Poultry Digest June/July 2017

poultrydigest June/July 2017

www.primarymedia.com.au

Volume 32, Number 6

Alltech/Lienert’s Blueprint for Layers at work at Kean’s Poultry in Huntly

Vitamin D enrichment of eggs for human health

Swan Bay grower converts old turkey sheds to free range layer farm

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Volume 32, Number 6

June/July 2017

EDITORIAL & DESIGN EDITOR: JOURNALIST/PHOTOGRAPHER PRODUCTION EDITOR

Peter Bedwell Alex Bedwell Rosemary Embery

ADVERTISING Peter Bedwell Mob: 0419 235 288 Email: primarymedia@bigpond.com Harley Kean from Kean’s Poultry

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Features Page 8: Alltech/Lienert’s Blueprint for Layers at work at Kean’s Poultry in Huntly

by Peter Bedwell

Page 18: Importation of chicken meat on the agenda again

by George Arzey

Page 22: Swan Bay grower converts old turkey sheds to free range layer farm

by Peter Bedwell

Page 30: Vitamin D enrichment of eggs for human health

by L.C. Browning

News Page 4: More than 340 exhibitors at foodpro 2017 Page 28: AMC/PIX 2018 – plan your visit for June 3-5 Page 36: Functional food, better health for humans, our livestock and the bottom line Product News Page 38: Two year project to build all-in-one, low maintenance LED lighting system for broilers Page42: Key transport upgrades provide ongoing security to Australian egg producers

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NEWS

More than 340 exhibitors at foodpro 2017 The tri-annual foodpro event, the premier Australian International Food Processing Exhibition, was held on July 16-19 at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Darling Harbour, Sydney.

More than 340 exhibitors occupied four exhibition halls on two levels of the vast ICC Two concurrent seminar sessions were held over July 17-19. The first covered topics of general interest to food industries and the second concerned ‘Supply Chain Integrity’.

It is easy to forget amongst the specific concerns and pressures on the Australasian poultry sector, that we are part of a vast food industry that not only creates huge revenues at home and overseas, but is also a major source of employment.

Both Australia and New Zeland are blessed with both plentiful and high quality food raw materials, but transforming these materials into marketable products that not only appeal to consumers, but comply with ever more complex regulations, requires significant capital investment.

That’s why events like foodpro 2017 are essential to the food sector.

The chicken meat industry requires sophisticated and highly efficient equipment, not only to keep pace with still growing consumer demand but also to stay competitive with other protein sources.

One of the reasons that poultry is now Australia’s most consumed protein is that the supply chain that produces chicken meat has always been at the forefront of technology adoption.

Companies like Linco Food Systems import and market some of the world’s most sophisticated chicken meat processing equipment in Australia.

Packaging and labeling systems alone occupied a significant proportion of a trade hall.

Though the large display sites occupied by machinery dominated, there were plenty of interesting and innovative smaller scale concerns that offered technology of benefit to the poultry industry.

Wells Hygiene Systems and Food Safety has, for more than 80 years, supplied quality products to the food processing, manufacturing, healthcare and dairy industries.

It has recently released a product called Bio Finder, which the company was promoting at foodpro as an

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innovation in biofilm detection.

Poultry Digest visited the stand and spoke to Barry Hennessy, Well’s account manager.

“The presence of biofilms on food preparation surfaces within processing operations is a significant cause of contamination of the final product,” Mr Hennessy pointed out.

Referring to the company information sheet on Bio Finder, ‘BIOFILM detection made easy’ Wells states that the product enables, “efficient detection of biofilms caused by bacteria including Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli & Staphylococcus”.

“It is safe to use, non staining, leaves no residue and is easy to rinse, also competitive vs. other detection methods and can significantly strengthens you validation process,” the brochure states.

Biofilms are groups of microorganisms attached to surfaces which produce a number of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) that protect them from adverse environmental conditions.

EPS make micro-organisms resistant and form a barrier against conventional cleaning and disinfection procedures, making it more difficult to remove the biofilm.

Biofilms easily develop in hydrated environments, with a source of carbon and nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, among others.

Biofilms are invisible to the naked w

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1. Baader food processing machinery on display. 2. Packaging equipment filled most of one hall.

3. Linco stand: well known for its chicken processing equipment.

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NEWS v

eye, but they can be detected: “ITRAM HIGIENE has developed Bio Finder, an innovative solution for the detection of biofilms in open surfaces and an effective tool for hygiene monitoring.

“Bio Finder reacts in the presence of biofilms and by just a simple inspection, any contaminated areas can be identified just after spraying Bio Finder on potentially affected surfaces.”

Biofilm is not just a problem in food production facilities.

Work conducted on poultry farms in the US at Georgia State University, pointed to the fact that biofilm on drinkers systems in broiler sheds could have lead in the spread of infections like ILT. In the same hall, Hychem International was busy with enquiries which is not surprising given that Hycrete polyurethane cement and other flooring products are used in a wide variety of industries including food processing. Inghams and Hungry Jacks are amongst an impressive client list.

Cement floors in facilities like hatcheries and processing plants, in fact anywhere where regular and intense cleaning has to be undertaken, can lead to these flooring services degrading quite quickly.

Hycrete polyurethane cement is the companies’ scientifically engineered antimicrobial flooring system that, “has been effective in the most extreme environments,” Hychem representatives Andrew Bolton and Zack Chapman explained.

They also told Poultry Digest of a major plant expansion program in Queensland that we hope will be the subject of a report in the near future.

There were a wide range of topics in the Seminar Programs but, ‘Food Labeling and the Law – issues, compliance and enforcement’, was the pick for Poultry Digest.

We were not alone in our interest, as Andrew Davies the senior labeling compliance and investigations officer, Food Authority NSW, started his address, people were still piling into the already full function room.

Andrew’s presentation was worth the interest.

In introducing his discussion points, Andrew explained who the Food Authority was and what the Food Regulatory System in Australia looks like.

He outlined the Food Standards Code and labeling provisions and mentioned current ‘hot topics’ and finally where to get labeling advice.

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“The Food Standards Code provides the specifics of labeling, composition, food safety and production requirements and is in force throughout Australia and New Zealand,” Andrew said.

“It is administered by Food Standards Australia New Zealand and commonly known as FSANZ. “The code (given legal effect by the Food Act 2003) is enforced in NSW by NSWFA, local councils and others. Consistency in interpretation/ enforcement is the goal.

“Major functions of the NSWFA are investigation, auditing and inspection, compliance and of course, enforcement.

“We are involved with science and policy development, food standards development and implementation, also consumer and industry education,” Andrew said.

In referring to ‘The Code’ Andrew described the four key chapters, being, labeling and other information requirements (added substances contaminants eg), Chapter 1.

Food standards for different categories (dairy, meat, fish eggs, etc), Chapter 2.

Food standards for Australia only, Chapter 3, and primary production standards for Australia only, Chapter 4.

“Mandatory labeling information for retail sale labels generally include the name of the food, lot code, and name/ address of the supplier.

Ingredients (which includes additives, date marking, storage instructions and nutrition information,” he explained.

“The Food Standards Code specifies labels to include characterisation of key components CONTINUED ON PAGE 46 w

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 w

2 3

1. Andrew Davies from Food Authority NSW. 2. Hychem representatives Andrew Bolton and Zack Chapman. 3. Wells Hygiene Systems stand.

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Alltech/Lienert’s Blueprint for Layers at work at Kean’s Poultry in Huntly

By PETER BEDWELL

O

ne of the great minds of the 20th Century, Austrian born (later US citizen) Peter Drucker, often described as the ‘founder of modern management’, famously stated that, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”.

That simple philosophy is what is a driving feature of Alltech/Lienert’s

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‘Blueprint for Layers’ program.

Alltech has, in its 37 year history, developed a formidable range of products and services to help the modern livestock industry be both more efficient and profitable by improving the performance of commercially reared livestock around the world.

Starting with yeast based nutritional and animal health products, the company has moved to the frontiers of science with genomic research (nutrigenomics), the use of algae in livestock feed and the ability to reduce the use of antimicrobials in animal nutrition.

In recent years Alltech has progressed from just developing products to advising and assisting producers to improve performance not only by using its feed additives, but by working with growers in a management program called Blueprint.

Primary Media publishes both Poultry Digest and Pork Journal and

back in April 2016 we visited a pig farm run by the Starrick family in South Australia.

By coincidence the farm was once a layer as well as a pig farming operation but it was the ‘Blueprint for Pigs’ program being used on the farm that prompted our visit with members of the Alltech/Lienert’s pig nutrition team.

“As an independent, medium sized farm we didn’t have the opportunity to benchmark our performance as the big growing companies can,” Matt Starick said.

‘Blueprint gives us that opportunity to benefit from a process that delivers that benchmarking capability which gets us to focus on the things that are going to make a difference on our farm,” Matt added.

Now as Alltech/Lienerts rolls out its ‘Blueprint for Layers’, Poultry Digest joined a team of specialists to conduct egg quality testing procedures at Kean’s Eggs in Huntly, Victoria.

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Poultry Digest first met Tara Tiller (nee Jarman) back in 2005 when visiting Bangkok University in Thailand, to learn about a research project for Alltech that was keeping Tara busy.

Subsequently we met again in Sydney to discuss Tara’s work in quality control for Alltech’s BioPlex Mineral Management Program.

Currently Tara is Global Mineral Project Manager for Alltech, based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Poultry Digest joined Tara, Graeme Hinchcliffe and Damien Kelly, both poultry industry specialists with Alltech/ Lienerts, to visit Gary and Harley Kean at Kean’s Poultry, a free range layer farm located near Bendigo.

The farm is famous in the Bendigo region for its free range eggs and was established back in 1952.

The aim of the egg quality testing was to evaluate samples from each of the laying sheds for egg weight, Haugh units (a measurement of egg albumen indicating freshness); yolk colour (against the yolk colour fan) and in particular, egg shell quality and breaking strength.

“Based on the results, recommendations could then be made as to feed premix formulation to achieve optimal egg quality,” Tara explained.

The birds on the farm Poultry Digest visited had just been placed on diets with organic mineral supplementation (Bioplex and Sel-Plex) and the tests conducted were to achieve a base line from eggs laid prior to changes made to their feed premixes.

Eggshell quality is critical to consumers, retailers and of course producers who suffer financial and reputational damage as a result of poor quality.

The two pieces of equipment used to establish a benchmark on the day were the Egg Analyzer (egg weight, yolk colour and Haugh units) and the Egg Force Reader that measures a force in kilograms necessary to break eggshells delivering a comparable figure for eggshell strength.

Alltech has issued a management guide for layers that is based on many years of research and trials.

Introducing egg equality benchmarking, the guide points out “Alltech has been working for years to improve the health of animals and enhance the nutritional value of food for humans”.

