explained ‘2017, the story so far’.

The first item was the introduction of an improved QA scheme, ‘Egg Standards of Australia’ and of equal significance was the change of name for his organisation from Australian Egg Corporation Limited to Australian Eggs.

“It is a more simple name that encapsulates just what we are,” he said.

“The word ‘corporation’ does not always resonate well with the wider community,” Mr McMonies suggested.

He spoke about the power of research and its ability to improve lives and achievement and leading on from that “for our industry to build a better product”.

David Mogford, Australian Eggs Marketing Manager explained some changes in strategy to help the rise and rise of eggs after not only a great sales period over Christmas 2016 but a fabulous boost over Easter this year.

The core to increasing consumption he said, was not only to get consumers to buy more eggs but “get ’em out of the fridge and eat them with a specific emphasis on breakfast and dinner meals”.

Two advertisements were shown to delegates based on the themes of ‘BIG DAY – eggs on toast for dinner tonight’ and ‘THAT’S DINNER CRACKED – affordable main meals’.

Matching market cycles as well as increasing overall demand was important and there was, he stated, “A clear need to match market demand with efficient supply”.

“We must also focus on the next generation while the young are forming their eating preferences by supporting information provided to consumers and school kids.

“Our consumer research summary on the new logo and marketing strategies around ‘Australian Eggs’ strongly represents the Australia farm origin and better represents the industry to our consumers.

26

“The yolk image evoked a strong and positive response and was seen to be ‘more modern’ as an effective image,” David explained.

Jeremy Menenzes, Head of Merchandising for Metcash, gave an upbeat view of eggs and the potential they have within the Metcash growing independent supply chain.

“Barn laid is the fastest growing category with the fastest growth (36% pa) but free range was, he suggested, the key contributor to eggs sales growth, accounting for 140% of category growth,” he said.

In identifying opportunity to grow sales he stated that “by partnering with Metcash and utilising our considerable logistics and marketing, we can sell more eggs to consumers both locally and nationally.

“There is opportunity for branded egg supplies to come through the warehouse as currently only private label eggs are in our supply chain and there is a ready market for larger pack sizes,” Mr Menenzes said.

In the second session on May 24, Clare Hamilton-Bate from ‘Scheme Support Services’ spoke about the launch of ‘Egg Standards of Australia’.

‘Egg Standards of Australia’ applies 3 to rearing and layer farms and is a voluntary egg industry QA program.

“The program covers hen welfare, egg quality, biosecurity, food safety, worker health and safety, environmental management and replaces the ‘Egg Corp Assured’ initiative.

“Compliance with the new ESA program will help the industry in dealing with both regulators and retailers,” Clare said in introducing details of the new ESA plan. w

1

2

Ac 1. AECL Chair

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Danny Jones.

2. Jeremy Menenzes, Head of Merchandising for Metcash.

3. Clare HamiltonBate from Scheme Support Services. 4. LtoR; Chris Monnier, Nuffield Scholar; Bede Bourke and John Dunn, from Egg Farmers Australia.

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The session ended on a high note when John Dunn, the CEO of Egg Farmers’ of Australia revealed what proved to be a surprising view of tackling the industry’s critics and those who seem determined to damage a legitimate industry providing an affordably and health source of nutrition.

In introducing his address to delegates ‘The standards and guidelines process’ he explained the public consultation process.

John has a deep knowledge of Australian political systems at both state and federal levels and he warned the audience of how close the system, particularly in certain states, are balanced where outcome can be decided by a very few people including those who use animal welfare issues to further wider causes.

In dealing with issues over production systems, welfare and other concerns, he recommended a new approach which he called ‘staking out the sensible centre’.

He pointed out both sides of the arguments for and against industry which have tended to use “exaggeration to prosecute their aims”.

We need to use a more dispassionate approach and think more about ‘winning than fighting’,” he said.

“Counter emotion with intellect and understanding rather than intuition, smart vs right and finally be united rather than divided.”

It was a sensational presentation and the conclusion of many in the room (including Poultry Digest) is that we should be glad John is on our side!

The egg industry forum dinners have always been enjoyable but the cruise on what is without doubt the best harbor on the planet, was sensational.

Drinks and canapés (thank you Big Dutchman) followed by an excellent dinner (thank you Specialised Breeders of Australia) with plentiful wine (thank you Moba) made Sydney’s harbor sights all the more agreeable.

The raffles various produced further happiness with Australian Eggs David Mogford working up the nautical pirate theme while distributing plenty of booty.

On Day Two, Kapil Chousalkar, Associate Professor from the University of Adelaide spoke about, ‘Salmonella shedding and welfare of hens in a free range production system’.

“The objectives of this study were to study the shedding of Salmonella during various seasons; to understand the role of wildlife vectors in transmission of Salmonella Typhimurium and to study the possible correlation between behavior of birds and Salmonella shedding,” Kapil said.

In summarising the study, the conclusions were that, “the shedding of salmonella was variable across various

28

1

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3

4

5

1. Christine Clark, Auspac Ingredients with Frank Pace, Pace Farms.

2. Tina Grech, Lienerts. 3. Jerry Bailey-Watts, Potters Poultry with Sandra Wilson, Bodalla Holdings. 4. Luca Paiusco, SKA with Joe Vella, Protective Fabrications. 5. LtoR: Dr Tamsyn Crawley, Poultry Hub; Horizon Scholar, Jasmine Whitten and Kent Antonio from McLean Farms. free range farms and in different seasons: there was no increase in Salmonella shedding in the summer season.

“The level of egg contamination is largely attributed to individual flock management or farm management and that the prevalence of Salmonella was highest in dust followed by shoe covers from outdoor range areas, particularly during winter.

“S. Typhimurium was able to persist in ranging areas particularly during winter, and that the predominant Salmonella serovars isolated during this study were S. Mbandaka and S. Typhimurium phage type 135.

“There was no positive correlation between Salmonella shedding and welfare issues and wild life vectors such as foxes and wild birds can play a role in transmission and Typhimurium genotypes,” Kapil concluded.

Johannes Biala from The University of Queensland is his topic, ‘Composting into the future’, defined objectives of a study to reduce methane emission, reduce nitrous oxide emissions, sequest carbon, improve modeling capability and adapt to climate change.

“The aim is to develop new methodologies that land managers can use to participte in the Carbon Farming CONTINUED ON PAGE 40 w

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FEATURE

Holland: Chicken of Tomorrow is here today

By BERRIE KLEIN SWORMINK In three years time the variety of chicken that is for sale in supermarkets in The Netherlands will have undergone a revolutionary change. By the end of this year a Dutch supermarket which sells regularly produced chicken meat will be hard to find, according to animal welfare groups.

