Poultry Digest June/July 2018

poultrydigest www.primarymedia.com.au

Volume 33, Number 6

Yannathan broiler farm incorporates new ventilation technology and equipment

June/July 2018

PIX/AMC 2018 at the Gold Coast Robot chook mimics Mother Nature to give chicks a good start in life

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Volume 33, Number 6

Poly Silos installed onYannathan broiler farm.

June/July 2018

EDITORIAL & DESIGN EDITOR: JOURNALIST/PHOTOGRAPHER PRODUCTION EDITOR

Peter Bedwell Alex Bedwell Rosemary Embery

ADVERTISING Peter Bedwell Mob: 0419 235 288 Email: primarymedia@bigpond.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS Features Page 10: Yannathan broiler farm incorporates new ventilation technology and equipment

by Peter Bedwell

Page 28: Egg system supplier Moba continues to innovate and grow News Page 4: PIX/AMC at the Gold Coast, now established as a truly international event Page 18: Robot chook mimics Mother Nature to give chicks a good start in life Page 22: New SBA rearing farm increases security to Australian egg producers Page 30: Applying precision livestock farming to poultry Product News Page 20: Combilift launches Combi-OP Order Picker Page 35: Revolutionary new farming alarm system unveiled at PIX/AMC 2018 Page 38: The use of pigments in commercial egg productin – a practical approach

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NEWS

PIX/AMC 2018 at the Gold Coast, now established as a truly international event 1

The Poultry Information Exchange (PIX) and Australasian Milling Conference (AMC) was held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre (GCCC) at Broadbeach Queensland in June 2018.

The PIX/AMC Conference 2018, held under the theme of ‘Supply chain opportunities, farmers to consumers’ was expecting at least 1400 attendees because that’s how many satchels there were and by the end of the event they were all gone!

The trade hall exhibition was sold out, with 156 companies and their affiliates filling the event.

So what was different at the 2018 event?

The first and most obvious change was the dramatic increase in exhibitors from not only China but numerous European based companies and other Asian regions.

PIX/AMC 2018 may not be as big as some of the massive events in Europe, Thailand, China and the US, but it has now established itself as a truly international event.

Furthermore, it is dedicated to only two major industries whereas events like Eurotier and lately VIV Asia, have morphed in to broader all agriculture events rather than intensive livestock poultry and feed milling.

In terms of just poultry and milling activity, it would rate in equivalent trade exhibition size to some of those other international events.

Obviously in terms of visitors, PIX/ AMC can never expect to achieve the numbers that VIV events or the European and US events attract because of relative population size and farmer/milling industry numbers in the big markets.

There were also plenty of new exhibitors based in Australia.

AGCO, a truly global enterprise with a growing presence in Australia had on display its advanced EDGE controller system; a key feature being that the single unit can be expanded to control a number of individual sheds.

The company’s Flex Flo silo products have a feature in the design that helps to prevent blockage (plugging) in the base feed auger connection.

AGCO offers complete turnkey poultry solutions for different species

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and breeder as well as grow out facilities.

It’s prefabricated C Lines shed designs can be adapted to most requirements and they have an extensive equipment range so producers only need a one-stop shop, even down to financing the project.

Having only just parted company with the Combilift team in Monaghan, Ireland after visiting the Combilift production facility then going on farm to see their RT unit demonstrated in an on farm application, it was good to catch up with the Australian Manager Chris Littlewood.

Combilift was a new exhibitor at PIX/AMC 2018 and had a Combilift RT unit on the stand.

Crowley Engineering based near Cork in Ireland was represented by agricultural engineering and construction company Eagle Direct at PIX/AMC. Michael White, Crowley’s Sales Manager had suggested I meet Mike Ryan at PIX on their stand.

Crowley equipment is installed in livestock facilities around the world including in Australia and NZ and Mike sees plenty of potential for its specialized equipment in the poultry industry in Australasia.

Another first time exhibitor at PIX/AMC in 2018 was Mediralis, established in 2015 to distribute high quality veterinary disinfectants and feed supplements/additives into the Australian livestock sector as well as supplying human health requirements.

Two of the three directors are poultry specialist vets and the Mediralis product range is sourced from established global companies based in France, the UK, Belgium. and Austria.

Most of the product range is of non chemical origin and is in tune with the move to reduce dependence on antimicrobials and other chemical based remedies.

Rod Martin, Sales Manager of Polytex Fabrications is a regular at livestock trade exhibitions and at PIX/ AMC this year was assisted by his son Trent Martin.

On the Auspac stand Howe Hoochoon (Director Commercial/ Technical for Bedson Far East ) and Eugenio Colusi (Director Bedson w

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1.Geof Runge with Peter Mathews.

2. PIX Young Achievers Award winner Brendan Bell, AAA Eggs with Julie Roberts.3. Nic Marchesi from Orange Sky. 4. Gary Sanson Award presented to Ashlee Morgan by Ashley Radburn, Agrifutures.

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Far East) were there to explain the benefits of Bedgen 40, a non chemical natural hepatic modulator for livestock production that promotes higher bile production, enhances digestion and acts as an effective detoxifer.

On the AAS stand Peter Mathews introduced Poultry Digest to Irek Malecki, Mount Barker Chicken WA and Professor Malcolm Mitchell, Rural College Scotland.

Peter who is the President of the PIX association, showed Poultry Digest a number of products they distribute including the Rotem range of shed controllers and alarm systems.

Stands 1,2,&3 at the trade exhibition entrance were occupied by Santrev and its mini golf range.

Skov had as its centerpiece, an example of the controllable BlueFan range.

A welcome tradition at PIX is the Skov cocktail party on the last night and a happy crew gathered at the Mermaid Beach Surf club for some welcome tonsil lubrication.

On Sunday June 3, the PIX welcome dinner opened with a welcome from Peter Mathews with Wayne Bradshaw as ‘Master of Ceremonies’.

Sponsors were presented with plaques to recognise their contribution to the event.

Geof Runge was then presented with PIX Life Membership for his long service to the organization by Peter Mathews.