“This is a simple summary of the checks that can be used to determine the quality of your eggs based on the standards established by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),” the guide states.

“It is estimated that between 10 to 15% of eggs laid (in the USA) do not make it to the end user, resulting in a

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1. LtoR: Damien Kelly, Gary and Harley Kean, Tara Tiller and Graeme Hinchcliffe. 2. Damien checking shell quality. 3. Keans free range eggs ready to go. loss of between US$1.32 and $2.00 per bird.

“One of the best ways to help ensure that the eggs produced have a strong shell is through the hen’s nutrition.

“If we can get her the correct nutrition, then she will be able to provide a more durable egg.

“It is widely known that eggshells are composed of calcium carbonate, phosphorous and magnesium. Looking more closely, traces of iron, manganese, copper and other organic matter are “Even though there might only be small amounts of these minerals found in the eggshell, they play a critical role in eggshell formation.

“For maximum effectiveness, the form of those minerals matters. Organic

minerals are absorbed more readily by the hen.

“Including these organic minerals in layer diets could mean the difference between an egg being discarded or making it to the point of sale,” the guide states.

“In summarising performance, parameters determined by trials on Hy-Line layers using Alltech’s Bioplex organic minerals, lower FCR was achieved, percentage of lay improved significantly, lower percentage of broken eggs reported and significantly, from the bird welfare point of view, increased bone strength.

“To ensure maximum mineral bio-availability, organic minerals have been developed in the form of Bioplex using chelation technology.

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“Bioplex minerals are presented to the animal in a way that is comparable with their natural organic state in plants.

“Sel-Plex is Alltech’s propriety selenium enriched yeast product, designed to mimic Mother Nature.

“It is better absorbed and utilised by the animal than inorganic selenium,” the Bioplex TRT (Total Replacement Technology) Layer information document states.

“The product has a recommended use rate of 1kg/tonne, and combines Bioplex Zinc, Bioplex Manganese, Bioplex Copper, Sel-Plex and Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide (EDDI), as well as the full profile of vitamins.

Alltech first developed the Bioplex range or organic trace minerals in the 1990s. Research into total replacement technology started more than 10 years ago when Alltech demonstrated that all inorganic sulphate minerals could be removed from the animal’s diet and replaced with significantly lower levels of Bioplex and Sel-Plex while still achieving high levels of animal performance.

An important aspect of Bioplex is the program Alltech has developed for quality control known as the Q+ Program for quality assured minerals.

Tara was very much involved with this initiative, which for Alltech proved to be a clear advantage in the light of a number of contamination incidents in Europe about 10 years ago involving dioxins and heavy metals.

The Alltech Q+ Program integrates external and internal testing of raw materials and finished products.

Beginning with certificates of analysis from suppliers, all raw materials for Bioplex production are tested for dioxins and PCBs externally and for heavy metals in an Alltech laboratory.

In addition, Alltech tests Bioplex produced at its facility for contaminants prior to sale.

While Tara and the Lienerts team continued their tests, Harley and Poultry Digest headed out to one of the two nearby free-range farms.

With the birds at 55 weeks and a clear but crisp sunny day it is easy to see why consumers are so convinced that birds should have access to the outdoors.

The Kean’s farm has two sites with around 75,000 birds housed. They raise their hens from day old chicks, which are Hy-Line Browns from Specialised Breeders Australia.

These birds thrive in single tiered nesting systems in sheds like the Vencomatic equipped housing on the farms.

The part curtain sided shed and pop hole/ramp design works well and the land area immediately in front of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 w

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1. Tara Tiller and Graeme Hinchcliffe from AlltechLienerts with Gary Kean as they observe the first egg shell strength tests.

2. The egg testing device accurately records the weight needed to crack the egg and then records the result.

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v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 sheds is meshed to reduce degradation.

On the topic of stocking density on the range Keans run from 2500- 5500 birds per hectare.

However, like all commercial livestock farming free range layer farming presents challenges.

When the Kean’s poultry farm was established 60 years ago animal welfare and environmental impacts were hardly major considerations.

Not so today. In 1986 in a highly politicised decision, the Swedish government decided to enforce drastic reduction of antimicrobial use in intensive livestock production.

Producers were forced to resort to remedies from pre-antimicrobial development to maintain production at a time of rising consumption.

The use of inorganic trace elements caused very high residue levels on freerange farms to the high inclusion levels of typical inorganic premix diets.

Due to the high bio-availability of the Bioplex minerals, combined with the low inclusion levels recommended by Alltech, plus the stringent quality control applied to avoid contaminated materials in the first place, means that the risk of contamination on free-range farms like the Kean’s is significantly reduced.

While the ‘Blueprint for Layers’ program aims primarily to deliver a better and stronger egg, there is a critical welfare benefit from the organic minerals feed supplementation and that is better bone strength in layer flocks.

As layer genetics have improved so have the number of weeks they remain in lay so nutritional strategies must work over longer periods.

In Europe where cages were being phased out and replaced by aviary or barn systems it became a cause for alarm when mortality levels in cage free systems rose quite sharply.

In June last year Poultry Digest attended an egg farming ‘Master Class’ organised by Greg Mills from Sustainable Egg Farming and supported

by AECL. Greg in his paper, ‘Challenges of cage free production’ revealed that ‘Keel Bone fractures’ were a major issue in cage free housing.

This is not only an economic issue for cage free/free range layer farming (as elevated mortality equals loss of income), but a clear welfare issue and were mortality levels in cage free systems to mirror the European experience, it would not be long before the more extreme animal rights groups would be using it as an issue to place further regulation or restriction on producers.

If organic mineral supplementation can, as demonstrated in Alltech’s Bioplex research, generate greater

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2 bone strength, it is logical to assume mortalities in cage free systems could be reduced.

So the Alltech/Lienerts ‘Blueprint for Layers’ program offers a wide range of benefits for the Kean family business, their customers and their livestock.

Poultry Digest looks forward to the results of further tests when the changes to premix in the layer diets have been in place for a period sufficient to show measurable results.

Just before Poultry Digest left the Lienerts’ team to its testing procedures, Gary Kean asked if we would like to see an interesting piece of technology.

Tucked away in a machinery shed

1. Even on cold days the birds often seek shaded areas. 2. Early Rolls Royce Phantom II delivery module.

3. This device tests Haugh units (a measurement of egg albumen showing freshness) and the yolk colour is compared against the colour fan. was the Kean’s Free Range Eggs now retired ‘Delivery Module’.

It’s a 1931? Rolls Royce Phantom II, painstakingly restored by Gary Kean who acquired it when it was a derelict old school bus.

Only 1340 of these 7.7 litre giants were produced by Rolls Royce and today few if any would have been fitted out as commercial transport.

Rather than restore the vehicle as a saloon or open tourer, as many enthusiast would have done, Gary opted to keep the bus body, but instead of transporting students, used it to accommodate egg crates.

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HEALTH FEATURE

Importation of chicken meat on the agenda again

By GEORGE ARZEY, Veterinarian Poultry Consultant The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has recently invited stakeholders to provide comment on high pressure processing (HPP) application to imported chicken meat (Biosecurity Advice 2017-08, http:// www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/riskanalysis/memos/ba2017-08).

The Department is proposing that HPP of chicken meat could be used as an equivalent risk management measure to the current risk mitigation tool that relies on heat treatments.

The current risk mitigation tools either require that the imported meat is derived from countries that are free of certain pathogens, namely Avian influenza (AI) viruses, Newcastle Disease (NDV), Salmonella (Pullorum, Gallinarum and Enteritidis) and Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (a tall order to meet by all countries except New Zealand), or that the meat must be cooked to the appropriate temperatures for each of the above pathogens.

The temperature time combinations that are required for pathogens such as AI, NDV or Salmonella vary from 70 0C for 1 minute to 70 0C for 8.2 minutes.

These are commercially viable treatments, however, it is the temperature required for Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV) inactivation that is the most challenging aspect for imported chicken meat as it requires the meat to reach a core temperature of 80 °C for at least 125 minutes (or other time temperature combinations e.g. 70°C for 143 minutes).

The end result is that practically, the requirement for high temperature for such a long time adversely affects the palatability and the texture of the meat.

The core temperature requirement for IBDV has made it commercially unviable to import chicken meat into Australia.

The proposal to rely on HPP of poultry meat in lieu of heat inactivation, means that meat subject to high pressure for short time could be imported into Australia.

It makes the importation of chicken meat a viable commercial proposition.

What is the scientific basis to justify

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high pressure processing as an alternative to heat inactivation?

It would appear that the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources relies heavily on a scientific paper (Buckow et al 2017) published recently

by CSIRO researchers who were commissioned to do the study by an undisclosed donor.

The paper recommends that processing under high pressure conditions may be suitable to avoid the risk of infection of avian viral pathogens, like IBDV, via contaminated imported chicken meat.

Indeed, the study found that under high pressure of 600 MPa applied for 30 seconds IBDV virus was rendered inactive and unable to infect chickens although sufficient viability remained for it to infect eggs.

The study found a tailing effect and that the virus persisted albeit at low titre (quantity) even when the pressure was applied for up to 150 seconds.

What is chicken meat?

The study on which the Department proposes a change in policy was conducted in artificial substrate consisting of breast muscle that was ground in an electric blender, portions of 9g of the ground meat were mixed with 1ml virus suspension and further ground with a pestle and mortar until the fluid and meat were fully homogenised.

No other chicken muscles and organs/tissues were subjected to HPP in this study. However, chicken meat, for importation purpose, is defined not only as breast muscle.

It includes broader categories, other muscles and items such as liver, heart, neck and feet.

• The study (Buckow et al 2017) stated that the results cannot be extrapolated to other chicken tissues and non-meat products as the inactivation kinetics may be very different in those tissues.

Temperature, moisture and fat contents as well pH affect the efficacy of the inactivation process using HPP. These parameters are likely to vary between tissue homogenates and intact chicken organs and also between

Dr George Arzey.

breast muscles and other muscles and organs.

Artificial substrate vs naturally infected tissues • Chicken meat would not be imported as ground 9 grams sachets.

• Grinding IBDV viruses into chicken breast tissue and creating a homogenate is not equivalent to presence of natural viral infection in chicken organs where the virus has incorporated itself into the host cells.

• Other researchers (E. Rendueles et al., Microbiological food safety assessment of high hydrostatic pressure processing: A review: Food Science and Technology 44, 2011) stated that “the results obtained in model systems using artificial substrates cannot be directly compared to ‘real’ foods, and should be validated”.

• No such validation took place.

The researchers suggested that “Large virus amounts only occur in meat through surface contamination during processing in the case of IBDV, for example”.

Thus, perhaps, a suggested justification for the experimental procedure using homogenate of chicken breast instead of breast muscle naturally infected with the virus.