“A different kind of chicken will enter the Dutch supermarkets,” supermarket organisation, the Central Bureau of Foodstuffs (CBL) announcedin 2013.

The switch to the so called ‘Chicken of Tomorrow’ on the supermarket’s shelves would have to be realised in phases in the year 2020 at the latest.

It involved demands concerning animal welfare, such as the use of slower growing breed, more space, natural day/night rhythm and distraction materials, public health (less antibiotics) and environment (responsible soy in feed, emissions of ammonia and particulates and closed mineral cycles).

Four years have gone by and a lot has changed. Almost every supermarket abandoned the sale of regular grown broiler meat or will stop selling it during the course of this year 2017.

During the last three years supermarkets have massively switched to new chicken concepts, which are now the bottom end of the market.

They use names such as Good Nest Chicken, New Standard Chicken, Slow Growing Chicken, Chicken with Plume Guarantee, Gildehoen, Aunt Door and Comfort chicken. In addition the extensive indoor (Better Life 1 star) and organic chicken (Better Life 3 stars) are on offer in the higher segment.

In early 2015 the Dutch anti-trust authorities decided the agreements between supermarkets and industry concerning the Chicken of Tomorrow were in conflict with the ban on cartels, because the consumer is willing to pay for sustainability, but not for the (limited) improvements, especially concerning animal welfare, the Chicken of Tomorrow delivered.

Animal rights action group Wakker Dier was pleased the anti-cartel ruling, which killed the concept Chicken of Tomorrow.

Since the introduction Wakker Dier called the Chicken of Tomorrow a bad plan to replace the regular ‘bloated’ or

30

‘exploding’ chicken. According to Wakker Dier, animal welfare improvements were inadequate, but by early 2016 supermarkets that had made the switch received a compliment.

Own manner Despite the anti-trust authorities negative advice, almost every supermarket gave shape to a new basis chicken in the shops. These new basis chickens in all cases fit within the original Chicken of Tomorrow concept.

In May 2014 the biggest Dutch 2 supermarket chain ‘Albert Heijn’ surprised everyone with the introduction of the New AH Chicken, which made it the first supermarket to do so.

Other supermarkets followed this example, often with (slightly) higher demands on production. The original Chicken of Tomorrow concept has a maximal average daily gain of 50 grams, a maximum occupancy of 38 kg per m2 and the use of bales of straw as distraction material.

In October 2014 supermarket ‘Jumbo’ initiated the New Standard Chicken in order to exceed the basic standards of the Chicken of Tomorrow.

The New Standard Chicken has a daily gain of about 45 grams. With regular broilers this is 60-65 grams.

The maximum occupancy is 30 kg per m2. This is 42 kg per m2 for regular broilers. The New Standard Chicken also requires daylight in the house and sprinkling grain.

Last year the share of chicken meat of concept chickens in supermarkets grew quickly. Since early 2016 no chicken of regular broilers can be found in the shops of the two largest supermarket chains. Wakker Dier calls it a breakthrough.

Other supermarkets made their presence known. One after the other announced the entry of a new basis chicken. At the end of 2017 there won’t be many supermarkets in the Nether-

lands where the consumer can choose between chicken meat of regular broilers or chicken meat from a concept which focuses more on animal welfare.

Broiler farmer and board member with farmers organisation LTO/NOP Jan Verhoijsen regrets that consumers are deprived of the choice for chicken of regular broilers.

Better meat and less antibiotics Besides animal welfare, meat quality is an incentive for retailers to switch from regular meat to concept chickens more rapidly.

Problems with meat quality that occur in meat of regular broilers, are almost nonexistent in slower growing concept chickens. This mainly counts for ‘wooden breast’, ‘white striping’ and so called ‘spaghetti meat’ in which muscle fibers fall apart.

More support for the new concepts is the use of antibiotics. Increasing concerns about the health risks caused by resistance development as a result of careless use of antibiotics both in people and animals, increases the demand for livestock products that were produced without the use of antibiotics.

Broiler farmers with slower growing chicks and a lower occupancy use little or no antibiotics.

Welfare organisation Wakker Dier is enthusiastic about the rapid withdrawal of regular chicken from the supermarket shelf.

“We are pleased bloated chicken has largely disappeared from the fresh food aisle. Now the processed meats division has to follow. Jumbo and Albert Heijn already took a leading role in this,” said Anne Hilhorst, spokesperson of Wakker Dier.

“Unfortunately there are a few smaller chains such as Emté and Jan Linders that do sell bloated chicken. This year

FEATURE we will pay attention to this.”

The quick switch in supermarkets from regularly produced chicken to a new basic chicken had major implications for all other links in the production chain.

‘It went very fast”, said Paul van Boekholt, Managing Director Northern Europe and Southern Africa at breeding organization Hubbard. Hubbard supplies by far the greatest part of all genetic materials for the new chicken concepts. Meanwhile, also other big breeding companies such as Ross and Cobb have marketed slower growing chickens as a test for new concepts.

The estimated number of slaughtered concept chickens is about 2.7 million birds per week now. ´This fills in 90% of the chicken sales in Dutch supermarkets.

In terms of fresh meat, Dutch supermarkets require approximately three million broilers per week. This means the increase in the number of concept chickens in the Netherlands will level off after two years of linear growth.

The current production can fill in the market needs. Van Boekholt estimates

that approximately 20% of the 2.7 million non-regular chicks have lived according to the standards of the higher ‘one Better Live star’. The other 80% is one of the concepts used by supermarkets for their new basic chicken.

Wakker Dier thinks all chickenmeat in supermarkets ought to have at least one Better Live star in 2020. According to spokesperson Hilhorst this is achievable.

“In particular the fact that supermarket chains have their carcass balance on a sounder footing allows them to move on. We do regret reading that some farmers are unable to make the switch to Better Live seal due to restrictions in the building block. We hope this kind of restrictions will be solved soon.”

Following the market Now, supply and demand for the new basis chicken for the Dutch supermarkets appear to match. According to Van Boekholt broiler farmers and slaughterhouses have an interest in not scaling up to more concept chickens too soon. ‘“It is better to follow the market.

The cost price of concept chickens is higher than the cost price of regular

broilers. Producing animals that cannot be sold at a cost covering price is not interesting. Create some scarcity in the market instead. It is specifically up to slaughterhouses to fill in this role.”

Among broiler farmers there appears to be more than enough interest in participating in concepts for the domestic market.

Rest of the world The Netherlands is unique in the world with a rapid turnaround from meat of regular broilers to concept chicken on the supermarket shelves.

“Other countries show developments in this direction, but it will not go as fast in any country as it went in the Netherlands,” Van Boekholt expects.

“In England for instance, the demand for chicken meat of birds with a better life started 15 years ago.