In the years of the meteoric growth of PIX, Geof was more than ably assisted by Bronwen Runge whose contribution was recognized as Dr Avril Grieve (Elanco), PIX committee member, presented Bronwen with a suitable floral tribute.

Geof then recalled the long and often challenging story of PIX as it developed from a Queensland industry initiative in a variety of homes, on the Sunshine Coast in its early years to the

halcyon days in the ANA car park on the Gold Coast.

PIX , he stated “developed from a Queensland affair 50 years ago into a national event. Then as more international speakers and exhibitors participated, PIX became more global in its outlook.

“The combined PIX/WPSA event in 2008 boosted the international status of PIX and the move to a world class exhibition venue, the Gold Coast Convention Center in 2010, set PIX on course to become the truly international event that is the 2018 combined PIX/ AMC conference and trade exhibition.

“Trade displays were first introduced in 1983 when PIX was held at the Lennons Hotel Broadbeach and there were just 11 displays,” Geof revealed.

At the 2018 combined PIX/AMC gathering there were 160 companies or organisations occupying 237 booths, a growth rate that mirrors the consumption patterns of poultry produce in Australia over a similar time span.

The Jack Houweling Award was established in recognition of the his contribution to the poultry industry

after his passing in 2008. The award recognises achievers in the farming sector of the chicken meat industry.

The recipient of the award will be provided with a two week study tour to investigate selected aspects of the livestock farming section of he chicken meat industry.

At the PIXAMC 2018 event there were two recepients, Kelly McTavish and Jonathon Millard.

They were presented with their awards by David Greaves, CEO at Darwalla Group.

The PIX Committee is offering industry travel grants aimed at encouraging young delegates from both Australia, New Zealand & the Pacific Islands all that PIX has to offer, including the presentation program, trade show, social functions and workshops.

This sponsorship is intended to open doors for those who are not usually able to attend PIX. For the 2018 PIX event the award went to Tariq Mansoor from Ryan-Ryte Enterprises and was presented by Professor Julie Roberts.

One of the major stands at PIX was the Chook Chat Shack, a collaboration

. 1. LtoR: Martin and Rita Simmons with Yaron Zafrani and Stanley Kaye from Agrotop. 2. Howe Hoochoon and Eugenie Colusi on the Auspac stand. 3. LtoR: Adam Naylor, Derek Detzler, Christel Bonin, Jean Fontaine, Wayne Bradshaw, Rosemarie Bradshaw, Andy Robinson, Jake Frecklington and Glenmere Tactacan on the Jefo stand.

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NEWS v

of Eggs Australia, The Poultry Hub and Agrifutures.

Workshops were being run on the stand when Poultry Digest visited and there was plenty of material available on research projects relevant to producers and industry.

There was a large contingent on the Jefo stand and Australasia Manager Wayne Bradshaw and his wife Rosemary were joined by Adam Naylor, Derek Detzler, Jefo President Jean Fontaine and his partner Crystal Bonin.

The Canadian poultry and pig industries continue to make significant progress in reducing antibiotic dependence and Jefo is at the cutting edge of industry strategies in the battle against anti microbial resistance.

The conference dinner with the theme of ‘Black & Bling’ was great fun and Wayne Bradshaw reverted to a past career as the auctioneer for the night.

A number of items, a surfboard presented by Novus and artworks including an original work by painter Pleasance Ingle, who has recently specialised in painting farm animals, sold for handsome sums to generous bidders.

The auction and other donations from industry raised more than $10,000 for the ‘Orange Sky’ mobile laundry and shower service for the homeless and struggling.

The PIX Industry Breakfast, sponsored by Ridley, had as its guest speaker Nic Marchesi, who along with his school friend Lucas Patchett, as teenagers decided to do something to help homeless people.

Their simple idea was to build mobile laundries and wash the clothes of the homeless, firstly in major cities and more recently in the regions including far north Queensland.

From just clothes washing they expanded vehicles into providing shower facilities and even converted an ex-army six wheel Land Rover to provide their free service in remote locations.

Nic’s account of bringing their idea into reality and the barriers faced and surmounted with help from many sources, was truly inspiring.

In PIX Technical Program sessions on Monday June 4, David Foote from Australian Country Choice, a major beef industry producer was the first speaker.

‘Supply chain opportunities – lessons learnt from comparing beef and poultry industries’ was his topic.

Whilst acknowledging that chicken had overtaken red meat including beef as Australia’s most popular meat he

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asked the question “at what cost?”

Then he showed a graph illustrating the retail price of chicken virtually static for 17 years while beef had almost doubled its retail returns in the same period (2001-2017).

Other consumer preference parameters revaled by David showed that in many aspects beef is still a firm competitor to chicken.

Beef industry challenges included many that were common to the broiler industry including animal welfare, both public perception and husbandry practices and improving eating quality to maintain consumer confidence.

“Supply Chain Competition – fairness from farmer to consumer was ACCC Commissioner Mick Keogh’s topic.

Example’s of the ACCC’s work on behalf of the supply chain were that Coles was fined $10 million for its ‘unconsianable conduct; in its relationship with suppliers.

On issues like truth in labeling Mr Keogh mentioned one of numerous prosecutions of egg industry producers over free range labeling issues.

Energy, and its costs are never far from the headlines and of particular concern to the poultry industry.

Dr Steve Lennon, MD of Shanduvan Pty Ltd, a company offering integrated energy and sustainable solutions spoke next about ‘Supply chain opportunities – innovation in the energy value chain with opportunities from farmer to he consumer’.

He defined ’The fourth industrial revolution’ a rapid fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines.

“The cheapest kWh is the one that is never used in the first place, and use

cheaper renewables to offset energy use,” Dr Lennon advised.

A lot of what Dr Leenon said is well known. Perhaps not so well recognised are the proven benefits long term in investment in sustainable technologies and actions.

Strategic decisions for the consumer of the future was the topic for Paul Higgins, a man with long experience of working in livestock industries and now a consultant at his company ‘Emergent Futures’.

In looking into the future of shopping, Paul introduced the idea of the advantages of automated product selection and delivery using both existing and future technologies.