However, 1. IBDV AUSVETPLAN outlines that IBDV is also found in muscles.

2. Research undertaken by AAHL

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HEALTH FEATURE v

concluded that some very virulent IBDV (e.g. strain CS88) can be transmitted with ease from muscle of infected chickens to day old chicks by a natural route of infection.

The Independent Risk Analysis (IRA) on chicken meat (2008) concluded that “sufficient virus was present in muscles to infect susceptible day-old-chicks via a natural route�.

3. A second experiment reported in the 2008 Chicken Meat IRA using another IBD virus, also showed that transmission of IBDV was seen in at least 32 of 50 chicks fed muscle from infected chickens. http://www.agriculture. gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/ba/ memos/2008/2008_33c.pdf Therefore, while large IBD virus quantity (titres) may not be present in muscles, they can serve as a significant source of IBDV infection and validation of the inactivation process using high pressure processing is required to be done using naturally infected intact muscles, not relying on results obtained from breast muscle homogenates, artificially mixed with the virus.

needed to determine the effect of treatment temperature and pressure level on the kinetics of inactivation of IBDV in chicken meat�.

Furthermore, • The presence of viable IBDV virus after the HPP process raises significant issues. • Although IBDV following the HPP was infective only for eggs (not for chickens), nevertheless, it is unclear from the research presented that infection of chickens is highly improbable under circumstances that, for example, impair the immune response of chickens. • The researchers conceded that while it is not likely that the virus stock prior to the high pressure treatment was non-infectious for chickens, this aspect was not investigated to the fullness and further studies would benefit from inoculating an untreated control sample. • The study examined the infectivity to chickens only over a short period of two days. • The researchers concluded that it would be beneficial to rule out the possibility that infection of chickens The study (Buckow et al 2017) with the HPP treated virus could be recognised its own limitations present in an atypical manner (i.e. may take longer than two days to show up). • The researchers stated that “The • They stated that “extending the trial resource requirements for this type of beyond two days to allow further virus research are a limitation to the scope replication and host seroconversion, of studies needed to fully understand and also passage of bursal material to the mechanisms and kinetics of virus other susceptible chickens, would help inactivation. support thisâ€?.

It is for this reason that only time, • NDV was also present at the end of but not other parameters, notably the HP process although in low titres. temperature and pressure, was tested However, the viability of this virus and at a range of values, and its infectivity in chickens was not •Project1:PoltexAd2 “Nonetheless, further studies arePM Page 1 addressed.

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Policy changes on importation should be made on the basis of solid evidence Considering what is at stake, and the study’s recognition of several aspects that would benefit from further studies and better understanding of the inactivation process, perhaps it is premature to consider a change in policy largely on the basis of this study.

The high pressure process may eventually prove to be effective and mitigate the biosecurity risk of importation of chicken meat but it is clear that the current research has not provided a solid justification for a policy change.

Perhaps when the researchers concluded that processing under high pressure conditions may be suitable to avoid the risk of infection of avian viral pathogens, like IBDV, the word MAY was not fully understood and has not received appropriate weight.

This word (may) according to the Oxford Dictionary, expresses a possibility rather than certainty. The conclusion by the researchers should be read in conjunction with the researchers own expressed limitations of the study. Considering Australia’s unique freedom from a multitude of diseases, the fragility of this status should be upmost in our minds. ‘May’ does not provide certainty and it is certainty about the effectiveness of pathogen inactivation processes that should guide importation protocols and policy.

New technologies provide nimbleness but must be fully understood and provide a very low likelihood of failure before they are adopted.

The vulnerability of Australia’s biosecurity has been highlighted recently in the saga of the White Spot disease of prawns. The words of Minister Joyce, the Federal Minister for Agriculture, should raise sufficient alarm about the pitfalls of importation.

The Minister stated that “The [importers] were offering up a batch of prawns [for inspection] they knew full well didn’t have white spot and taking the others in the back door� http://www.abc.net.au/ news/rural/2017-03-16/what-is-whitespot-disease-in-prawns/8359476.

This highlights the practical pitfalls associated with importation. There is little justification to up the ante by hastily adding more risks and changing a policy on the basis of a study that highlighted several significant limitations, raised significant questions and the need to avoid extrapolation from one tissue/organ to another.

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Dianne and Mark Ryan at their Swan Bay farm.

Swan Bay grower converts old turkey sheds to free range layer farm

By PETER BEDWELL

D

ianne and Mark Ryan acquired a 106 acre property on the shores of picturesque Swan Bay in NSW with the intention of refitting the shed, previously used for turkey rearing, to create a modern free range layer farm.

They already own and operate an eight shed layer farm near Tomago

22

which was converted by Imexco using Vencomatic systems to create a side belt nest housing system with partial slats for barn egg production.

Doug Peters from Imexco advised and fitted out that property so when the Ryans acquired their Swan Bay farm, they called in Doug to help them create a layer farm that suited current layer production.

When Poultry Digest visited the Swan Bay property, Imexco had completed the installation of the new Vencomatic latest gallery system.

Making the best use of the available space inside the sheds was the key reason to install the Vencomatic housing system.

With its three tiers, more birds could safely be housed than could with single tier (combined with floor area).

“The fact that the system includes all such essential items such as LED lighting, drinkers, feeders, manure belts

(nest area is in the bottom and middle tier) combined with the possibility to house more birds makes the ‘per bird housed’ cost less than other options.

“The initial cost of the system may be greater than other options but over time the payback is far greater with the this system,” Doug explained.

Walking around the system it’s hard not to be impressed by the design of the shedding and the ideas used to make it efficient and easy to operate.

The use of ‘welfare ramps’ from the lower tier to the shed floor may seem a small detail but as the hens scramble to get out through the pop doors to access the range, or return at the end of the day, these simple ramps help in reducing injury to birds.

During the rearing phase, before the birds get access to the range, the housing can be fully enclosed with mesh ‘gates’ that can be easily raised CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 w

Highly effective against Avian Influenza including H7

EXPERIENCED BUILDERS AND GROWERS

v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 or lowered when the birds are ready to range.

The manure handling arrangement with belts for each tier in the gallery system is combined with a floor belt that transports the waste to pits for each shed.

Moving the manure off-farm will be achieved with a purpose built conveyor belt to move the material to transport.

The whole set up is very impressive and has been designed with the long term in mind.

“We liked the location of the farm and the opportunities the large land area offers.

“In the future there is an opportunity for some further expansion but right now we will settle down and run with our current capacity,” Mark said.

At the time of visiting the farm there was still some fencing to be completed on the considerable range area.

The location of the farm on the shore of Swan Bay is spectacular. When the Ryan’s first flock do get access to the range they will have water views that would make a Sydney Real estate agent jealous.

The location gets cool sea breezes and is ideal for open sided shedding.

Back at the Ryan’s spectacular farm house on the lake frontage, we discuss the prospects for energy cost reduction from using bio energy to solar and even wind generation.

However the location of the sheds is just fine with natural ventilation – which must be a plus when considering all operating costs.

Simon McKenzie, Vencomatic’s man in Australia, was also present.

Mark and Dianne said that they had been impressed by both Vencomatic and Imexco in helping them achieve both sustainable and profitable production that suits current and future demand for eggs.

When the fencing is finished and the birds are in lay Poultry Digest would like to return as the farm reaches full scale production.

When we spoke to Dianne in midMay when the birds were at 21 weeks, she said that the lack of floor eggs that Vencomatic claim as a critical benefit of their aviary systems was “a fair call”.

With many years of experience as broiler farmers, Mark and Dianne are glad to have moved to layer production.

Used to the idea that both broiler and layer farms involve significant investment, they have opted for a best possible solution and as such, considerable expenditure.

However, by taking that step they have a state of the art operation that is both expandable and capable of sustainable and acceptable long term production.

26

1 3

2

5

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Ac 1. Welfare ramps

6

reduce injury to birds. 2. Mesh gates for a secure system.

3. Sea breeze and extensive range for layers. 4. Manure belts are easy to operate and clean.

5. House can be enclosed for early stage rearing.

6. Easy access for maintenance procedures.

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NEWS

AMC/PIX 2018 – plan your visit for June 3-5 The 2018 AMC/PIX conference and trade exhibition will again be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Queensland June 3-5.

The PIX event has transformed from a gathering in a hotel car park to the major event for both the poultry and feed/milling in the Oceania region.

After the amalgamation of AMC/PIX, the next major change was for the industry organizing committee to appoint conference organisers ICE Australia to run the event.

The 2016 AMC/PIX demonstrated that these developments resulted in a successful and well attended event.

In line with the changes to PIX there are now significant changes occurring in both poultry and feed industries.

One of our major chicken meat integrators is also a livestock industry feed supplier and now a publically listed company.

As we all know the retail sector in our region has changed dramatically and will continue to do so. Consumers are eating ever more chicken meat and eggs but are demanding more than just an affordable product.

Australia has gone from a market with close to the cheapest energy supply to the second dearest of any developed economy.

Because of these changes and challenges, it is vital for those involved with our industry from supplies through to growers to come to AMC/PIX and learn more about what the future holds.

Despite the challenges, rearing poultry products is still one of the most consistent and profitable of agricultural industries offering a good living and lifestyle for thousands of families.

For those thinking about becoming part of the industry a visit to AMC/PIX 2018 would be a vital step to planning a rewarding future.

Poultry Digest is well aware of the pressures on growers to be off the farm for even a couple of days but by planning early in can be done.

Apart from the conference and trade exhibition it is a great opportunity to socialice reacquaint with old friends and make new ones.

AMC/PIX is a fun event and 2018 will be no different.

For suppliers/exhibitors who are bringing visitors from overseas to either be present at the trade display or speaking in the conference sessions remember the time it takes to arrange

28

visas to travel to Australia.

Don’t leave it too late to book trade stands with the organisers ICE. Be aware of the deadlines for any promotional material that will go in the visitors’ satchels.

Chairman of the Pix organizing committee Peter Mathews, in discussing the forthcoming AMC/PIX 2018 event with Poultry Digest, emphasised the need for potential visitors, trade exhibitors and those interested in partnership opportunities to act early.

“AMC/PIX 2018 is shaping up to be bigger, brighter and be a more diverse meeting than ever before,” said Vice President of the PIX organising committee, Dr Santiago Ramirez.

“We will be delivering key information about all aspects of the food chain from grower/producer to consumer,” he said.

“We are hosting more international speakers than ever to provide a broader point of view in an ever changing market.

“Our themes include technology, production efficiencies – both husbandry and management as well as industry ‘hot topics’.

“Don’t miss out on an event that will be vital to your business, “ Dr Ramirez concluded.

Dr Santiago Ramirez, VP of the PIX organising committee.