“The sales of this chicken has grown to a market share of about 10%. This is also the case in France, where about 40% of the market consists of slower growing chicken.

In other countries a great deal of attention is paid to new chicken concepts.”

PRODUCT NEWS

CCD Animal Health appointed to distribute products for DOX-AL Italia On May 9, 2017 Poultry Digest met CCD Animal Health Director Jonothon Doubleday, Key Account Manager and new recruit Dr Alison Leary, Dr Ricardo Communod of DOX-AL Singapore and Luca Pandolfini, DOX-AL’s Export Manager.

DOX-AL Italia was founded in 1974 and is based near Milan in Italy and exports to 51 countries around the world with a total turnover of 45 million Euro in 2016.

“In simple terms, we are totally involved in the research, development, production and sale of new products and innovative technologies for the agro-veterinary sectors,” Mr Pandolfini said.

“Over the years we’ve been able to develop and sell in the market many products and technologies which have attracted the interest of numerous companies including multinationals supplying the animal health and nutrition industries.

“DOX-AL is GMP certified for the production of veterinary specialties, and FAMI-QS certified for the production of nutritional premixes and additives.

“Quality control is of great importance to our company and we have conducted more than 6000 quality control assays in 2016,” Mr Pandolfini stated.

“For the first time in more than seven years genuine DOX-AL Italia products - researched, developed and

LtoR: Dr Alison Leary and Fiona Selleck, CCD Animal Health, Dr Ricardo Communod, DOX-AL Singapore, Luca Pandolfini, Dox-AL’s Export Manager and Jonothon Doubleday, Director CCD Animal Health. manufactured in Italy – will be available on the Australian animal health market,” concluded Mr Pandolfini.

“CCD Animal Health is very pleased to have been appointed exclusive Australian distributor for DOX-AL Italia,” CCD Director Jonothon Doubleday told Poultry Digest.

“Currently there are four specific products registered for sale here in both the pharma and advanced animal

health/nutrition markets.

“More products will be available in the near future after registration procedures are complete,” he explained.

Australian producers can now benefit from the quality and consistency of DOX-AL’s BMP technology in products such as Doxalino 120 (salinomycin) and Baciclo 150 (zinc bacitracin),” he concluded.

Tegel Chairman James Ogden quits Tegel Group Chairman James Ogden has unexpectedly quit the board after less than a year overseeing the poultry company’s direction as a publicly listed company, without an explanation.

Ogden, who is also a Director of Warehouse Group, Vista Group International, Summerset Group and Alliance Group, joined the Tegel’s board ahead of its initial public offering in May last year, when it raised $284 million selling shares at $1.55 apiece.

The shares rose as high as $1.80 in August, but have since tumbled, recently trading at $1.17 as a glut of

32

chicken has driven down prices and seen investors lower their expectations for the company’s earnings, which are scheduled for June 27.

“The board would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Ogden for his leadership and dedication to the board and Tegel over the past year and wishes him all the very best for the future,” it said in a statement without saying why he left.

Independent director David Jackson has been elected to succeed Ogden as chair, and the board has begun looking for replacement director, Tegel said.

Tegel retained just $1.2 million from the capital raised in last year’s IPO, with $129 million going to repay existing shareholders, $130 million to repay external debt and $23.3 million on IPO and listing costs and an expensed management bonus.

The company was taken public by its second private equity owner after Affinity Partners, which kept a 45 percent stake in the float, acquired Tegel in a leveraged buyout from Pacific Equity Partners and ANZ Capital in early 2011.

PEP had, in turn, bought Tegal from HJ Heinz in 2005.

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NEWS

ACMF and QFF mourn loss of former President Gary Sansom AM Queensland Agriculture has lost one of its most passionate and dedicated advocates with the passing of Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) life member Gary Sansom AM on 22 March 2017.

Gary passed away overnight in Perth where he was attending a meeting for the Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC), as he continued to tirelessly represent and better the industry in which he took so much pride.

Gary was instrumental in the foundation of QFF in 1992, and served as President between 2001 and 2011.

Gary had been involved with the organisation since its inception and continued to make valued contributions right until his passing.

Current QFF President Stuart Armitage paid tribute to Mr Sansom.

“Gary was and will remain, an absolute giant of the industry both in Queensland and nationally.”

“His contribution to the agricultural sector cannot be quantified, but it is evident in the sheer number of organisations that can credit their success to his involvement and the number of people who can call him their friend and mentor.

“On behalf of our members and the broader Queensland agricultural sector, I offer our deepest condolences to Gary’s wife Julie, his family and friends.”

Gary was well known to Poultry Digest both as a contract broiler farm grower and activist in farmer representation in Queensland and within Australia generally.

He was a good speaker, and relished answering questions, even the curly ones.

We best remember him when he was a keynote speaker at the Poultry CRC Ideas Exchange.

He was a member of the Poultry CRC end user advisory committee where his industry knowledge was a great asset .

The Australian chicken meat industry is also mourning the loss of Mr Sansom, a man whose contribution to the industry will leave a significant legacy for years to come.

Gary first entered the Poultry industry in 1980 when he and his wife

34

Julie established a contract chicken breeding farm at Jimboomba in QLD. Gary soon became interested in contributing to the industry beyond his own front gate. His career followed an esteemed path spanning more than three decades.

• 1985: became Vice President of the Queensland Chicken Growers’ Association.

• 1991: became President of the Queensland Chicken Growers’ Association and a Councillor of the Australian Chicken Growers’ Council • 1998: accepted the position of President of the Australian Chicken Growers’ Council • 2002: took up the position of Executive Officer for the Australian Chicken Growers Council, a position that he still retained at the time of his passing.

Gary’s interests extended beyond the industry in which he was directly involved and his preparedness to step up and serve, and indeed lead, the industry took on a broader dimension in 2009 when Gary was first elected to the position of President ACMF, a position which he held between 2009-2013, and then again from 2015 to his death.

Gary also served on the Chicken Meat Advisory Panel of the RIRDC from 2003, initially as a member of the Panel, and more recently as the Panel’s Chair.

His particular contribution in this respect was to bring to the deliberations of the industry’s premier research funding body the very specific needs of the chicken-growing sector, whose needs were possibly overlooked to a large extent prior to his involvement.

Gary championed several key communication and training initiatives that were of vital importance to the industry.

It is unlikely that there is anyone else in the Australian chicken industry that could have progressed several of these issues so successfully and very few who would have been prepared to take on the challenge of doing so.

Perhaps one of Gary’s greatest contributions was in the area of the environmental management of meat chicken farms. Through his efforts and leadership the industry’s access to and adoption of tools for managing the environmental impacts of chicken farming activities was significantly enhanced.