Rowan McMonnies from Eggs Australia spoke about the role of research and development corporations in community engagement.

There were a number of activity CONTINUED ON PAGE 44 w

. Top: Thilo Borchardt from EW Nutition. Above: Chris Littlewood (centre of picture) from Combilift shows off the Combi RT.

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LtoR: Harry Kip, Eddie Ryan, Adam Ryan and Farm Manager Craig.

Yannathan broiler farm incorporates new ventilation technology and equipment

By PETER BEDWELL

I

n 18 years of publishing Poultry Digest we have visited five Ryan-Ryte built broiler sheds.

Three have been farms operated and built by the company as Inghams contract operations and all these farms have not only benefitted from the latest developments in broiler shed technology, but the intelligent use of that technology to achieve the

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best possible performance for their integrator.

In an industry where margins are paper thin, even the smallest of improvement in efficiency is vital – no secret there then.

The latest eight shed operation at Yannathan, an RSPCA accredited farm, once again features clever design and technology.

When we arrived on April 19, the Ryan-Ryte team was putting the finishing touches to the vehicle wheel bath trough, now a key feature of Ryan-Ryte farms that provides a secure method of vehicle wheel sanitization to provide the highest possible levels of biosecurity.

As we inspected the farm with the directors and operators of the site, a number of innovations were pointed out. The first is the centre and end evaporative cooling systems installed in the 150 x17.1 metre sheds.

The design, and integration of the evaporative cooling systems, which includes some clever implementation of the Fancom automated control system,

provides much lower temperature gradients throughout the poultry house, especially at times when cooling levels are transitional or air speeds are lower levels.

The directors pointed out that the benefits of this system are seen throughout the grow out and have a positive effect on air speeds, temperature gradients, migration and energy use.

Recently Poultry Digest attended the Aviagen Technical Seminar held on the Gold Coast and one of the speakers, Aviagen’s poultry shed expert Bernard Green, in his paper ‘Summer Ventilation’, emphasised the need for better minivent design in minimum ventilation systems.

“Poor design causes the entering cool air to drop to the shed floor too close to the walls that leads to chicks being chilled and often, wet litter,” Bernard said.

Being aware of this problem, Ryan-Ryte has used the latest Fancom Fantura minivents that feature a unique patented blade design that, when used

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in combination with their smart fans, draws the air further into the shed resulting in better distribution of cool air, less chilling of birds and reduced wet litter risk.

At first glance the improvement seems simple and to those with even the most basic understanding of aerodynamics, obvious, but then the obvious is often missed, but not

by Fancom and Ryan-Ryte which recognised its potential.

The whole concept of minimum ventilation with a capacity of fan firepower to tackle those days of rapid temperature rise has been taken to a new level at the new Yannathan farm.

DACS energy efficient smart main fans are combined with Fancom cross flow units and the Fantura minivents, which delivers an almost infinitely controllable shed climate.

Another unique Ryan-Ryte feature is the purpose built air exclusion doors that are specifically designed and installed to the DACS fans. The doors provide a highly insulated and air tight seal over the fans that are not in use, when specific fans are required to operate the integrated doors will open accordingly.

This design provides an excellent insulated seal of the end wall and in addition when opened provides a highly efficient air passage through the fan as there a no louvers or significant structures to impede air flow.

All of these innovations are made possible through the capacity of the Fancom shed controllers to be programmed in a manner to seamlessly carry out the specific tasks.

Also impressive is the split system water storage and application set up. The town water supply is treated with an ORP chlorination process and refined through media to ensure the drinkers are fed water that is attractive to the birds – if birds don’t drink they don’t eat – a situation that will defeat all the other technologies to improve growing efficiency.

Another key component is RyanRyte’s dimmable LED lighting system, not only energy efficient but compliant with RSPCA lighting protocols.

Concrete floors are standard in new Ryan-Ryte sheds as is fire retardant insulation wall paneling. It was also pointed out the Colourbond ceiling lining is used as it is considered far superior to just plain zinc material.

“All suspended equipment like feeders, drinkers, and the RSPCA mandated perches, are secured through galvanized steel eye bolts that are fitted to structural steel frame work.

One of the main reasons for the Poultry Digest visit was to inspect the new Enmach Poly Silos.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 w

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1. Long sheds and evaporative cooling door ends. Poly Silos from Enmach. 2 Ryan-Ryte designed feeders and drinkers. 3. Mid shed cool pads for further cooling and more efficient. 4. Advanced blade control on Fancom mini vents.

5. Shutters over main fans. 6. DACS advanced controllable main fans.

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1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 Eddie Ryan was interested in the idea of using Poly Silos on the new property as in the past Ryan-Ryte had experienced some problems with corrosion in galvanized steel silos.

Jon Bowder, the MD at Enmach, recalls Eddie’s first contact and request for a product that very precisely suited Ryan-Ryte’s needs.

“Eddie just hopped on a plane to Brisbane and together with my brother Kingsley, we adapted our silo design to suit a modern broiler farm,” Jon said.

Eddie himself was full of praise for Enmach’s willingness to give his company precisely what was wanted for their new eight shed property They are great people to work with,” he said.

In a more recent conversation with Jon, Poultry Digest learnt that a Poly Silo design specifically for broiler farms has been patented by Enmach.

Other key items of equipment including the feeders and drinkers, are all established Ryan-Ryte designs.

The farm manager demonstrated the combined use of the fans, minivents and exclusion doors in a shed occupied by 10 day old birds and as the day warmed up it was noticeable how little the fans needed to work to maintain optimal conditions and how well cool air was distributed across the shed.

The inevitable question of cost came up and Adam emphasised that, “we know that we have to be competitive but at the same time build quality is important to us – our sheds are designed and built to deliver 30 years of service and to be operated with minimum labour,” he said.

Much of the performance of RyanRyte’s new sheds has been achieved by just better design and attention to detail and in each of our numerous visits to the company’s sheds we see constant incremental improvements.

Chicken meat has become v

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Australians major protein source for many reasons, but its price competitiveness when compared to protein alternatives is without doubt one of chickens most appealing attributes.