For all inquiries in the first instance contact Li Mel Giam, the conference organizer on +61 8 6160 6187 or email info@pixamc.com.au. The website address is: www.pixamc.com.au

Egg producer penalised The Federal Court has ordered Snowdale Holdings Pty Ltd to pay penalties totalling $750,000 for making false or misleading representations that its eggs were ‘free range’, in proceedings brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

“This is the highest penalty that a Court has ordered in relation to misleading ‘free range’ egg claims. It reflects the seriousness of Snowdale’s conduct and the importance of egg producers being truthful about marketing claims they make,” ACCC Commissioner Mick Keogh said.

“Consumers pay a higher price for free range eggs, so when a ‘free range’ claim is made, it’s important that consumers are purchasing eggs laid by chickens in free range conditions.”

“Farmers who have invested in changes to their farming practices so they can make valid credence claims such as ‘free range’ also need protec-

tion from others making false credence claims,” Mr Keogh said.

Snowdale supplied eggs labelled as ‘free range’ in Western Australia under brands including Eggs by Ellah, Swan Valley Free Range and Wanneroo Free Range. Snowdale also promoted its eggs as ‘free range’ on the Eggs by Ellah website from May 2013.

In May 2016 the Federal Court found that Snowdale’s labelling of its eggs as ‘free range’ between April 2011 and December 2013 was misleading or deceptive, and amounted to false or misleading representations.

The Court found that most of the hens from Snowdale’s sheds did not go outside as the farming conditions significantly inhibited them from doing so.

These conditions included the number of pop holes, the number of birds per metre of pop hole, the flock size inside the shed and the shed size.

Inviting all poultry farmers in Australia for a special training programme/ customer meeting on ROTEM & MUNTERS controls.

LEARN TO USE THE ROTEM CONTROLS IN THE BEST WAY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BEST CONTROL IN THE MARKET.

Seminar conducted by Technical Expert from Rotem, Israel Date

Location

Time

Venue

Monday 30th October 2017

Brisbane, QLD

9am-5pm

Wednesday 1st November 2017

Griffith, NSW

9am -5pm

Friday 3rd November 2017

Melbourne, VIC

9am-5pm

To be advised to registered customers by email or phone as it gets close to the date of the event in respective locations

Monday 6th November 2017

Adelaide, SA

9am -5pm

Training to cover the following topics • • • • • • • • •

Best method to utilise the Rotem controls to full capacity Latest features in Rotem controller that can be incorporated in old controls How to upgrade your existing control with latest technology Latest software and unique new features Communication- Rotemnet, Mobile app, 3G upgrades, wired and wireless communication, RLink-One very high quality wireless communication Remote monitoring of your farm from anywhere in the world Precision ventilation using- weight of birds, Static Pressure, CO2 sensor, Relative Humidity Tested and proven silo and bird scales in managing FCR Open Question and Answer session

Registration fees AUD$50 per person to be paid by credit card or depositing the money into our bank account Option 1: Bank Transfer

Option 2: Credit Card

Account number: 10138008 BSB: 062-200 Please use Rotem and your last name as reference e.g ROTEM Smith

For credit card payments please ring Binjal Darji Phone: 02 8843 1516

Munters contact : Sudhee Satyan Email: sudhee.satyan@munters.com.au Mobile: 0418 206 157

Tich Mabunu Email: Tich.mabunu@munters.com.au Mobile: 0407 021 446

Please fill in below and send back to us by email or Fax: 02 88431570 NAME: CONTACT NUMBER: FARM NAME AND ADDRESS:

REFERENCE NUMBER: LOCATION OF SEMINAR TO BE ATTENDED: HOW THE FEES HAVE BEEN PAID (circle the appropriate) bank deposit / by credit card

NUMBER/ NAME(S) OF PEOPLE ATTENDING:

DATE:

REFERENCE NO. OR RECIPT NO:

SIGNATURE

NUTRITION FEATURE

Vitamin D enrichment of eggs for human health

By L. C. BROWNING 1 Summary Epidemiological surveys indicate a recognised chronic insufficiency of vitamin D within the human population.

Vitamin D is essential for good skeletal health, healthy skin and a sound immune system and chronic insufficiencies may cause many diseases including osteoporosis, cancer and diabetes.

There are few naturally occurring foods which contain significant dietary levels of vitamin D, however the modern commercial laying hen has been shown to be unique in its ability to efficiently transfer vitamin D metabolites from its diet into egg yolk.

Consequently egg yolk represents one of the few foods which is rich in both vitamin D3and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3.

An experiment demonstrated that a single egg from a laying hen supplemented with increased levels of vitamin D3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 has the potential to contribute significantly to the recommended daily intake of vitamin D for both adults and children without detrimental effect on production parameters.

Introduction Vitamin D is an essential nutrient in vertebrate nutrition for the maintenance of good health and wellbeing. However epidemiological studies in most countries indicate a widespread vitamin D insufficiency in the population which potentially may have a detrimental effect on health.

Vitamin D is primarily sourced from sunlight (UVB 290-320nm) acting on skin,hence it has historically been called the sunshine vitamin.

Within the skin 7-dehydrocholestrol is converted to pre-vitamin D3, which is rapidly converted to cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) by the presence of body heat. Vitamin D3 is further converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) in the liver and 25(OH)D3 represents the storage form of vitamin D3. 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 is transported in the serum on specific proteins to the kidneys where it is further hydrolysed to 1, 25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) which is the

30

true active metabolite of vitamin D in the body. 1,25 dihydroxyvitaminD3 is often called a hormone.

The term vitamin D designates a group of the closely aligned compounds vitamin D3, and 25(OH)D3, which are fat soluble and possess anti-rachitic activity.

Role of vitamin D in bone health The major function of vitamin D is to maintain serum calcium concentrations within the physiologically homeostatic range and in order to maintain such tight homeostatic control, vitamin D regulates the transfer of calcium and phosphorus across the gastro-intestinal wall and the subsequent mineralization of bone tissue (Borle 1974, Fraser 1975).

In children a deficiency of vitamin D will cause bone tissue not to properly mineralize and this disease known as rickets was very widespread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in industrialized countries.

In an older human adults, a deficiency of vitamin D can cause osteoporosis, a disease characterized by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to reduced bone strength and a consequent increase in fracture risk (Holick 2007).

Osteoporosis is estimated to affect 200 million women worldwide (Kanis et al. 2008). It is widespread with approximately 33% of women 60 to 70 years of age and 66% of women 80 years of age or older have osteoporosis ((Larsen et al. 2004).

Furthermore approximately 47% of women and 22% of men 50 years of age or older will sustain an osteoporotic fracture in their remaining lifetime (Holick 2007).

Role of vitamin D in cancer Strong biological and mechanistic bases indicate that vitamin D plays a role in the prevention of colon, prostrate and breast cancers.

Both prospective and retrospective epidemiological studies indicate serum levels less than 50 nmol/L of 25(OH)D3 to be associated with 30 to 50%

increased risk of incident colon, prostrate and breast cancer and high associated mortalities from such cancers (Gorham et al. 2005, Giovannucci et al.

2006, Garland et al. 2006).

Vitamin D is also believed to play a role in maintaining the immune system (Brown et al. 1999, DeLuca and Zierold 1998) and helping to maintain healthy skin (DeLuca and Zierold 1998) and muscle strength (Brown et al. 1999).

Additional evidence indicates that vitamin D insufficiency might be associated with diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) such that living below 35 degrees latitude for the first 10 years of life reduces the risk of multiple sclerosis by approximately 50% (Ponsonby et al. 2002).

Furthermore women who ingested more than 400 IU of vitamin D per day had a 42% reduced risk of developing multiple sclerosis (Munger et al. 2004).

Similar observations have been made for rheumatoid arthritis (Merlino et al. 2004) and osteoarthritis (McAlindon et al. 1996).

Recent research has shown that vitamin D status has a role in preventing lung cancer development (Chen et al.

2015).

Role of vitamin D in diabetes Several studies suggest vitamin D supplementation early in life may reduce the development of type 1 diabetes.

For 10,366 children in Finland who were given 2000 IU of vitamin D3 per day for the first year of life and were followed for 31 years, the risk of type 1 diabetes was reduced by approximately 80% (Hyppรถnen et al. 2001).

Another study showed that a combined intake of 1200mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by 33% as compared to a daily intake of less than 600 mg of calcium and less than 400 IU of vitamin D3 (Pittas et al. 2006).

The vitamin D status in Asutralia Though the importance of the physiological role vitamin D is widely accepted there is also an increased recognition that the vitamin D nutritional status of the human population is lower than optimum (Chapuy et al. 1997).

The Working Group of the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society; Endocrine Society of Australia;

w

Osteoporosis Australia 2005 has defined vitamin D nutritional status in the population as follows: (NHMRC 2006): • Not deficient vitamin D = serum 25 (OH)D3 greater than 50 nmol/L • Mild deficiency vitamin D = serum 25 (OH)D3 levels between 25-50 nmol/L • Moderate deficiency vitamin D = serum 25 (OH)D3 between 12.5- 25 nmol/L • Severe deficiency vitamin D = serum 25 (OH)D3 less than 12.5 nmol/L In Australia, a survey was undertaken within three regions located at different latitudes, Southeast Queensland region, Geelong region and Tasmania. They found a vitamin D insufficiency or mild deficiency (≤ 50nmol/L) in 40.5% of women in Southeast Queensland, 37.4% in the Geelong region and 67.3% in Tasmania.

It was concluded that vitamin D insufficiency is common within Australia irrespective of the latitude (van der Mei et al.

2007). Van der Mei et al. suggested a need to pursue other means to achieve vitamin D adequacy in Australia.

The population groups of greater risk in Australia and New Zealand are the older persons, particularly those in institutionalµ care who may have a severe deficiency of 2267% and a mild deficiency of 45-84%, and dark skinned peoples and veiled women may have a mild deficiency of vitamin D in up to 80% of cases (NHMRC 2006).

People who always wear protective clothing, always use sunscreen and those who have intestinal, hepatic, renal or cardiopulmonary disease may be at increased risk (Fuller and Casparian 2001).

It has been found that 57% of hospitalized patients have Vitamin D deficiency (Thomas et al. 1998) Recommended vitamin D allowances The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has published its recommendations for vitamin D intake based on life stage and gender (NHMRC 2006): Age AI Adequate Intake 0-12 months 200 IU/day 1-18 years 200 IU/day 19-50 years 200 IU/day 51-70 years 400 IU/day >70years 600 IU/day The NHMRC has recommended upper levels of intake of Vitamin D based on studies looking at the effect of vitamin D on serum calcium in humans. There is some animal evidence of oral Vitamin D causing non- calcified atherosclerosis of large arteries (Taura et al. 1979, Toda et al. 1985, Valdivielso et al. 2009) and therefore NHMRC remain cautious in their recommendations for high doses of vitamin D. Age Upper Limit of Intake (UL) 0-12months 1000 IU/day 1year to 18years 3,200 IU/day Adults, including Lactation and Pregnancy 3,200 IU/day The daily recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin D by the USA Food and Nutrition Board 2010 is 600 IU from 1-70 years of age, and 800 IU from 70 years of age.