In particular, he led the development of the industry’s first National Environmental Management System. Now on its third revision, this program has been accepted as the industry standard in chicken farm environmental practice since its publication in 2003.

There is no doubt that, without his efforts, the industry would not have achieved the gains it has in recognising the need to operate in an increasingly sustainable way, and implementing changes which reduce industry’s impacts on the environment.

Perhaps as significant has been his pivotal role in driving awareness of the importance of biosecurity in the industry and in engaging industry in the adoption of enhanced biosecurity programs.

In 2009, Gary’s contributions in these areas were rewarded when he was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to primary industries through the development of sustainable agricultural practices and the promotion of environmental and biosecurity management systems within the chicken meat industry.

Gary’s greatest strengths were his ability to work with all sections of the poultry industry to achieve meaningful outcomes for the industry more broadly, and his ability to always see the bigger industry picture. He was always recognised to have the best interests of the industry more broadly at heart in all areas in which he acted on industry’s behalf. These qualities won him the respect of all sectors of the industry.

“On behalf of our members and the broader chicken meat industry, I offer our deepest condolences to Gary’s wife Julie, his son Josh and their family and friends” said Vivien Kite, Executive Director, ACMF.

NEWS

Inghams looks to expanding its national network plan in Western Australia Inghams Group Limited, Australia’s leading poultry producer, has announced that as part of its national network plan it is expanding its Western Australian operations generating an estimated 400 additional permanent jobs in the local economy.

In line with Ingham’s planned business strategy, Ingham’s Chief Commercial Officer Quinton Hildebrand said Ingham’s is expanding its farming, milling and processing volumes over the next three years enabling it to meet local market demand with locally grown Ingham’s quality poultry products.

Existing facilities at Wanneroo will be relocated to allow for the expansion with a new state-of-the-art feedmill to be built at Muchea outside of Perth by 2020.

A new hatchery will also be developed at a site yet to be finalised.

More than $70 million is expected to be invested by Ingham’s and contracted partners as part of this expansion creating an estimated 400 permanent jobs through the supply chain.

In addition to the permanent jobs that will be created, Ingham’s estimates more than 1000 indirect jobs will also be generated due to the expansion with dozens more jobs created during the construction phase.

Ingham’s has recently contracted new growers and increased the shedding capacity of existing growers in Western Australia to help build capacity in the region.

Mr Hildebrand said: “To support this WA expansion strategy, Ingham’s will commence the sale of our site in Wanneroo where the existing hatchery and feedmill are located.

“Leaseback arrangements will be part of the sale conditions to cover the construction period for our new facilities.”

He said he was encouraged with the support the company had received from all levels of government and the Wanneroo community on its relocation strategy.

“Ingham’s looks forward to continuing to work closely with stakeholders to support our continued investment in WA and ensure that our operations in Wanneroo have minimum impact on the community for our remaining period there.

“We are pleased to be able to continue to invest in the sustainable growth of our company, and in doing so create jobs and opportunities in WA,” Mr Hildebrand said.

Ingham’s has appointed CBRE as selling agent for the Wanneroo site.

If you would like to advertise in Poultry Digest please contact Peter Bedwell on 0419 235 288 or 02 9797 2406

®

Aviagen Management Essentials Judy Robberts Technical Service Manager, ANZ Judy graduated in animal and poultry science and has 11 years of experience with breeder and broiler production and an additional 7 years as a technical advisor for a poultry distributor company servicing Ross parent stock customers.

“Most people monitor 7 day weights to check early chick performance. Checking earlier at say 4 days can offer an opportunity to adjust and start corrective measures if required,” commented Judy.

Monitoring Early Bird Growth Objective Trouble shooting flocks during the early brooding phase.

Key Points Whether a breeder or a broiler, 7 days may be too late, to realize that a problem exists in the flock.

• •

Generally, a target weight that is 4-5 times the placement weight for broilers and 100-125 gms for breeder chicks should be achieved by 7 days.

To ensure we capture early progress, we can set similar 4 day target weights for broilers of 2.5-3.0 times placement weight and 70-75 gms for breeder chicks.

Weigh a representative sample of chicks.

•

• •

This should be a minimum of 50 birds or 2% of the total population in the house from 3 locations around the house using a weighing container and a set of accurate digital or dial scales.

The multiple of the placement weight can then be calculated by dividing the average of the 4 day sample weight by the average of the placement weight.

If the flock is progressing well this should give you a ratio or an answer of 2.5-3.0.

Weighing chicks at 4 days will provide an earlier indication of progress and allow corrective measures to be put in place to achieve the target weight of the chicks.

Aviagen and the Aviagen logo are registered trademarks of Aviagen in the US and other countries.

All other trademarks or brands are registered by their respective owners. © 2017 Aviagen.

35

NEWS

New leadership for Achmea Australia Achmea Australia has welcomed a new CEO, Emma Thomas,following the news that current CEO Timo van Voorden is returning to the Netherlands – the birthplace of Achmea – after five successful years spent launching and running the company here in Australia.

Timo has been instrumental in setting up the Australian division, working tirelessly to carve a niche for the organisation in mutual-based insurance and risk management for the farming community.

Of his time in Australia Timo says he is most proud of what the company has achieved, particularly over the last three and a half years with the delivery of innovative, tailored and cost effective insurance for Australian agriculture businesses. “Embedded within local regional communities, our nation-wide network of Risk Specialists have been able to ensure Australian agricultural businesses benefit from our co-operative insurance approach. “They are there to provide immediate support in times of need and it is these relationships that have seen Achmea Australia achieve a 99% client retention rate and a client net promoter score four times the industry average,�

Timo said. “I would like to thank Division International and the Executive Board of the Achmea Group for sending me to Australia five years ago. “It has been an absolute dream

Project1:PoltexAd2 21/03/14 3:47 PM Page 1

job to build Achmea Australia from the ground up, and to recruit such a great group of people to do it with me,� Timo added.

The Achmea Australia team wish Timo every success in the next stage of his career and is pleased to announce Emma Thomas as Timo’s successor.

Emma comes to Achmea Australia from FMG Insurance, a large farm insurer in New Zealand, where she’s already demonstrated herself to be a proven senior leader, gaining extensive experience in the agricultural and financial services industry.

She has been a central figure in driving the overall growth, client satisfaction and market share strategies for FMG, which is New Zealand’s leading rural insurer.

Over the last 10 years Emma has held roles at FMG including National Sales Manager, Head of Sales, Service and Operations, Head of Advice and Sales and Financial Controller.

Prior to joining FMG, Emma’s experience includes Executive financial management leadership of a New Zealand IT solutions company, and Audit roles with Deloitte in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

Emma has a strong affinity with agribusiness through her family and financial services background. She is committed to continuous development of her leadership and governance skills, and cultivating valuable networks within the primary industries sector.