Maintaining that advantage is dependent on being able to grow chickens in the most efficient way possible and Ryan-Ryte knows this very well as is soundly demonstrated at the new Yannathan farm.

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5 1. Wheel wash on entry. 2. DACS cross flow smart fan. 3. Fancom shed controller. 4. Well designed power back-up, generator house. 5. Advanced water treatment system.

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NEWS

Robot chook mimics Mother Nature to give chicks a good start in life Poultry Digest sources stories from a great variety of places, however when ABC’s Radio National broadcast its Counterpoint program hosted by ex-Howard government immigration minister Amanda Vanstone on August 28, 2017 we got a surprise.

Introduced by the raucous tones of ‘Chicken Man’ there was a report on a couple of young Melbourne budding entrepreneurs.

One was a business student and the other an animal health scientist, who by seeking to solve a problem in commercial chicken farms had come up with a novel solution.

In nature the mother hen teaches her offspring to take feed and water as soon as possible after emerging from the egg. While farmers go someway to recreate this by placing feed on paper on the ground in sheds, it is not possible to entirely recreate this important natural process in commercial poultry production.

These two young research students in Melbourne have come up with a robotic alternative to the mother hen.

It’s a ‘robochook’ that mimics the behavior of a real hen and teaches chicks the vital skill of taking to feed and water as soon as they are placed in grow out sheds.

CEO and co-founder of MimicTec, Eleanor Toulmin, has an Economics degree from Melbourne University and has worked as a strategy and technology consultant at IBM and KPMG. She returned to study in 2016 at Melbourne University based Wade Institute to achieve a Masters of Entrepreneurship where she met CTO and co-founder of MimicTec, Sarah Last.

Her ambition is driven by a desire to create a ‘disproportionate’ difference to Australian farmers and livestock through both entrepreneurship and innovation.

CTO and co-founder, Sarah Last grew up in semi-rural Victoria.

She has bred and trained horses as well as spending time with exotic birds.

She completed a Bachelor of Science with a major in animal health, then started studying veterinary medicine but decided to move to entrepreneurship instead.

She started studying the Master of Entrepreneurship at the Wade Institute

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Eleanor Toulmin and Sarah Last from the Wade Institute, Melbourne University. in 2016 to commercialise some of the ideas she had during her vet studies.

This means that she can help to make a positive impact on farm profitability whilst improving the welfare of millions of chickens.

The robotic mother hen, when attached to the feeders or drinkers, mimics the behaviours of a mother hen to encourage the chicks to take feed and water.

Right now, with their third prototype about to conduct further full shed trials, the pair have secured that vital requirement, seed funding of $250,000, with an additional $200,000 of Accelerating Commercialisation grants, from angel investor Scale Investors and they have been accepted into the Melbourne Accelerator Program (for start up entrepreneurs) run by the University of Melbourne.

Sarah and Eleanor are working with professional Australian engineering and manufacturing company Tulip to transition their prototypes to sellable products.

The development period has not been without its ups and downs and though the software side of the project has been operating smoothly, the hard tech with further novel 21st Century innovation has been both stressful and financially challenging according to the young entrepreneurs.

Now MimicTec is going through the important process of IP protection so they can patent their invention that is a globally saleable item.

Until this critical step is complete

more details of Eleanor and Sarah’s Robohen are being guarded with extreme care.

This has not stopped a wide range of media including the ABC, Weekly Times, and Sydney Morning Herald being interested in their work.

Conclusions from the early trial period are that the robotic hen in commercial broiler production can both reduce early mortality levels and significantly improve feed conversion.

Sarah revealed that past trials have provided some indications of what can be expected of the product.

“Our past trials showed that we could improve feed conversion ratios by around 3.5%, improve weight gain by 1.5%, and weight gain variability by 25%.

“Also our trials lead us to believe that we are increasing feed and water uptake by up to x 2.7 in the early growth phase and reducing negative behaviours in the birds.

“Our current trial partners were intrigued by these results, so watch this space for what their full shed trial results might be.

“Though our main focus initially is on the broiler industry we see potential for our robotic technology in pullet and layer farming and also in the rearing of piglets.

“If anyone in industry is interested in learning more or working with us on our next trial period, we’d love to hear from you. Go to MimicTec.com for more information and to get in touch,” Sarah concluded.

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Combilift launches Combi-OP Order Picker Combilift, the material handling solutions provider, has launched the first purpose-built order picker.

The Combi-OP is the first purposebuilt order picker on the worldwide market for long products.

Previously customers have had to modify traditional order pickers to cope with the specific demands of long loads.

The Combi-OP now guarantees much more efficient and non-compromised operation for easy picking of long profiles in, for example, steel service centres.

This man-up truck features a long platform to enable the operator to access long products stored at height.

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It enables operators to easily and safely hand pick orders for customers from the roomy elevated platform and it has a capacity of 450 kg.

Its overhead guard, light anti-slip floor, self-closing platform gate and guard rails guarantee utmost safety, as does the travel speed and steering angle which automatically adjusts according to lift heights.

Features: Standing Operator Over-Head Guard Multi-function steering/function control Dual speed control Operator display Guide rollers AC electric steering AC motor technology The Combi-OP was launched during the official opening of the new Combilift Global Headquarters. Built at a cost of €50 million, the new 46,500 sq. m (500,000 sq.ft) Global Headquarters and new manufacturing facility will allow Combilift to double production.

Established by Martin McVicar, Managing Director and Robert Moffett, Technical Director, in 1998, Combilift is a privately held and fully capitalised company.

It developed the world’s first multidirectional all-wheel drive IC engine powered forklift in 1998.

In its first year of operation, Combilift produced 18 units, 17 of which were exported.

The company has more than doubled in the last 5 years and now

20

has 40,000 units in operation in over 85 countries.

Combilift is celebrating its 20th year anniversary of lifting innovation and currently exports 98% of its products through its 250-strong international dealer network.

Top: Martin McVicar, Managing Director, Combilift.

Above: New Combi-OP Order Picker, a world first for long loads.