Egg yolks are a rich in vitamin D (Parrish and Richter 1979) because of an efficient transfer by the domestic fowl of vitamin D from the feed into the yolk and unlike other animal-based

®

Aviagen Management Essentials Judy Robberts Technical Service Manager, ANZ Judy graduated in animal and poultry science and has 11 years 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.

“Managers work hard during rear to develop the females and prepare them for production. Flocks with good uniformity and standard bodyweight can come into production late or slower than expected. Often this can point to poor or low fat deposition at onset of lay”.

Female Fat Deposition Objective To ensure that the females are properly conditioned before the onset of lay.

Key Points • • • •

Bodyweight Fleshing Pinbone Spacing Abdominal Fat Deposition

To achieve optimal performance from the female we need to ensure that all the above traits are developed properly.

The development of adequate abdominal fat is crucial because it will indicate that the female is in a “positive energy” balance and has energy in reserve to be able to start producing eggs. It is also important not to have too much abdominal fat at this stage as this will make bodyweight control from 30 weeks onwards more difficult.

If females do not have enough abdominal fat, a possible delay in the onset of lay will be experienced, as well as below target peak egg production. It is best to calculate the abdominal fat deposition as a percentage of the total bodyweight in females. The recommendation is 0.8% to 1.2% abdominal fat at point of lay. To achieve this it is important to look at abdominal fat deposition on a weekly basis from 20 weeks. This is a good indication of female development. It is also important to look at fat deposition on all different size females in the house (light, average, heavy birds).

Below are two tables that can be used as guides: % fat min.

% fat max.

22 weeks of age

0.8

1.2

26 weeks of age

1.2

1.6

31 weeks of age

1.8

2.3

38 weeks of age

2.0

2.5

45 weeks of age

2.0

2.5

Less than adequate abdominal fat can cause: • Delayed onset of lay • Below target peak egg production • Poor post peak persistency • An increase in feed per egg cost 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.

31

HEALTH FEATURE v

foods the egg yolk contains both D3 and 25(OH)D3.

In fact eggs contain higher levels of 25(OH)D3 than any other animal-based food such as fish and meat (Mattila 1995). The fact that eggs contain 25(OH)D3 is significant because in human nutrition 25(OH)D3 has five times the relative biological vitamin D activity as compared to D3 (NHMRC 2006).

25-hydroxyvitamin D3, is the principal metabolite of vitamin D found in circulating blood plasma in all vertebrate species and represents the major storage form of vitamin D with a half- life of 15 days (Horst and Littledike 1982).

25-hydroxyvitamin D3 is available for dietary supplementation of livestock feed in the form of a commercial vitamin D supplement.

Experiment 1 An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of supplementing the diet of laying hens with additional D3 and 25(OH)D3 on the vitamin D content of the egg yolk, overall performance and the change of vitamin D content of egg yolk with time (Browning and Cowieson 2014).

A total of 162 Isa-Brown laying hens

Table 1 - Outline of dietary treatments Diet 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Treatment Normal D3 Normal D3 + 34.5 mg 25 (OH) D3 Normal D3 + 69.0 mg 25 (OH) D3 Medium D3 Medium D3 + 34.5 mg 25 (OH) D3 Medium D3 + 69.0 mg 25 (OH) D3 High D3 High D3 + 34.5 mg 25 (OH) D3 High D3 + 69.0 mg 25 (OH) D3

Added D3*IU/kg 2,500 2,500 2,500 5,000 5,000 5,000 10,000 10,000 10,000

Added 25(OH)D3** mg/kg 0 34.5 69.0 0 34.5 69.0 0 34.5 69.0

* DSM Nutrition 1 Products Pty Ltd Rovimix ® D3 500 ** DSM Nutrition Products Pty Ltd Rovimix ®HY•D®

of 58 weeks of age were divided into nine treatment groups of 18 birds with six replicates of three birds per replicate.

Each bird was housed separately in cages measuring 25 x 50 x 50 cm2, with three adjacent cages forming the replicate unit.

Prior to the commencement of the trial all birds were fed for four weeks on the control diet with 2,500 IU D3/kg (acclimatisation period).

During the subsequent trial period of 9 weeks, the birds were fed a mash diet ad libitum with various levels of vitamin

D3 and 25(OH)D3 as shown in Table 1.

The photoperiod regime was 16 hours of light and 8 hours of dark. Water was supplied ad libitum.

In practical feeding of livestock and human supplementation, vitamin D quantities are usually expressed in terms of International Units (IU) where 1.0 μg vitamin D3 equals 40 IU. In human nutrition 25(OH)D3 has five times the level of vitamin D potency as compared to vitamin D3, that is 1.0 μg of 25(OH)D3 equals 200 IU of vitamin D (NHMRC 2006).

At the end of the 9 week trial a total

Table 2 - Effect of various levels of D3 and 25(OH)D3 supplementation on D3, 25(OH)D3 and total vitamin D content of egg yolk (Browning and Cowieson, 2014).

D3 (IU/kg) 2500 2500 2500 5000 5000 5000 10000 10000 10000 Pooled SEM Model P

25(OH)D3 (μg /kg) 0 34.5 69.0 0 34.5 69.0 0 34.5 69.0

2500 5000 10000 P 0 34.5 69.0 P

D3*25(OH)D3

D3/100g egg yolk (IU) 6.48cd (±1.462)2 5.96cd (±1.444) 4.90d (±0.532) 10.51c (±2.270) 7.43cd (±1.673) 8.07cd (±3.022) 26.17ab (±8.280) 23.60b (±5.208) 30.85a (±5.384) 1.648 <0.01

25(OH)D3 /100g egg yolk (IU) 1.61f (±0.757) 3.30d (±1.448) 4.49c (±1.242) 2.06ef (±0.752) 4.51c (±1.011) 5.81b (±0.656) 3.01de (±0.392) 3.71cd (±0.481) 8.05a (±1.117) 0.381 <0.01

Total vitamin D† /100g egg yolk (IU) 580e (±201.7) 898d (±315.2) 1094cd (±246.2) 832de (±186.1) 1199c (±261.5) 1484b (±172.1) 1649b (±325.1) 1686b (±173.0) 2845a (±251.3) 99.3 <0.01

Total vitamin D1 egg yolk (IU) 96f (±33.1) 152e (±50.2) 185de (±41.4) 146e (±39.6) 213cd (±50.1) 256bc (±27.5) 270b (±56.4) 285b (±25.6) 478a (±39.40) 16.98 <0.01

5.78c 8.67b 26.87a <0.01

3.13c 4.12b 4.93a <0.01

858c 1172b 2060a <0.01

144c 205b 344a <0.01

14.39a 12.33a 14.61a N.S

2.23c 3.84b 6.12a <0.01

1021c 1261b 1808a <0.01

171c 217b 307a <0.01

P<0.01

P<0.01

N.S

Main Effects

Interaction Terms N.S

Means in columns with no common superscript differ significantly. †Total vitamin D (IU) calculated by addition of D3 where 1.0 μg of D3 equals 40 IU vitamin D and 1.0 μg of 25(OH)D3 equals 200 IU vitamin D

32

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33

NEWS v

of five eggs per replicate (30 eggs per treatment) were collected and their yolks separated, weighed, blended and freeze dried prior to analysis for D3 and 25(OH)D3 content.

The egg yolks were analysed at the government owned Australian Measurement Institute.

The average weight of the egg yolks per replicate was used to calculate the D3 and 25(OH)D3 content of egg yolk per replicate (6 replicates per treatment).

Results The total vitamin D level, expressed in terms of international units, is shown in Table 2.

The addition of 25(OH)D3 in the diet of laying hens not only significantly increased the 25(OH)D3 content of egg yolk (P < 0.01) but also significantly increased the D3 content of egg yolk (P < 0.01).

Consequently there was a significant positive interaction (P < 0.05) between D3 and 25(OH)D3 when 25(OH) D3 was included in the diet. 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 appeared to increase the deposition of D3 into egg yolk.

The highest concentration of 478 IU of vitamin D in the egg was achieved at the highest level of D3 in combination with the highest level of 25(OH)D3.

There was no mortality in any treatment group during the trial and there was no significant difference between any of the nine treatments in respect to egg weight, egg mass, feed intake or feed conversion efficiency.

A second objective of this experiment was to determine the rate of change in total vitamin D content of yolk following additional vitamin D supplementation.

Eggs were collected at 0, 3, 6 and 9 weeks and both the D3 and 25(OH)D3 content of their egg yolks were determined at each interval by the National Measurement Institute.

The greatest change in vitamin D content of egg yolk was achieved in the first three weeks, after which there appeared to be a plateauing of total vitamin D content.

Experiment 2 A second field experiment was conducted by Browning LC in 2014 to investigate the effect of cooking on the D3 and 25(OH)D3 content of egg yolk (unpublished data).

Eggs were collected from ISABrown laying hens on a commercial laying farm. The birds were fed a diet

34

Table 3 - Effect of cooking on D3, 25(OH)D3 and total vitamin D content of egg yolk. (unpublished data) Average 25(OH)D3 content per egg yolk (IU) Fresh Yolk (n=15) 202 ± 12.5* Cooked Yolk (n=15) 183 ± 12.5 P value (Probability) NS

Average D3 content per egg yolk (IU) 105 ± 15.0 87 ± 15.0 NS

Average total vitamin D content per egg yolk (IU) 307 ± 20.5 271 ± 20.5 NS

* Standard Error Mean

supplemented with both D3 and 25(OH) D3. The cooking process was immersion in boiling water for 10 minutes.

There were 15 samples of yolk analysed for both fresh and cooked yolks, and each sample was a homogenous blend of 10 egg yolks, that is 300 eggs were used in the 30 samples. The D3 and 25(OH)D3 content of the egg yolks for both fresh and cooked yolks were analysed by the Australian Government National Measurement Institute.

The feeding of 5,000 IU D3 with 69 µg 25(OH)D3 could produce a single enriched vitamin D egg which after cooking would meet the Adequate Intake for vitamin D as determined by the NHMRC. For those persons older than 50 years and 70 years, the consumption of at least one enriched vitamin D egg per day, would significantly contribute to the recommended ‘Adequate Intake’ of 400 IU and 600 IU respectively of vitamin D as recommended by the NHMRC.