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Ac Achmea Australia’s new CEO Emma Thomas

Reflecting on her new role with Achmea Australia, Emma spoke of her keenness to build on the achievements already made by Timo and the company over the past five years in Australia. “I’m excited to join the team and bring my rural insurance experience to the position of CEO. Having seen first-hand the devastating impacts – both commercially and personally – of natural disasters and storm events on the farming community, the mutual ethos has a very important role in the Australian insurance industry.

I look forward to building on the proud history Achmea has in supporting rural businesses and putting clients first,� says Emma.

Meanwhile, outgoing CEO Timo is in no doubt that the company will remain in the most capable of hands with Emma and her team. “I am confident Emma will make a significant contribution to Achmea Australia and our clients, and as a senior female industry leader has the potential to influence Australia’s agriculture agenda,� he said. “I wish Emma all the very best of luck in her new role as CEO, and I know she has a fantastic team to support her and to continue the accelerated growth of Achmea in Australia.�

Emma joined the company in May and Achmea Australia look forward to welcoming her to the family.

NEWS

Tesla executive receives Alltech Medal of Excellence Former Tesla executive George Former Tesla Motors, Apple Computer and GAP Inc. executive George Blankenship received the Alltech Medal of Excellence at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE 17), an event dedicated to inspiring innovation, held in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, in May. Now in its 33rd year, the annual international conference was expected to draw approximately 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to network and discuss disruptive ideas in business, technology, food and agriculture.

Blankenship received the Alltech Medal of Excellence from Dr Pearse Lyons on the main plenary stage in Rupp Arena at ONE17.

Alltech’s highest accolade, the medal is awarded annually to someone of great accomplishment and leadership. Previous honorees include former US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Norman Borlaug, the father of ‘the Green Revolution’.

Blankenship received the medal in

recognition of his ability to create unrivaled customer experiences with two of the most disruptive brands of our time: Apple and Tesla.

“George Blankenship is the epitome of disruption, and I pay homage to his strategies in leadership and breaking the norm,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, President and founder of Alltech.

“Businesses that think they can thrive by doing the same things again and again will not thrive and survive in this era of disruption. Our conference this year is all about celebrating those who take risks and disrupt the norm.”

Blankenship pioneered Apple,

Tesla and GAP’s retail philosophies, transforming the customer experience.

At Apple, he crafted one of the most dominant retail growth strategies in recent history, growing brand loyalty and exponential profit. Then, at Tesla, Blankenship redefined the car buying experience, moving the Tesla brand into shopping malls, something never done before by a car manufacturer.

“I am thrilled to be here today,” said Blankenship. “Never ever let anyone get in the way of what you know is the right thing to do deep down inside. This conference is about the one thing that makes a difference.”

Navis acquires Mainland Poultry A majority stake in Mainland Poultry of New Zealand has been acquired by Navis Capital, a private equity company operating mainly in Southeast Asia.

Navis explained its acquisition, saying it plans to “transform Mainland into the pre-eminent agribusiness in the Oceania region with strong export linkages into Asia.”

Mainland Poultry’s businesses include the country’s largest egg producer, with around a one-third share of the market.

The firm’s managing Director and co-founder, Michael Guthrie said that the cost of modernising the housing for its 1.2 million layers may exceed the resources of its previous shareholders.

Through its Dunedin-based egg business, Zeagold Foods, Mainland Poultry produces and markets barn-laid, vegetarian, and organic eggs, as well as processed eggs and egg mixes in chilled, frozen, and dried forms.

Mainland also provides compound feeds and animal health products through its MainFeedsbusiness.

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37

PRODUCT NEWS

Munters Drive – revolutionising future farming Energy is costly for any enterprise or individual and unfortunately it is a cost that will not stop increasing.

All indications point to energy becoming an increasingly expensive commodity as it is scarce in demand.

As farm produce prices are being squeezed, the farm economy is vulnerable to production cost increases and the ability to predict them in the future.

Munters has engineered what is says is a revolutionary concept of a highly energy efficient and low maintenance motor drive that ‘means business’ for future farming.

One way of keeping production costs at a minimum is to use equipment which has been carefully developed to do exactly what is expected of it, but with as low energy consumption as possible and with low manual labor requirements.

“At Munters there is an ongoing quest to make our products compatible to minimum Total Cost of Ownership (TCO),” said Sudhee Satyan, National Sales Manager for Munters.

To get a full view on TCO, one has to consider not only the initial investment cost of a product, but rather the entire cost of operating (running) the product, consumable parts during the product lifecycle as well as service and maintenance costs.

“Forced ventilation in livestock production is nowadays more of a rule than an exception, at least in moderate and hot climate zones. If we look at what kind of climate control equipment that is most energy consuming, we will soon arrive at the conclusion that fan motors often are the ‘culprits’.”

Technical background A traditional AC induction motor works by using an electro magnet with induction. A magnetic polarity in an iron object is induced by passing electric current through a coil wrapped around the object.

The polarity falls away if the electric current is interrupted and polarity can be changed by changing direction of current. That makes this motor alternative quite instable. Instability can cause operational down time for the ventilation system resulting in massive economic loss as well as health consequences for the animals.

An AC induction motor has the electrical windings wrapped around

38

Above: Energy costs are increasing for poultry farmers. Below: Munters believes its new low maintenance driect drive fan motor will significantly decrease maintenace and labour costs. the stator and the motor, whereas the windings are used to create induction magnets in the stator as well as in the rotor.

The AC current is used to create repelling magnetic forces, enabling a rotation of the rotor. This rotation is maintained by switching polarity using AC power supply, which causes the rotor to turn less than one whole turn for each rotation of magnetic field in the stator.

Slip causes energy losses and in-efficiencies; you can feel this by keeping your hand close to a motor after some time of operation, as it will release quite a lot of heat.

Properties of a traditional AC induction motor: • Works on the principle of induced magnets which has some efficiencies due to slippage • Operates at a fixed rpm – no flexibility in airflow or efficiency • When used on high volume low pressure axial fans, a v-belt drive system is required • V-belt drive systems require maintenance and loose efficiency over time Munters Drive – advanced motor technology For the most part of the year, low performing high efficiency fans are needed, but for a smaller portion of the year, the opposite is true.

This poses a special requirement for more operational flexibility of the fans in a climate control system, and thus Munters developed a motor with permanent magnet polarity that cannot be altered, called the Munters Drive.

“This motor technology is an

excellent addition to Munters’ already innovative product lines, and complements the focus on the new corrosion resistant material Munters Protect, by also assuring the fans longevity, and low operation and maintenance cost,” said Mr Satyan.