Below: The new Combilift Global Headquarters located in Monaghan, Ireland

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NEWS

New SBA rearing farm increases security to Australian egg producers Specialised Breeders Australia (SBA) has announced that it has completed and stocked a new rearing farm in central Victoria.

This new farm will rear Hy-Line and Lohmann Parent Stock from which commercial Hy-Line and Lohmann Brown Layers are bred.

“This completed project is the second of four planned new farms which provide world class supply security to Australian egg producers,” said Richard Rayner, CEO of SBA, explained.

“Our key responsibility to Australian egg farmers is to provide a secure supply of high quality layers. To ensure this we are in the midst of a multimillion dollar upgrade of our facilities to deliver best practice breeding, hatching and bio-security measures across our production system.

“Last year we commissioned our state of the art commercial hatchery in Rochester and a new parent production farm. This new rearing farm further spreads our biosecurity risks and improves our ability to deal with potential disease threats.

“The site is ideally located as it is isolated from other poultry production whilst still being within reasonable travel times of SBA’s parent production farms.

We have taken significant steps to ensure our high production and hygiene standards are met, each of the four sheds on site has concrete flooring and clean skin surfaces for easy cleaning.

“We have built a shower block for the site, with all staff and visitors requiring a shower and clothes change upon entry to comply with our biosecurity standards, the walkways on the site are fenced to further enhance biosecurity.

“Importantly for our customers this farm allows us to rear twice as many parents per batch as our previous rearing sheds which means larger parent flocks resulting in fewer donor flocks at the commercial level.”

Steve Ligoli, Livestock Manager for SBA, said “The farm uses deep litter rearing with slatted tables for perching and to enrich the environment, we have used Lubbing drinkers and VDL chain feeders inside the sheds.

22

The new SBA rearing farm located in central Victoria.

“We’ve used cool room panelling for its insulation properties, and the use of LED lighting alongside variable speed fans provide outstanding energy efficiency.

Each shed has full environmental control via Skov control panels.”

“With two new farms, our new hatchery and an upgraded delivery fleet completed over the last two years we are proud of the investments we are making to provide greater livestock supply security to Australian egg producers,” Mr Rayner concluded.

About Specialised Breeders Australia 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 approximately 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.

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NEWS

Ingham’s CEO Mick McMahon departure The Chairman of Inghams Group Limited Peter Bush, has announced that after four years of leading Ingham’s, Chief Executive Officer Mick McMahon would be leaving the company, stepping down from the role after the company’s annual results in August 2018.

Mr McMahon will be available to the end of the calendar year to assist with an orderly leadership transition.

A domestic and international executive search process has commenced and it is expected there will be internal candidates for the role.

Quinton Hildebrand, currently Ingham’s Chief Commercial Officer, will be appointed acting CEO effective August 2018 and will remain in the role during the search process.

Amongst other roles, Quinton was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Mackay Sugar.

Mr Bush said “We thank Mick for his years of meaningful leadership and service to Ingham’s, in particular taking the iconic Australian company on the complex journey through private

ownership, through a successful IPO and implementing Project Accelerate, a strategy to make the company more efficient and competitive. His remarkable results speak for themselves.

“Quinton is well respected in the business and, having led key parts of the company, is well prepared to step up when Mick leaves the business.”

Mr McMahon said “As we started work on preparing the next 3-5 year strategy, it was the moment for me to make a decision about whether I wanted to commit for the years ahead.

After four years of intense focus and commitment to the company, its employees and shareholders, it was clear to me that now was the time to begin the search for the new chief executive officer.

Advising the Board of my decision now facilitates an orderly leadership transition and allows business as usual operations during the executive search.

“I will leave Ingham’s at the end of the year with my best wishes for its continued success.”

Ingham’s CEO Mick McMahon will be leaving the company after four years.

Dr Pearse Lyons awarded the 2018 Kennedy-Lemass Medal Alltech founder, the late Dr Pearse Lyons has been honoured with the Kennedy-Lemass Medal by the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland.

During 4th of July celebrations, Barry O’Sullivan, President of the American Chamber of Commerce announced that the late Irish-American entrepreneur and scientist, Dr Lyons was this year’s recipient of the Kennedy-Lemass Medal.

The award honours American leaders of Irish heritage who have helped to strengthen the Irish-US relationship.

Speaking about his achievements, Barry O’Sullivan described Dr Lyons as someone who “truly lived the American Dream,” and that, “we will continue to be inspired by the legacy of individuals such as Dr Lyons who had the courage and skills to turn a vision into a reality.”

In the late 1970s Dundalk-born Dr Lyons emigrated to the United States, where in his Kentucky garage, he

26

established Alltech with an initial investment of $10,000.

Focused on improving animal, crop and human health and performance, Alltech today has a global team of more than 6,000 people.

In Ireland, Alltech has its European Bioscience Centre in Dunboyne, Co. Meath, the Pearse Lyons Distillery in the Liberties, Co. Dublin and Stations Works Brewery in Dr Lyons’ hometown of Dundalk, Co. Louth.

“My father was passionate about Ireland and the United States and spent his life promoting both countries around the world,” said Dr Mark Lyons, President of Alltech.

“He had an extraordinary ability to bring people from all walks of life together to make a difference in the world, this was especially true when it came to cultivating and supporting scientific, ag tech and agricultural endeavours between the US and Ireland.”

During his lifetime Dr Lyons was

awarded many honours, including the Ireland-US Council Award for Outstanding Achievement and the 2017 St Patrick’s Day Science Medal in recognition of the creation of a global business based on scientific research.

Dr Lyons also received the RDS Gold Medal Award for Enterprise for his contribution to Irish business.

“Pearse was passionate about his heritage and making a difference in the world,” said Deirdre Lyons, Alltech co-founder and Head of Corporate Design.

“He used his boundless philanthropic spirit to inspire those around him. For Pearse and me, making a difference in the world by empowering others has been an everyday reality of our personal and professional lives.”

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Egg system supplier Moba continues to innovate and grow “Moba, the world’s leading producer of high-quality integrated systems for the grading, packaging and processing of consumption eggs, continues to grow and innovate in line with previous years,� Michiel Peters, Managing Director, Moba recently announced. “With its extensive innovation program, Moba is strongly committed to applying new technologies such as system integration and the use of big data to improve the egg production chain,� he said.