Results

Conclusion

The effect on the vitamin D content of eggs placed in boiling water for 10 minutes is shown in Table 3. There was an approximate loss of 12% in total vitamin D content of egg yolk which was comprised of a 10% loss in D3 and a 17% loss in 25(OH)D3.

It may be hypothesized that cooking for only five minutes in boiling in water (a more realistic scenario) may have reduced the loss of vitamin D metabolites. The reduction in the total vitamin D content of egg yolk with cooking is in line with previous research by Mattila et al. (1999) who found a 10% reduction in the vitamin D3 content of egg yolk with cooking.

This research has shown the supplementation of the diet of the laying hen, with conservative, practical and inexpensive levels of vitamin D3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 will significantly increase the vitamin D3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 content of the egg.

The daily consumption of one cooked egg, from a hen supplemented with 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 and 69 µg 25hydroxyvitamin D3, would contribute significantly to the NHMRC daily recommended vitamin D intake.

It is hypothesized that an improved vitamin D status within the general population would improve overall health by helping to reduce bone diseases, cancers and diseases associated with reduced immune function.

Discussion The supplementation with higher levels of D3 in combination with 25(OH) D3 markedly increased the total vitamin D content of the egg. Furthermore, it was found that cooking reduced the total vitamin D content of egg yolk by approximately 10 to12%.

In these studies the feeding of 5,000 IU D3 in combination with 69 µg 25(OH) D3 would produce an egg with approximately 250 IU of vitamin D which after cooking would produce an egg with about 220 IU of total vitamin D. The current NMMRC recommendation for an ‘Adequate Intake’ of Vitamin D for children and adults up to 50 years of age is 200 IU of vitamin D.

Acknowledgements: These studies were supported by the Poultry CRC. 1 L.C. Browning is from the Poultry Research Foundation, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW 2570.

Email: lbro6652@uni.sydney.edu.au.

This paper was reproduced from the Proceedings of the Australian Poultry Science Symposium 2017. The full article including references can be found on that website.

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

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35

NEWS

Functional food, better health for humans, our livestock and the bottom line

By PETER BEDWELL Functional foods, that is foods that provide specific health benefits above base levels of nutrition, do not seem to have ‘caught on’ in Australia as they have in many of the advanced regions in Asia and elsewhere.

Selenium enriched milk for example, in South Korea, is popular because of a belief that it improves human fertility levels.

Certainly a number of the major animal feed additive distributors in Australia include selenium, usually in organic yeast form, in pre-mixes to improve animal health, and fertility levels in particular.

Human fertility levels may not have the same consumer appeal in Australia and New Zealand as they do in South Korea for example, but this may be about to change.

An article generated by staff and the Press Association at the New Scientist magazine published July 25, reports the disturbing news that, ‘Sperm count has fallen by nearly 60% in richer countries’.

“An analysis of research into male fertility suggests that there has been a steep decline in sperm counts for men living in richer nations.

“The review pooled data from 185 different studies, and found a 59.3% drop between 1973 and 2011 in the average amount of sperm produced by men from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

No similar pattern was seen in South America, Asia and Africa, although fewer studies had been conducted in these countries.

“Given the importance of sperm counts for male fertility and human health, this study is an urgent wake-up call for researchers and health authorities around the world to investigate the causes of the sharp, ongoing drop in sperm count,” said Hagai Levine, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who worked on the analysis.

“The fact that the decline is seen in Western countries strongly suggests that chemicals in commerce are playing a causal role in this trend,” said Shanna Swan, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York.

“Exposure to chemicals in the

36

womb, adult exposure to pesticides, smoking, stress and obesity have all previously been linked to lower sperm counts.

But previous studies reporting falling sperm counts have been challenged by some for being unreliable.

“Previous smaller studies have suffered from confounding factors, including the fact that methods of counting sperm in the laboratory might have changed over the years, or that the populations of men being studied might have changed,” said Daniel Brison, at the University of Manchester, UK. “This new analysis overcomes those problems by including a large number of studies of varying design and location around the world, to confirm that the decline in sperm counts is likely to be real,” said Brison.

“Allan Pacey, of the University of Sheffield, UK, said that, despite the decline found in the study, average sperm counts still remain in the normal range,” the article concluded.

Kentucky based Alltech, one on the pioneers in both the development and manufacture of organic selenium compounds and functional foods like Selenium enriched milk (South Korea) has conducted extensive research into enriched foods.

Apart from being one of the world’s largest commercial livestock feed additive producers, it is a human food company in its own right and pioneers in the functional food sector.

Apart from the company’s development of organic yeast based selenium and other trace element products, it has conducted extensive research into algae for both animal and human health improvement.

At the Australian Poultry Science Symposium 2017, Dr Linda Browning presented a truly fascinating paper, Vitamin D enrichment for human health’.

Before commencing her PhD Linda worked for many years in the field of animal health and in particular, marketing vitamin products for DSM. We have run this paper at length in this issue of Poultry Digest to highlight the enormous potential for a truly functional food, based on one of the poultry industries core products – an already fabulous little food bomb – the egg.

Apart from the nutritional benefits to humans, the enrichment materials, be they organic selenium or vitamin D, have significant health benefits for our livestock, so we can generate better welfare across the food chain.

Some of those welfare benefits could also accrue to both producers, then retailers of their livestock.

Surely if these functional foods were marketed correctly they would justify a price premium and thus higher returns to producers.

One of the reasons that good science based research is vital, is because labeling for food products that make nutritional and/or health claims, will have to demonstrate efficacy to regulators.

That was made clear during a paper presented by Andrew Davies (Food Labeling and the Law) from the NSW Department of Primary Industries Food Authority at FoodPro 2017, held in Sydney recently. We have reported on both FoodPro and Andrew’s paper in this issue of Poultry Digest.

That may be a good thing. The mess that the poultry industry faces over ‘credence claims’ involving free range, cage free etc needs a solution.

The big retail outfits use the consumer perception over poultry production as a way to maximise margins, while regulators like the ACCC and consumer/activist groups like Choice/ GetUp want to get into the issue too.

Functional foods based on poultry backed by the considerable scientific clout of companies like Alltech or DSM and further supported by research should appeal to health conscious consumers.

This could bring clarity to the retail space as well as health benefits for both humans and the animals that produce our food.

PRODUCT NEWS

Award winning fan leads the way in energy efficiency Imagine a 1.2kw tunnel ventilation fan delivering in excess of 63,000 3m/hr at 25 pa. with air speeds over 3 mt/sec!

Is this possible? Yes with DACS technology this is simple and possible, according to Jon Cox, from PACE Systems, Australian distributor.

“Business owner and investor, Michael Vukadinovic was totally ‘blownaway’ with the air flow capacity and low levels of power consumption when fitting these to his new 16 shed broiler farm at Anakie Victoria,” said Mr Cox. Mr Vukadinovic said he chose the MagFan “due to its simple design, zero maintenance, quietness and of course given its overall energy efficiencies, and its ability to move large amounts of air at the requires air speeds and pressures”.

“Due to the successful international launch of the DACS MagFan four years ago, PACE Systems Pty Ltd has provided several projects which continue to deliver amazing results,” Mr Cox said.

“With the MagFan delivering unequalled values in energy efficiency and performance this fan continues to be a world leader in unparalleled technology.

The direct drive, variable speed MagFan is capable of delivering an excess of 63,000 3m/hr at 25 pa. with a Bureau Veritas certified test facility capacity of over 80,000 3m/hr at zero pa.

“The fan is able to be run on a single phase power supply which is saving build costs by reducing electrical power feeds significantly and saving up to 75% on typical power consumption, as recorded on another new broiler site in eastern Victoria.

“Magfan is tested and approved in a state-of-the-art wind tunnel facility built to ISO5801, which also holds additional independent certification by Bureau Veritas, maintaining the complete technological test facility and fan development as a world leader.

For more information on MagFan projects and PACE Systems Pty Ltd go to www.pacesystems.com.au or email sales@pacesystems.com.au

37

PRODUCT NEWS

Two year project to build all-in-one, low maintenance LED lighting system for broilers FES Australia is an Energy Efficiency company with a focus on accessing the large energy savings through upgrading industrial lighting to the latest LED technologies.

Its model is to fund installations upfront and cover maintenance for five years or greater using the power savings and extended lifetime durability of LED lights, according to a company spokesperson.

In 2015, FES approached Joe Vella to investigate the application of its systems to the poultry industry. Joe’s wide knowledge of the industry both in shed construction and farming proved invaluable to the successful development of the subsequent system.

An initial assessment of the lighting in place in the poultry industry showed that up to four different systems were being used to provide lighting requirements. These included systems for Brooding, Growout, Pickup and Dusk and Dawn transition periods.

FES observed that many systems being installed in the industry were focussed on cheaper light unit prices and did not fully address the longevity and energy efficiency needs in the harsh poultry rearing environment.

It was also noted that the smooth Dusk/Dawn transition required for some parts of the industry couldn’t easily be achieved with LED lights suitable for brooding.

FES and Davis Lighting arranged trials at the Vella farm to develop a lighting system which; • Significantly reduced energy and maintenance bills from shed lighting • Covered the full lighting requirements expected in a broiler growing shed.

• Used one integrated lighting system to accomplish all lighting operations.

• Was ruggedised for the poultry shed environment to allow the potential operational lifetime of up to ten years for new LED lights, to be realised.

• Had a control system that is simple to operate.

The resulting system put together

by FES lighting engineers and designers went through several phases and took more than 18 months to perfect.

Finding a suitable controller The first problem to overcome was the lack of digital lighting controllers.

38

Most lighting controllers in the industry were adaptions of the old 0-10 volt analogue dimming systems.

After a series of trials it was obvious these could not achieve the level of control required for an all in one system.

It was determined that the limitations of these controllers were the main reason a single system could not achieve a smooth LED dimming regime for the low light levels required in Dusk/Dawn simulation and during Pickup.

Lights powerful enough for the brooding period gave a sharp cut off at around 6 lux with these dimmers. This was not suitable for Dusk/Dawn periods or Pickup.

Digital LED control technology was sourced. The result was the DA’SEL controllers, ruggedized for use in the chicken shed environment and providing a smooth transition over the full control range of the LEDs. The specially designed controllers incorporate a single programmable system that covers multistage LED lighting and dimming and fully time controlled for Brooding, Growout, Dusk/ Dawn and Pickup as well as having manual override.

The company then tackled the challenge of providing the high lux

levels for brooding and at the same achieve dimming low enough to provide a Dusk/Dawn transition and Pickup lighting.

They initially achieved a 2 lux level prior to light cut off. By lighting engineering standards this was considered very low. However, it was still too high for the birds to fully settle and stop their drinking and feeding behaviour and caused reaction from the birds, particularly in the younger flocks, when finally switched off.

The solution was found after all parties met one evening at Joe’s farm to resolve the design issues.