Advantages that Munters Drive motors offer: • No slippage because of permanent magnets: Higher efficiency • Less energy consumption helps to reduce carbon foot print, save money and usher in a ‘greener’ approach to agricultural and horticultural ventilation.

• Speed can be controlled: Can be used as a direct drive fan • No belt drive: More efficiency improvements • No maintenance: Constant performance

PRODUCT NEWS • No maintenance: Labor saving • Speed can be controlled: Can reduce fan rpm when reduced airflow is required • Increased system efficiency • Installation cost (cabling) can be reduced due to simplified electrical circuit requirements • Virtually no inrush current at start-up “Munters Drive was successfully launched and tested in the Americas market, where generous energy rebates have been issued.

“Munters Drive is able to reduce energy costs by an astonishing 30 to 40%. It is a direct drive fan motor which means that no belts, nor bearings or tensioners are needed, a fact that significantly reduces the maintenance cost.

“This revolutionary concept is now brought to Europe and the Asia Pacific regions, ready to form part of Munters modern cutting edge ventilation solutions,” Mr Satayn concluded.

RSPCA unhappy with new free range standard The Government’s new free range information standard offers some benefits, but fails to provide clarity over free range production practices and address consumer concerns.

That’s the statement from the RSPCA, which has expressed its disappointment in the standard that was released recently.

RSPCA Senior Policy Officer and animal law specialist Dr Jed Goodfellow said that while the standard will require stocking densities to be disclosed on pack, which is a positive move, it fails to provide further guidance as to what free range actually means.

“The use of vague terms like ‘meaningful and regular access’ to an outdoor range is open to interpretation and may give rise to enforcement difficulties,” he said.

“Stocking density inside and outside the barn is important to welfare, but so is flock size, the layout of the barn including the size and number of openings, the enrichment, perching and nesting provided, and the quality of the range; yet the standard fails to address any of these factors.

“The standard then goes on to list a number of broad exceptions to the requirement that are likely to make the ACCC’s job in policing dodgy free range claims even more difficult. Lawyers defending poor farming practices will have a field day with them,” said Dr Goodfellow.

In addition, the allowed stocking density of 10,000 hens per hectare – more than six times the current recommended limit – is unlikely to meet consumer expectations of what free range means.

RSPCA Australia believes free range hens should be stocked at a maximum rate of 1,500 hens per hectare or up to 2,500 if a regular rotation system is in place.

The RSPCA described the information standard as a missed opportunity that will not achieve the very purpose it

If you would like to advertise in Poultry Digest please contact Peter Bedwell on 0419 235 288 or 02 9797 2406 For prices and specifications go to: www.primarymedia.com.au

was set out to achieve – that is, to provide consumers with confidence in the free range label.

The RSPCA trusts the ACCC will continue to closely monitor free range claims and encourages consumers to do their own research while also looking out for the stocking densities on pack.

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NEWS v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 Initiative,” he said.

Amongst his conclusions were that “composting does not necessarily reduce emissions compared to stockpiling, and that composting with forced aeration can result in higher emissions than windrow composting.

“There is a need to incentivise the minimisation of nitrogen losses (ammonia N2O from the manure supply chain,” he said.

Robyn Richards from 4 Up Skilling, spoke about ‘Poultry training: securing the future of the egg industry’.

She introduced courses for the poultry industry workforce and initiated a ‘team building’ exercise where each table were given a bag of small but similar items to use in the protection of an egg that was to be dropped from head height to the ground.

Given the remarkable survival rate of the eggs it would have been a fair conclusion to say that the teams were either very innovative or thought that they were paying for the eggs!

Dr Peter Scott (Scolexia) spoke next about the responsible use of antimicrobials.

“The EU banned a wide range of antimicrobials as of 2009 yet today there has been no reported evidence of any reduction in antimicrobial resistance in human bacterial pathogens as a result of that ban,” he said.

Further, the APVMA has stated that “there is evidence the use of antimicrobials in animals is NOT the principal cause of problems encountered when

1

2

3

treating humans.”

“Australia has some of the world’s most conservative restrictions on using antimicrobials in livestock.

“Possibly, as a consequence, we have some of the lowest rates in the world of the bacteria that cause food poisoning (e.g. Salmonella and Campylobacter).

Australian producers do not use broad spectrum antibiotics such as flouroquinolones or gentamicin in live-

4

Ac 1. Charmaine English, Director

AECL with past Chairman Jeff Ironside. 2. Brian Ahmed and Christopher Ochays, LT’s Egg Farm. 3. Dropping eggs! 4. David Sherwood from EW Nutrition.

stock production and the AB ceftiofur is governed by strict label requirements,” Dr Scott pointed out.

Brad Tressider, Head of Tressider Insurance Group in his paper on ‘Insuring against Avian Influenza and other bird losses’ pointed out that many general farming policies based on principals that go back to the 18th Century do not suit a typical layer farmer in 2021.

Loss of income through disease or weather related incidents were of critical importance, and he outlined how Tressiders had developed policies to manage risks of the greatest importance to layer farmers.

Chris Monnier, the 2017 Nuffield Egg Scholar, spoke about his egg scholarship experience under long established

40

NEWS Nuffield protocols.

Chris is General Manager in the Mak Egg group and has spent eight years in the egg industry. Today he works on three farms across three production systems.

He was involved in the production of a documentary supported by AECL ‘The Truth about EGGS’ that ran on Foxtel in July 2016.

The final speakers for the Forum were Gary Dawes, Senior Trade Advisor – emerging markets for Austrade, and Alice Cheung who explained ‘Australia’s Egg Export Regulatory system’.

Gary identified opportunities for further exports of cage eggs and organic cage eggs into Singapore and described the opportunities in South Korea in the wake of their AI outbreaks and subsequent shortages on retailer’s shelves in that country.

We intend to publish more details about these export opportunities in a later issue of Poultry Digest.

Video recordings were taken of all the forum speakers. Contact Australian Eggs (previously AECL) for more details on the availability of this material.

Managing Fowl Behaviour ‘Managing Fowl Behaviour’, a best practice guide to help manage feather pecking and cannibalism in pullet, layer and breeder flocks and published by AECL was released at the AECL (now Eggs Australia) Forum on 24/25 the May 2017.

Authors Phil Glatz and Geof Runge are two of the best known individuals in the Australian poultry industry.

Geof, currently working with AECL on skill and knowledge development, was the driving force (along with Dr Bronwyn Runge) in developing the PIX event. Bronwyn is also the editor of the “Managing Fowl Behaviour publication.

Dr Phil Glatz, a Senior Researcher from the SA Research and Development Institute (SAARDI) and the winner of the Australian Poultry Award 2017, has amassed many years of experience in the field of hen welfare and management.

“Fowl behaviour such as feather pecking and cannibalism can be a significant problem for pullet rearers, layer farmers and poultry breeders leading to reduced bird well being and lost production.