Moba introduced its latest innovations at Europe’s largest poultry exhibition, VIV 2018 in Utrecht in June. “Today’s market demands innovative solutions,� Mr Peters said. “The world’s population is growing, and increasing numbers of middle-class consumers are stimulating the demand for healthy and protein-rich food. “We see additional growth potential in eggs compared to other animal sources of protein because of the advantage that eggs have the lowest environmental impact of all animal protein food sources, which also makes eggs more affordable. “Our customers face a major challenge in meeting this growing demand responsibly, with minimal waste of raw materials. “At this time, around one billion

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eggs a day go through the systems that we deliver and service, but in emerging markets another two billion eggs go to the consumer daily that are manually packaged and without thorough and automated quality checks. “In our market we therefore see industrialisation, automation and integration of systems as structural trends. We also see an increasing need for information (big data) to optimise the complete chain of genetics, farming, egg processing and retail. “New technologies make that more feasible. The trends mentioned are related closely to the direction in which the company is developing, and I therefore see important opportunities for the further growth of the company in the coming years. “In 2017 Moba has once again displayed good results. We have succeeded in strengthening our market position in Europe, North America, Japan and Australia, which are highly automated. “Our position is also growing stronger in regions with a low level of automation such as Asia and South America. Pelbo, a specialist in breaking eggs which we acquired in 2016, is now fully integrated within Moba.

The current trends we now see in the market match well with what Moba can offer its customers.�

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Moba MD Michiel Peters.

Strong growth in emerging markets “The European and North American markets achieved stable turnover in 2017 and continue to move towards full automation of production processes. In Japan and Australia Moba is currently heavily involved in modernisation and automation projects, and is booking record highs. “In the Middle East, a new regional office was opened in Dubai in 2017, allowing Moba to better support its customers throughout this region. “In the emerging markets with a low level of automation like that of Asia and South America, Moba has been growing structurally for the last few years. “Moba currently has a strong market position in these regions and expects to continue to grow for many years because the food chains in these regions are continuing to industrialise.

For example, India is still on the verge of automation.

Innovation centres around new products, system integration and big data “Automation plays an increasingly important role when it comes to the connection of different machines to integrated production lines. “That is why Moba now employs about 100 R&D engineers, including

Aviagen Management Essentials Debbie Fisher Technical Service Manager, ANZ Debbie has 5 years serving customers for the Aviagen Asia team. She has a wealth of management experience in several production roles with a major integrator in the New Zealand and Australian poultry industry.

“It is important to carefully manage the uniformity of young birds during the rearing phase. Good uniformity will enable a successful transfer into the laying phase and the desired productivity for the life of the flock” commented Debbie.

A good pullet rearing program Objective

Innovative new crack detector from Moba.

35 dedicated software specialists. This trend also includes the development of its big data platform, iMoba.

This platform gives customers access to a wealth of information about their production processes via smartphone or tablet.

“For example, how many eggs have been sorted; how many were broken; quality differences between batches; and so forth.

“This allows customers to further improve their production process.

“In 2018 iMoba will be expanded with new functionalities. As around one billion eggs go through Moba machines every day, a lot of information is available.

“Based on all this information, Moba introduces a benchmark module on iMoba through which customers can compare the performance of their production lines against best practices.

“This gives the customer real-time information as to their production runs, what the best-practices are and where improvements are possible. This ensures higher quality and yield, and reduces the use of raw materials.

“Furthermore, an important innovation will be introduced in 2018 with an acoustic-magnetic detector that can measure the strength of an eggshell with extremely high precision.

“With a speed of 70 eggs per second, the strength of the shell can be measured quite accurately without the need for destruction tests.

“As a result, egg-sorting companies can compose the highest quality eggs accurately per batch, thereby increasing their yield.

A positive forecast “The forecast for 2018 is positive. This year, the threshold of € 200 million in turnover will likely be surpassed for the first time in Moba’s 71-year history.

“Moba expects continued structural growth in the years to come, particularly in China, Asia and South America.

Next to continued organic growth, Moba is also looking forward to adding new partnerships and acquisitions,” concluded Mr Peters.

To manage the rearing period effectively to produce a uniform flock.

Key Points 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Birds should be weighed every week at the same time and location.

Check fleshing while weighing the birds.

Grade males and females at 28 days.

Successful grading will reduce the variability of graded flocks.

Stocking density, feeding and drinking space should be as recommended.

After grading reweigh the birds to determine average weight and CV or Uniformity.

Variation can occur from responses to vaccination, disease, competition for feed.

Graded flocks will have better CV’s and uniformity.

A CV of 8% and uniformity of 80% is considered as ideal.

Grading requirements when using CVs: Flock Uniformity CV%

Percentage in Each Population after Grading 2 or 3-way grade

Light (%)

Normal (%)

Heavy (%)

10-12

2-way grade

20

~ 80 (78-82)

0

12-14

3-way grade

22-25

~ 70 (66-73)

5-9

> 14

3-way grade

28-30

~ 58 (55-60)

12-15

Grading requirements when using uniformity:

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

Uniformity

2 or 3-way Grade

65%-80%

2-way grade

65% or lower

3-way grade

Inaccurate counting of birds after grading may lead to incorrect feed quantities.

It is recommended that electronic rather than manual scales are used.

In fixed pen grading adjust weights to ensure bird numbers maintain stocking densities.

Population sizes in lay are likely to be larger than rear, it is important that birds meet a common bodyweight by transfer.

Feed levels must be adjusted to allow correct body weight profile.

Weekly feed increases will need to be less for heavier birds and more for lighter birds.

Unexpected changes in bodyweight may be due to incorrect weighing.

If any unexpected changes occur, reweigh the population before making any adjustment to feed amount.

For under or overweight birds, the objective is to redraw the curve to ensure target weight is achieved by 63 days.

At 63 days the weight of the flock should be reassessed, birds of similar weight and feed consumption can be combined at this age.