Joe Vella said “I took the engineers into Shed 3 and showed them the reality of low-level poultry lighting requirements. They all shook their heads as they’d never had to work with lights this low. They almost couldn’t get a reading on their metres.”

With barely a glow to the dimmed incandescent lights the levels were measured 0.05 lux. The birds were still able to be discerned in the shed at a level where a pickup crew could operate with minimal effect on the birds. The lighting designers went back to the drawing board, re-working their designs for this ultra-low lux level.

PRODUCT NEWS The solution The FES team solved the problem by integrating a two-phased system in each light and reconfigured the controller to smoothly transition from high to low phases.

This configuration has now been tested through several cycles. In one single, programmable system, the lighting covers the brooding period and the farmer’s requirements during grow out.

Dimming is achieved to less than 0.06 lux, giving very smooth transition to full dark. Bird behaviour was monitored with the new lighting system for both Dusk/Dawn periods and Pickup modes.

During the smooth transition from the daylight setting to the Dusk/Dawn period the birds remained calm, as per the RSPCA requirements, with all birds basically motionless by the time the lights switched off.

In Pickup mode, a person could walk carefully through the birds with little response to their presence.

“The shed is now my best performer in terms of weight for age, bird behaviour and ease of cleaning with the new

light fittings, and no lights fail anymore,” said Joe. “The programmable controller is easy to use with a simple push button manual control when I need it.”

He also said the feedback from the Pickup crews was that they were happy with the adjustable pickup lighting the system provided.

With this final adaption, FES all in one system has been achieved. The LED system installed on Vella farms has been operational for sixteen months.

All lights are fully functional with no maintenance required. A 65% saving in electricity for lighting was achieved.

Left: Brooding under FES lighting.

Right: DA’SEL lighting control module.

Below: The FES light installed in the poultry shed.

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Up to 70% Saving on Energy Consumption No maintenance costs for at least 5 years Flexible finance options Future proof technology to meet RSPCA lighting standards Programmable control covering all requirements in one simple to operate system Automated brooding, grow-out, sunset/sunrise dimming with manual control options and pick up mode Robustly designed in Australia for the poultry industry conditions and to prevent corrosion of LED from build-up of Ammonia

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DUSK TO DAWN

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39

NEWS

Alltech/Lienert Australia opens new premises On June 23 2018, Alltech/Lienert Australia hosted drinks and canapés to celebrate the opening of its new premises at Bendigo Victoria.

Mathew Smith, Vice President Asia Pacific for the ever growing Alltech group of companies, welcomed all the guests to the new premises and gave a brief history of the amazing growth of Alltech “In 1980 Dr Pearce Lyons established Alltech with just $10,000 and a big vision to sustain our planet and all things living on it, and today a global team of more than 5000 people around the world share Dr Lyons vision,” Mr Smith said.

“We share a commitment to do well by doing good: in embracing the ‘ACE’ concept we work with the animal, consumer and environment. Science is the source of our strength and Alltech has three major biosciences centers, a team oover 100 researchers, and a global network of more than 20 research alliances.

“At the core of the business is fermentation working with yeast, bacteria, enzymes and algae. We also produce a range of world class beer and spirits,” Mr Smith explained.

Our manufacturing facilities include the world’s largest yeast production

production and processing facility at Sao Pedro, Brazil, one of the two biggest commercial algae production facilities and the only one in the world dedicated to animal production at Winchester, Kentucky, USA. “At Serdan, Mexico we operate the largest solid state enzyme facility.

“Soil, feed, farm and food, this is our business. Our focus on feed includes an antibiotic free program, feed efficiency, gut health management, mycotoxin management, protein management and advanced technologies to naturally enrich food.

“Alltech is proud to be a family business, 100% privately owned and our family is growing with more than 20 companies around the world in Alltech’s management with more than 100 manufacturing facilities for localised production,” Mr Smith concluded.

Next Mark Peebles, Lienert Australia’s General Manager explained the origins and growth of the organisation.

“The Lienert family business commenced in 1970 and in 2008 took over the Provimi company which had been established in Australia by acquiring Agribusiness Products (est 1977) and Janos Hoey (est 1968).

In 2004, Lienerts took over Supply

Plus Rural Services and in September 2014 the organisation became part of the Alltech group of companies,” Mr Peebles said.

“In 2015 the UK based ECO2 sustainability enterprise added further capacity to the Alltech/Lienert operations.

“Now we have the Keenen product range to work with and in the future this will dramatically add to our business volumes, and in particular in Victoria, which is why it was important to expand our facilities in Bendigo,” Mr Peebles said.

Though the greater proportion of Keenan’s Oceania sales will be in the dairy and beef cattle sectors, their Orbital Spreader has potential in both the pig and poultry industries.

Gary Griffith, Keenan’s Oceania General Manager explained the potential of the Keenan range and its origins and rise to become a global leader in on farm equipment.

A new product story appears elsewhere in this issue of Poultry Digest.

The opening event at the new Alltech/Lienert complex at Bendigo was well attended and guests obviously appreciated the opportunity to get to know the growing Alltech/ Lienert Keenan team better.

The opening of the new Alltech/Lienert complex at Bendigo with the growing Alltech/Lienert Keenan team.

40

NEWS

Less antibiotic use in UK and the Netherlands The poultry meat sector in the UK and the Netherlands have seen a large reduction in antibiotic use.

According to data from the Antibiotic Stewardship Council, an initiative of the British Poultry Council BPC), in 2016, the UK poultry meat sector used 23.72 tonnes of antibiotics. This is a 71% reduction in the net use of antibiotics compared to 2012. Data collected by the BPC is published every year as part of the UK-Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance (UK-VARSS) report.

The reduction in the UK poultry sector is mainly the effect of the ban on prophylactic use of antibiotics, ban of the use of third and fourth generation Cephalosporins in 2012 and stopping the use of Colistin in 2016. UK poultry farmers can only use Fluoroquinolones and Macrolides as a last resort.

UK turkeys are more susceptible to enteric issues as compared to other species and have fewer licensed antibiotic products available that are effective in treating infections. The turkey sector has achieved an 83% reduction in the use of Fluoroquinolones and 61% reduction in overall antibiotic use in the last two years.

In the next couple of years, the UK Antibiotic Stewardship Council will continue working closely with its members (representing 90% of UK poultry meat production) to better understand and control why and when antibiotics are used and in what quantity, to better communicate its actions and share best practice on sustainable use.

Through more coordinated action between poultry meat farmers, processors and the scientific community, as well as policy makers at local, regional, national and global levels, the council will continue preserving the efficacy of antibiotics.

The Dutch broiler sector has realised a whopping 30.1% drop in antibiotic use in 2016, compared to 2015, published in the recent Maran publication.

This major achievement is partly due to the fact that Dutch poultry famers have chosen more often for other (slower growing) broiler breeds (something that is demanded by the Dutch consumers).

Compared to 2009 (the reference year for the Netherlands), this is a drop of 72%. In the Dutch Turkey sector a drop in antibiotic use is seen of 26.5%.

The Netherlands also actively monitors antibiotic resistance. As a result of prioritisation and changes in legislation, since 2014 the focus of the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter is mainly in isolates from poultry (including broilers, laying hens and ducks) and poultry meat.

The recent data show that resistance rates in C. jejuni from broilers was somewhat lower, whereas rates in poultry meat did not substantially change in 2016, compared to 2015.

Overall, resistance levels were higher in C. coli than in C. jejuni isolates.

Resistance rates for quinolones in C. coli isolates from broilers, laying hens and poultry meat decreased since 2015. Levels of resistance of C. jejuni for tetracycline and the quinolones were substantially higher in broilers than in ducks and laying hens.

Time to plan your visit to AMC/PIX 2018 PIX 2018 will be a bigger, brighter more diverse meeting than ever before It will deliver information about all aspect of food chain from the grower/ producer to the consumer Hosting more international speakers than ever before, it will provide a broader point of view in an ever changing market Themes will include: - Technology - Production efficiencies – husbandry and management - Industry hot topics Look forward to seeing you there at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Queensland, June 3-5 2018

For more details contact the conference organiser on +61 8 6160 6187 or email: info@pixamc.com.au

41

PRODUCT NEWS

Key transport upgrades provide ongoing security to Australian egg producers Specialised Breeders Australia (SBA) has announced that it has completed the upgrade of its transport and logistics capability.

Alongside the recent commissioning of a new state of the art hatchery in Rochester, Victoria a new fleet of Kenworth and Scania prime movers and Van Ravenhorst trailers will provide Australian egg farmers with a secure supply of layer stock for years to come.

Shane Bullock, SBA’s Hatchery Manager, explained “It has been a busy time for SBA, our new hatchery is now fully operational and in parallel we have been upgrading our logistics capabilities. Our new hatchery is producing high quality chicks, and we have ensured that we deliver them in terrific condition.

“The size of Australia is a unique challenge for livestock logistics. Our trucks travel thousands of kilometres from Northern Victoria where winter temperatures drop below freezing right up to the tropical north with baking heat in summer.

When we searched for a company to supply our trailers we needed the world’s best – which is how came to partner with Van Ravenhorst.”

SBA worked with Van Ravenhorst of the Netherlands to

42

design trailers with extra redundancy in place.

“The power generation, heating, cooling and air circulation systems all have a fully redundant backup in place. The new trailers and prime movers give us the ability to deliver chicks across to Western Australian customers if needed,” Mr Bullock continued.

“The Scania and Kenworth prime movers were chosen for their outstanding reliability and safety features. Our supply agreements ensure that in the event of breakdown a replacement truck is available giving further peace of mind to our customers,” said Mr Bullock.

SBA has also invested in a dedicated off-site cleaning and sanitation facility to provide an additional bio-security separation between commercial egg farms and their hatchery facility.

“When designing the hatchery bio-security was a key consideration so the decision was taken to purchase additional isolated land away from any of our facilities.

“We have built a new wash facility that disinfects the trucks and chick delivery baskets upon the return from each delivery before the truck enters to the hatchery,” Mr Bullock said.

The multimillion dollar capital investment was undertaken to ensure chicks arrive on egg producer’s farms in the best possible condition, consistently.

Specialised 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 140 staff, SBA supplies the world’s leading layer breeds, Hy-Line Brown and Lohmann Brown to Australian egg producers.

For more information on Specialised Breeders Australia please visit http://www.specialisedbreeders.com.au.

NEWS

Agricultural colleges and research institutions join Alltech to discuss environmental issues Experts from agricultural colleges and research institutions throughout China joined together to discuss agricultural and environmental challenges, including how to reduce waste and making farming operations more sustainable, at a recent Alltech China Research Alliance meeting, held in Qingdao.