“This handbook provides an overview of the problem, the various solutions available to manage it and resources that can be used as a ‘benchmark’ tool to compare their current strategies with those considered to be best practice,” he said.

This publication, though obviously aimed at an Australian audience, will be of interest to a global industry as it addresses problems and solutions that are universal.

For further information on this valuable handbook contact the Australian Egg Corporation Limited (AECL) Program Manager – RD&E, phone +61 2 9409 6999 , Fax +61 2 9954 3133 or Email research@aecl.org

41

NEWS

Hy-Line International hosts technical seminar for growing Asian market share

Hy-Line International, one of the world leading companies in layer poultry genetics, brought together its growing number of Asian distributors in March in beautiful Pattaya, Thailand to share strategic management methods for optimal breeder performance and superior results.

More than 100 participants took part in the Hy-Line Asian Technical

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Seminar for two days of intensive training, marking Hy-Line’s increased market share in the region.

“Hy-Line has achieved increased market share in the region due to the prolific egg numbers, feed efficiency, exceptional livability and superior egg color and quality of its layers,” said Jonathan Cade, President of Hy-Line International.

“They lead the way in a part of the world that accounts for more than 63% of the world’s egg production by offering layer farmers a greater opportunity to make more profit.

With the Hy-Line Brown, W-36, W-80, Silver Brown and Sonia, Hy-Line delivers a bird for every market – every climate, every housing system and every country.

The participants heard presentations on nutrition, lighting, disease management, breeder management, global markets and trends, and worldwide results of Hy-Line layers.

This information was provided by

Hy-Line Technical Services team members and industry guest speakers.

“Our distributors are our direct link to the farmers choosing Hy-Line layers. This was a great opportunity to share knowledge to achieve the highest chick quality while optimising their efficiency,” said Mr Cade.

Founded in 1936 by Henry A. Wallace, Hy-Line was the first poultry breeding company to apply the principles of hybridization to commercial layer breeding.

Today, Hy-Line International continues to be a pioneer as the first company with its own in-house molecular genetics team leading the industry in application of DNA-based technology to its breeding and genetics program.

Hy-Line produces and sells both brown and white egg stock to more than 120 countries worldwide and is the largest selling layer in the American egg industry and around the world.

If you would like to advertise in Poultry Digest please contact Peter Bedwell on 0419 235 288 or 02 9797 2406 For prices and specifications go to: www.primarymedia.com.au

NEWS

China: More antibiotic resistance than expected especially on chicken farms It is now the year of the chicken in China – in more ways than we knew. The first systematic study of bacterial resistance to lastresort antibiotics on farms and hospitals in China has revealed far more resistance than standard tests had previously suggested, especially on chicken farms and meat products.

Worse, the study reveals for the first time that the genes that give bacteria their resistance are being spread by flies.

Antibiotics of last resort constitute our final weapons against bacterial infections that have resisted all other drugs. Carbapenems are often used as such drugs, but bacteria with genes for resisting carbapenems are spreading.

When carbapenems fail, one of the few options left is the antibiotic colistin, but in 2015, colistin resistance was discovered in China. The genes for both types of resistance can spread between different types of bacteria.

The colistin resistance gene, mrc-1, has now been found in 25 countries, on four continents. It was first detected in China, though it is not known if it evolved there. It could have, but unlike in western countries, in China colistin is not used as an antibiotic in people, but 8000 tonnes of the drug are given to animals as a growth promoter every year, mainly to pigs and chickens.

In April, this practice will be banned in China, and colistin will begin to be used to treat people instead. But it may be too late.

Carried by flies In a systematic search for colistin and carbapenem resistance in several regions of China, Tim Walsh at Cardiff University, UK and colleagues found colistin resistance in around one per cent of hospital patients in two large cities – even though the drug has not been used to treat people there. Their results were published last week (The Lancet, 10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30527-8).

Now we know that the resistance genes probably came from a farm. In a related study, published today, the same team reports that a third of the Escherichia coli bacteria sampled from chicken farms and meat in grocery stores resisted carbapenems, and a quarter of those also resisted colistin.

The team found high rates of bacteria with colistin and carbapenem resistance genes in dog faeces from chicken farms, and in the flies at these farms. This is the first time such a result has been reported, and suggests that flies could be spreading resistance from farm animals. “Their ability to contaminate the environment has immense public health concerns,� the team concludes. It may be why hospital patients who lived far away from farms were not less likely to have a resistant infection during summer, says Walsh. “In the summer flies will carry those bacteria everywhere.�

Spread by swallows Unexpectedly, when the team sequenced the entire genomes of the bacteria, far more turned out to be silently carrying those resistance genes than actively using them. Nearly all the bacteria sampled on chicken farms had mrc-1, though only half resisted colistin. This means the potential for antibiotic resistance is likely vastly underestimated by standard tests.

The team concluded that the DNA sequences of bacteria from chicken farms, slaughterhouses, supermarkets and people were so similar that colistin and carbapenem resistance must have spread first in the poultry sector and then to people. It’s compelling evidence, to add to previous studies, that antibiotic resistance

in agriculture affects people, says Lance Price at George Washington University, Washington D.C., who has found resistant bacteria on supermarket meat in the US. “It worries me that Chinese officials are going to start using colistin in human medicine,� says Price, saying that this could cause an explosion of human infections that are already silently carrying mcr-1 from chickens.

Walsh’s team also found resistant bacteria in faeces from swallows on farms in China. These birds will likely carry this resistance with them as they migrate to southeast Asia. Walsh fears that, when antibiotic manufacturers can no longer sell tonnes of colistin to farmers in China, they will export it countries like Vietnam and Thailand, laying the foundations for an explosion in resistance there too.

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NUTRITION FEATURE

Feather-eating hens show specific essential amino acid appetities

By S. CHO; J.M. KIM and E.Roura, University of Queensland.

Nutritional balance is one of the major considerations to prevent severe feather pecking in layer hens.

Individual variation in digestive and metabolic efficiencies and nutrient requirements may explain differences in specific appetitive behaviours.

For example, dietary nutrient deficiencies or imbalances, particularly in amino acids, may increase the risk of severe feather pecking.

Taste plays a crucial role in identifying the nutritional content of foods by detecting dietary nutrients (what has been referred to as nutritional chemosensing).

We hypothesise that severe feather pecking may be partially explained as a specific nutrient-driven appetitive behaviour.

Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate whether there are differences in the specific amino acid appetite between feather eating and non-feather eating laying hens.

A total of 12 amino acids (lysine, methionine, cysteine, tryptophan,

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glutamine, arginine, histidine, glycine, proline, serine, tyrosine, and alanine) were selected based on potential involvement in severe feather pecking from existing literature.