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. © 2018 Aviagen.

29

NEWS

Applying precision livestock farming to poultry Sitting in the conference session at the Pan Pacific Pork Expo held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre during the week before the 2018 PIX/AMC event, Pork Journal which is Primary Media’s other publication, listened to a really interesting presentation.

David Spellar is the founder and MD of Chesterfield UK-based Applied Group, which includes the OPTIFarm precision livestock systems.

Today the company is involved in contract broiler farming, innovation and trials, monitoring and consultancy work, and agricultural logistics/data collection.

According to David, as of the end of May 2018, there were 30 employees and the contract growing business has around 1.5 million birds producing around 10m on an annual basis, which is increasing at 25% p.a.

“In 2018 research and innovation spend was around $1.3 million and OPTIFarm is active in several countries including Australia, Canada, UK, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany.

“Overseas activity accounts for about 35 million birds a year and my aim is to add value to my farming business through PLF,” David stated.

Commenting on the slow pace of technological change, David pointed out that canned food, though well established by 1810, was an advance that didn’t get an efficient can opener until 1858!

“If you owned a business baking bread would you (a), turn everything off and go home (livestock farmers can’t do this), (b), employ a night shift to monitor the oven and process overnight (financially not viable) or (c), go home and leave the ovens on and the bread being made until the morning (the current approach by most livestock farmers).

“Evidence suggests good welfare leads to good performance, so why would you fail to monitor and react to one third of the animal’s life: PLF allows this,” David pointed out.

“Methodologies at Applied Group in regards to PLF, include ‘eyenomics’ – behavior monitoring, auto scales (weigh birds /uniformity), feed and water registration, closed circuit TV surveillance, the use of microphones, and environmental monitoring CO2 RH%, temps, etc.

David emphasized the importance of monitoring water use data.

“Water consumption rates can

30

indicate growth rates, bird activity levels, the health of the animal and the health of the gut using food to water rations, also feed availability as nonfood, birds go off water.

“Comfort levels are also important such as low rates when inactive due to cold environment and disturbance in a house (noises, stress, etc).

David showed a chart depicting water demand in the birds with peaks and dark periods so clearly identifiable.

In summing up his company’s experiences using PLT, David made the following comments.

“The more innovative the technology, the more teething problems you will experience, and, expect more questions than answers from the data.

“Data is just numbers, it doesn’t give you all the answers alone or what to do next.

“We still have to get the regular farming methods right as well.

“Agriculture can be slow to accept new ideas,” he said.

In answer to the obvious question, “has PLF paid for itself?” David revealed that his increased gross margin over a six year period was in A$, 370,000.

His recommendations were, “to only spend on sensors to give you the specific data you most want and use a little bit properly.

“Ensure that you look at the data and make decisions based on it regularly; for us real time 24/7 but not at the start.

“Don’t be put off by the potential to spend significant funds initially – you don’t have to.

“Expect your investment to continue as more sensors are developed and more questions asked,” he suggested.

In concluding David stated what his vision and aims were at his company, Applied Group.

“To improve the animals welfare by understanding what the animal is telling us, not necessarily our human views.

“To improve performance by better meeting the needs of animals, needs first, then comes performance.

“To respond in real time (14/7) to the animals’ needs and have a business that attracts recruits so you get good staff on farms.

“To offer services to other businesses capitalising on unique learnt knowledge,” David concluded.

It may seem curious for Poultry Digest to learn about advanced

David Spellar, Applied Group. technology in poultry rearing in a pig industry seminar, but of course the principles of OPTIFarm technology could be valuable in poultry farming.

For many years now at nutritional, scientific and industry conferences we have all heard about disruptive technologies and how technology will change the way we live and run our businesses. Now it actually seems to be happening in the intensive livestock sector.

In the PIX /AMC seminar on June 4, Paul Higgins, ex-chair Australian Pork Limited and now a futurist at his consultancy, Emergent Futures, was talking about the very technologies in part utilised by OPTIFarm being employed by retailing.

Technology used to understand the needs of consumers in stores and delivery systems, that predict and better serve consumer needs when shopping, in broad terms, follow the 21st Century technology used to monitor livestock needs in their housing systems.

One of the many positive aspects of OPTIFarm is that it is a win-win technology; the term ‘disruptive technologies’ often implies winners and losers.

OPTIFarm technology can be retro-fitted to existing facilities and though it changes the stock person’s role, there is still a role for that person, experienced in poultry shed management who now will just use new tools to perform a better role in caring for their livestock.

Further, broiler farming is a low margin business, reduction of mortality levels by just 1% would mean one day less in the birds reaching the required processing weight.

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31

NEWS

PIX 2018 round-up from AAS Pty Ltd

By PETER MATHEWS The whole team at AAS has been excited to see the growth in the PIX conference from our first stand when it was held at the ANA car park in 2000 to the level of professionalism we saw at PIX 2018.

This year was our biggest year yet – we had working equipment and representatives on the stand from Potters, EmTech, Munters Rotem, Waste Spectrum, AGCO and Plasson.

It was great to catch up with old and prospective new customers.

The new Rotem Touch had lots of interest from producers. The Rotem Touch is the new generation of controllers with easy to use features and the ability to be hooked up to tablets and smart phones for remote management.

The Potters Aviary System and AviNest equipment was also a big hit with the egg producers and breeders alike. Customers were extremely impressed with the quality of the Potters Nests.

Tim Hodgetts from EmTech was on hand and was kept very busy talking with customers about new and upcoming projects and hatcheries.

Bob Richards from Waste Spectrum was also on the stand, with plenty of interest in our new range of incinerators for waste handling.

There was great interest in the reclaimer fan and good feedback from producers due to the energy saving and ease of retrofitting existing sheds.

Great interest was also had in our

LtoR: Scott Miller, AAS; Tim Hodgetts from EmTech, Bob Richards from Waste Spectrum and Anthony Harman from Potters Poultry.

new supplier, MultiHeat, and its range of heating equipment.

AAS announced that it is now a Plasson representative for the region, with its full range available for purchase, including the new drinker lines with water on demand and wireless flushing.