Alltech China has built long-term cooperative research relationships with 10 well-known universities, research institutes and leading feed and food enterprises. Â â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Alltech China Research Alliance is focused on building toward a green agriculture future in China,â&#x20AC;? said Dr Mark Lyons, Global Vice President and Head of Greater China for Alltech. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The roadmap to this future requires practical solutions, which will be developed through advanced scientific research and technology and the powerful partnership of these leading agricultural minds.â&#x20AC;? Â Defa Li, professor at China Agricultural University and academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Kangsen Mai, professor at Ocean University of China and academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, along with more than 30 other professors from agricultural colleges and research institutions, attended and spoke at the meeting, sharing the results of their latest research. Â â&#x20AC;&#x153;This meeting of the alliance explored how to reduce antibiotic residues in food, how to effectively use limited resources in the midst of population explosion, and how to reduce water and soil pollution,â&#x20AC;? said Karl Dawson, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Alltech.

The Institute of Agriculture Quality Standards and Testing Technology for Agro-Products of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IQSTAP) has established a method for the simultaneous detection of 21 mycotoxins, or their metabolite residues, in the plasma of animals.

These include toxins such as aflatoxin B1. This testing is expected to become the agricultural industry standard for the

NSW Poultry Industry Golf Day in October Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss out on the 2017 NSW Poultry Industry Golf Day which is on again at the Camden Lakeside Country Club on Wednesday October 18.

The tee-off will be at 1p.m. following the NSW Stockfeed Manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Council Meeting at 10 a.m. and a light lunch at 11.45 p.m.

The player briefing will be at 12.45 p.m. before the shotgun start at 1. It will be Ambrose format except for golfers with a handicap who will compete for the Jock Smith trophy.

Pre-dinner drinks are at 6 p.m followed by a buffet dinner at 7. The cost for everything, including golf, cart, lunch and dinner is $129. Dinner only is $50.

For bookings please email katie.vaughan@zoetiz.com and for corporate sponsorship enquiries contact David Sherwood on mobile 0420 966 543 or email david.sherwood@ew-nutrition.com It will be a great opportunity to catch up with industry colleagues, have a great afternoon of golf and all proceeds go the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

detection of mycotoxins in China.

Inorganic trace minerals in feeds have contributed to environmental pollution. Due to their low absorption rates, 80â&#x20AC;&#x201C;90% of inorganic zinc and copper will generally be excreted by the animal, contaminating water and soil.

Organic trace minerals, however, are absorbed more readily. Alltechâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Total Replacement Technology is a groundbreaking approach to organic trace mineral nutrition.

It features products such as Bioplex, which includes copper, iron, zinc and manganese, and Sel-Plex, which includes selenium. Compared to conventional inorganic minerals, these formulations are better absorbed, stored and utilised by the animal and are thus able to meet the higher nutrient needs of modern livestock for rapid growth, maximum reproductive performance and animal health.

For all your livestock needs Vegetable Protein Meals, Animal Protein Meals, Vitamins and Mineral Premixes, Feed additives and Supplements, Custom and Standard Millpacks, Animal Health and Husbandry.

Ph: (02) 9609 7922 Fax: (02) 9609 7923 Kym: 0439066054 Luke: 0439066006 kym@nationalfeedsolutions.com.au luke@nationalfeedsolutions.com.au

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43

PRODUCT FEATURE

Keenan farm equipment offers new opportunities for waste handling

By PETER BEDWELL, Editor

I

n April 2017 Alltech acquired the long established Keenan farm equipment business. Both companies have a rich Irish heritage.

Dr Pearse Lyons, Alltech founder and President was born in Ireland and his company has many links there.

The green Keenan range of waste spreaders and other materials handling equipment are a common site on farms in many corners of the globe and now through Alltech ownership, available in Australia.

“The Keenan Orbital Spreader is a heavy duty versatile spreader, capable of high work rates and trouble free operation with a wide range of farm and commercial waste: it delivers a remarkably uniform spreading pattern, “ according to the manufacturers product information.

“The basic design of the Orbital is as simple as it is innovative, consisting of a semi cylindrical tank, rear pushing door and large flywheel at the front,” company supplied information stated.

“A heavy duty hydraulic ram attached to the sliding read door pushes the waste material towards the rapidly spinning flywheel.

“Forward speed of the rear door is adjusted by a hydraulic valve, thus allowing application rates to be easily altered.

“Once set at the desired level, material is fed at a constant rate to the flywheel, ensuring a smooth and consistent spread of material.

“The flywheel consists of a solid steel disc with six paddles, 1.8 m in diameter, rotating at 170 rpm and a central counter rotating spinner.

“The action of the flywheel first shreds the material propelling it through the side opening, where further pulverization is provided by adjusting the breaker lines at the exit.

“Unloading takes no longer than 1.5 to 5 minutes (depending on material) with the tank being left completely clean and ready for the next load..

“During loading and transporting, a slurry door separates the main chamber

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1

from the flywheel so that liquids can be easily handled and starting torque is kept low.

“Power to the machine is applied through a heavy duty T80 PTO shaft, featuring shearbolt and over-run protection.

“For a machine with such high work rates and large capacity the power requirement is a relatively low 120 hp (89.5KW): liquid materials require slightly less power.

“The Orbital accurately spreads a wide range of materials including straw based wastes, industrial sludge and poultry manure.

“The sealed nature of the body assures that sloppy material is transported and spread without leakage.

“Long straw based or fibrous material is easily handled by he orbital.

“Centrally mounted on the flywheel is a spinner that is driven in the opposite direction.

“This shreds material before the flywheel propels it outwards (typically around 20 m spread). For very highly dry matter material extra bolt-on knives can be added.

“The hardened wear plates on the flywheel paddles are easily reversed or replaced.

2

“The heavy duty rubber seals on the slurry door are maintenance free and the seals on the pushing door can be easily adjusted or replaced when necessary.

Specifications are: length 6.87m, height 3.83m, width 2.58m, loading height 2.22m, unladen weight 4790 kg.

PTO requirements 120 HP minimum and Hydraulic requirements are a working pressure of 2500psi.

Poultry Digest was able to see one of the first of the Keenan Orbital Spreaders

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to arrive in Australia at the new recently completed Alltech/Lienert facilty near Bendigo.

Gary Griffith, General Manager for Keenan/Alltech in Australia, has gained plenty of experience working with Keenan products in New Zealand.

While much of Keenan sales potential is with the dairy and beef feedlot sectors, the Keenan Orbital Spreader is very relevant to the pig and poultry industries.

Gary took the time to explain key features of the unit at the recent open day event held at the new Alltech/Leinert facility located in Bendigo.

The rugged construction is obvious and the drive to the spreader blades is through a very substantial chain system.

The hydraulic powered rear door that pushes material at the fan is designed using rubber seals to avoid leakage.

“This means that the farmer can transport waste material and be confident that the load is secure either around the farm or on public roads.

“The waste material is projected on one side of the spreader only where external blades further brake up material projected by the fan blades.

This means waste can be accurately placed in sensitive areas such as in close proximity to creek/river beds or roadways.

“The spreader unit can be controlled using a convenient electronic system in the tractor cab,” Mr Griffith said.

Poultry Digest is looking forward to seeing one of the Keenan Orbit Spreaders in action on an Australian farm in the near future.

1. The Keenan Orbital Spreader will suit Australian growers.

2. Gary Griffith, General Manager Keenan/Alltech Oceania. 3. Orbital Spreader exit grill bars further break down material. 4. Sturdy chain drive to spreader blades and part of the electronic in cab control system. 5. Rubber sealed pusher door is efficient and leak proof.

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NEWS v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 and or ingredients, country of origin labeling (COOL) declaration and warning /advisories wherever food present caffeine, ‘allergens’ bee pollen or unpasteurized elements.

Key changes to COOL were enacted by the Federal Government applying to food sold in Australian retail stores from 1 July 2016, “however business will have time to adjust over a two year transition period. This means that food products packaged up until July 1 2018 can be sold without the new labels,” an update issued on June 2, 2017 stated.

In explaining qualifying points Andrew pointed out that, “not all food must bear a label and exemptions include unpackaged food (fruit, vegetables etc), made packaged and sold on the same premises, packaged for customers by result of an express order and assisted service display.

“Information requirements exist despite these exemptions including being provided on request.”

Other considerations Andrew said were, “for catering and other sales, specified information, generally lesser than retail, also prohibition on altering labels with an ‘incorrect information’ exemption or permission by the authority.

“Labeling prohibitions extend to advertising,” he added.

“There are category labeling specific. Minced meat, for instance has to state fat content, and special purpose foods, like infant formula should include vitamin/mineral

declarations, nutrition information and other advisories.”

Moving on to voluntary labeling issues including credence claims (like pesticide free etc.), production methods like organic, free range and grain fed and product quality claims: natural, preservative free, no artificial colours/ flavours there are other considerations.

Andrew pointed out that, “there are no restriction in the Code, however claims can be subject to ‘truth in labeling’ provisions in the “Food Act 2003 (s18 false/misleading), consumer law applies also,” he said.

On the subject of labeling priorities, Andrew revealed that health claims generated the most inquiries and complaints to the NSWFA so we must make any food health relationship subject to the Code.

“We must make any food-health relationship bound by the code and create a framework for nutrition content claims such as ‘contains calcium’.

“There are over 200 pre-approved food health relationships like ‘calcium for strong bones’.

“Pre- approved can be used if the food meetsmnutritional profiling (NPSC calculated at Schedule 5) or any specified conditions (Schedule 4) and label with nutrient declaration plus dietary context statement,” Andrew explained.

“Provision for self substantiation exists (schedule 6) which includes notification to FSANZ, and the requirement to produce and retain a product information ‘dossier’ available

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for inspection.

“Specific therapeutic claims are prohibited, as in the alleviation cure/ prevention of a disease/disorder such as ‘cures/prevents cancer’.

“Recent work undertaken by the NSWFA includes a comprehensive survey conducted in 2015, a national project reviewing labels currently in the marketplace and to engage with food businesses wherever possible.

“Allergens remain a very high priority including substances specified in Schedules 1.2.3-4. (milk,fish,peanuts, soy etc.) These must be declared if present as an ingredient, additive, or processing aid.

“Precautionary allergen statements can be helpful to allergic consumers such as ‘contains’, may contain, made in a facility that’ etc.

“The Code is complex, and education is the best compliance tool.

To this end we have built a new Food Labeling Portal which can be found at: http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/ foodsafetyandyou/food-labelling “This will show consumers and industry how to read a label, understand claims and includes an interactive tool,” Andrew said.

He concluded by showing specific areas of the NSWFA labeling web pages and summarised his presentation Strong and efficient regulator authorities are essential to the food industryhere. As a major exporter and developed domestic economy, consumers need to have faith in our food industries, at home or overseas.

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