Each amino acid was tested at three concentrations (0.2, 1 and 5%) using double –choice tests (offering a carrier alone –ground wheat- or mixed with the amino acid/level under study) in 96 mature laying hens (ISA Brown).

At the end of the trial the hens were euthanised and feather consumption assessed.

The consumption of the two feeds in each test (control vs treatment) was analysed as a subtract (consumption of treatment – consumption of control feed) and as a standard preference index (% of treatment consumption over total consumption).

Preference value were compared to the random choice value of 50%, while the subtraction was contrasted to 0g.

The two groups of birds (feather eaters versus feather non-eaters), were compared using the GLM procedure of SAS.

Feather eating and non-feather eating birds showed significant (P < 0.05) differences in amino acid preferences.

Feather eating birds showed a higher preference for methionine and lysine than non-feather eating birds (P < 0.05).

These two are the most limiting amino acids in laying hens.

These finding is consistent with previous findings that a dietary deficiency of lysine and methionine + cysteine increased severe feather pecking.

We speculate that the specific methionine appetite may be related to our previous finding which showed that feather eating birds had shorter beaks.

Keratin, is the main protein in the beak, and is very rich in sulphur amino acids (i.e. methionine and cysteine).

Thus, there may be a relationship between slow beak development, feather eating and methionine/lysine specific appetites.

Acknowledgements: The study was supported by funding from Australian Egg Corporation Limited.

Dr Alison Leary joins CCD Poultry Digest first met Alison Leary when she was involved in animal nutrition related research projects at Bangkok University.

Recently we met Dr Leary again at Sydney’s CCD’s Animal Health and Nutrition offices located at Baulkham Hills NSW, just after CCD had announced that she had been appointed Key Account Manager, Poultry.

Dr Leary graduated from the University of New England (UNE) with a BSc (Honours) in the field of animal nutrition and physiology.

She later obtained a PhD and her thesis was ‘Factors affecting egg and egg shell quality, in various strains of the laying hen’.

In 2004 she completed her Master’s degree in Business Administration.

She has amassed more than 16 years experience in the animal feed industry and 12 years of that time was spent

travelling and living throughout the Asia Pacific region.

Throughout much of her career Dr Leary has worked within the poultry industry offering technical support on nutritional solutions and in recent times her experience has extended to the dairy sector.

NUTRITION FEATURE

Nutrient loading on free-ranging layer farming

By M.SINGH; I RUHNKE; C.T. De KONING, K. DRAKE AND A. SHERMAN

indicate increased risk of off-site export of nutrients, in runoff, or by leaching into groundwater, potentially contaminating surface and groundwater resources.

The potential impacts of nutrient export should be evaluated across a wide range of climatic conditions and

soil types, to assist in developing design and management practices.

Failure to mitigate adverse environmental impacts may threaten the long- term sustainability and social acceptance of free-range production systems.

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A considerable proportion of the dietary nutrients consumed by poultry are excreted in the manure.

This becomes an important issue on free-range farms, if manure and/or nutrients are not removed periodically from the range areas.

The nutrients and trace elements in manure can accumulate in the soil and become toxic to vegetation, while also causing pollution of ground and surface water through leaching.

Soil samples were collected from fourteen free range layer farms both on the range and control areas (with no exposure to poultry) to investigate comparative soil nutrient concentrations.

Nutrient concentrations were also compared between fixed and rotational ranges and between farms having different bird densities.

At each site, soil was collected from 10 sampling points, arranged diagonally in a grid across both the range and control areas.

A sampling probe was used to collect soil from the top 10 cm depth.

These were submitted for a standardised lab analysis (Apal Agricultural Laboratory, SA, Australia).

Data was subjected to analysis of variance and means considered significant at P < 0.05.

The soil nutrient concentrations in range areas were well above the levels required for normal crop/pasture nutrition.

Concentrations of N, Ca and S were significantly high (P < 0.05) in the range as compared to control areas.

Soil samples from fixed ranges showed significantly higher concentrations of Ca (P < 0.01) and were significantly more alkaline (P < 0.01) than in rotational ranges, probably due to constant deposition of manure and lack of any rotational cropping program to remove nutrients from the soil.

Bird density was not found to be a significant factor for soil nutrient concentrations in range areas.

The percentage of birds using the range and the percentage of the range being used by birds may be more important variables than density, for nutrient loading.

The highly elevated concentrations

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45

HEALTH FEATURE v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 Assessment 2011) was that large number of small producers do not have on-farm safety measures in place and often supply cracked or dirty eggs to businesses and consumers.

The following do not support these allegations.

• The NSW FA Baseline Evaluation of the NSW Egg Food Safety Scheme (2013) found that more than 84% of participants scored A with an overall food safety performance of 92%.

• 91% of the participants were small producers.

Free range Free range production appears to be an entity that is blamed for several problems regardless of facts. There is no scientific concordance on the comparative Salmonella risk between free range eggs and indoor eggs. Both environments can present different type of risks.

In repeated surveys in Qld in 2014 and 2015 fewer FR flocks than indoor flocks were found to harbour Salmonella. In a NSW survey (2013)

Don’t

it was shown that the old single tier cage farms had the lowest Salmonella prevalence (10%), followed by FR farms with moveable sheds (34%), barn based FR farms (50%), multi-tier cage (100%) ) and barn (100%).

A comprehensive review by AECL (2016) highlighted high density to be a key risk factor. In this respect perhaps high density free range flocks are as much at risk as high density indoor flocks. However, the majority of free range flocks in Australia are low density flocks.

Although the AECL report points out that the ultimate risk factor is the quality of the flock management, it is important to remember that the majority of human cases are not associated with cracked or dirty eggs and often farm implicated in Salmonella outbreaks are well run enterprises that are proactively seeking to control the Salmonella risk.

Conclusion When Salmonella is present on so many well managed farms, in a world where Salmonella and eggs rendezvous frequently in the hen arse, in a world

where good management and gallant efforts have often failed to mitigate the risk, in a world where essential mitigation strategies beyond the farm gate are not effectively instigated, allowing the Russian roulette principal to operate, it is over simplistic to attribute to flock management complex events far beyond management control.

The promised improvement in the burden of Salmonella outbreaks following the introduction of regulatory frameworks in different jurisdictions has not materialised and the thrust of the regulations appears to miss the mark.

Attributing higher Salmonella risk to small egg producers or to free range flocks is inconsistent with data.

Since Salmonella in eggs is recognised as an important issue and vaccination is a major management tool, it is difficult to comprehend that egg producers in Australia do not have ready access to effective inactivated commercial Salmonella vaccines that would provide long-lived birds with effective long term protection and would in conjunction with available live vaccines reduce the human risk.

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