Eliav from Plasson made the journey from Israel, to talk directly to our customers and was available to answer questions.

For more information call Peter, Luke or Scotty on 07 3829 3242. Visit www.ausagservices.com.au.

Bioproperties expands technical and sales support Bioproperties has recently appointed Robin Achari as Senior Technical Veterinarian complimenting the appointment of Philip Todhunter as Sales Manager.

These positions strengthen the sales support for the Australian domestic market and international markets and are associated with Bioproperties overall growth.

Robin is a veterinarian who graduated from Queensland University and has had wide experience in government, poultry health and production.

32

He is currently completing a PhD on inclusion body hepatitis at Armidale University.

Phillip was a poultry farmer in England involved in the production of clean commercial eggs for Influenza vaccine.

Best known for their innovative mycoplasma vaccines, Bioproperties is expanding its poultry vaccine range in Australia with vaccines for ILT and broiler coccidiosis control.

Recent success in Salmonella control with its live vaccine in breeders

and layers has also generated more demand for support.

Bioproperties partnership with the Australian poultry industries is valued and has made it possible to sell its vaccines internationally (making it financially viable to manufacture in Australia).

Bioproperties keeps 12 months of vaccine in stock for the Australian market at all times.

For further information please contact Chris Morrow at Bioproperties 03 9876 0567.

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33

NEWS

Santrev busy in Victoria in the first half of 2018 Santrev has been busy with the construction of three Victorian projects in the first half of the year.

The construction is well under way on two tunnel ventilated, smooth skin rearer sheds located in Newbridge, Victoria for Hazeldenes.

The project has been onsite managed by Santrev’s Site Supervisor, Zac Haigh, who previously assisted in completing eighteen broiler sheds in Mogumber, Western Australia.

Nearing completion in Nathalia, Victoria are four state-of-art free range layer sheds.

“Santrev’s free-range poultry sheds are designed to give chickens the best possible environment for growth, ensuring your flocks are healthy and productive,” said Luke Trevanion, General Manager.

Victorian local, Tony Kelleher, is one of Santrev’s site supervisors who also works on projects Australia wide.

“Our relationship with you starts from the first time we sit down to listen to your plans and ideas,” said Luke.

“By listening and working with you, we ensure your shed is more efficient and cost-effective.

“It’s just one way that our reputation safeguards your investment.

“Importantly we don’t disappear once the shed has been built.

As growers ourselves, we understand all of the industries operational requirements.

“We can draw upon the experience of building sheds for all chicken producers – including breeder, broiler,

34

layer and free-range options.”

Santrev also recently completed three breeder sheds in Charlton, Victoria for Inghams.

“Our ability to view the design from the end-user operational perspective won us the project.

“Every farm site is unique, and we design the most efficient poultry sheds within today’s farm parameters.

“Site supervisor Jarrod Trevanion has been with Santrev for 10 years and is a local from Victoria.

“The project occurred during inclement weather, with years of experience Jarrod was able to work closely

with the project manager to establish a solution to ensure the project was completed on time.

“With correct planning and working with the client, the Santrev team once again met the project completion date and delivered the project with the same high-quality standards.

“Our site supervisors work closely with our project managers.

“So, you can sit back, relax and feel confident your project has been left safely in the hands of the Santrev team with local knowledge, experience, and resources to ensure a winning result for you,” Luke concluded.

Above: Santrev recently completed three breeder sheds for Inghams, in Charlton Victoria. Below left: Hazeldene’s rearer sheds in Newbridge Victoria.

Below right: Free range sheds in Nathalia, Victoria.

NEW PRODUCTS

Revolutionary new farming alarm system unveiled at PIX conference A this year’s Poultry Information Exchange (PIX) Conference specialised rural insurer Achmea Australia brought Senior Risk Specialist Wim Niessen over from the Netherlands to present.

Mr Niessen has more than 15 years experience in the farm insurance industry and is an expert in educating farmers on how to minimise risks in intensive farming systems.

For the past four years, Mr Niessen has been sharing Achmea’s extensive knowledge of farming best practice and delivering innovative risk mitigation solutions designed to help farmers.

During the conference, he revealed details of a brand-new system called the AgroAlarm, developed by Achmea in the Netherlands to help farmers avoid major losses from the climate control system, particularly in the intensive farming industry.

As Mr Niessen explained, the new alarm system is designed to deliver peace of mind to farmers susceptible to intensive farming production risks: “It’s of vital importance to have a proper alarm system in place, so that a farmer or farm manager is informed of any equipment breakdown or deviation – for instance, a sudden increase in temperature.

“For this reason, Achmea has been involved in the development of a new system called the AgroAlarm, which is a satellite-connected system with a GPRS back up system.

“It’s a 24/7 monitoring service that ensures farmers will be immediately informed via SMS, app and mobile if there’s a problem on the farm.”

“With farms facing potentially catastrophic threats from events like fire or climate-control failures, farmers are increasingly looking for new ways to protect their livestock and their livelihoods – and because GSM networks and the internet are often not reliable enough for critical business processes like the control of climate in poultry sheds, the AgroAlarm is already being heralded as the most effective farming alarm system around,” he said Running via satellite, the system offers 99.97% connection availability (much higher than traditional internet or GSM) and is supported by roundthe-clock monitoring by an emergency response centre.

The system, which includes a satellite antenna, modem and alarmdialer is installed by a specialist technician and is projected to run for as little as $3 per day – and while it’s not yet available in Australia, Mr Niessen explained how this could soon change.

“Soon we’ll begin a pilot on a broiler farm in NSW to test the AgroAlarm in Australia. If the pilot is successful, the alarm will then be more broadly available,” says Mr Niessen.

However, the AgroAlarm is just one example of how Achmea Australia is working to support farmers and protect and enhance Australia’s agricultural communities: “We’re all about working closely with farmers to offer the services we believe will make poultry farming safer and more sustainable for the future.

“This new system fits perfectly with our philosophy to help farmers man-

Wim Niessen from Achmea. age risk and not just insure against it, and we’re proud to be involved with a new technology that protects farms and delivers great peace of mind,” said Mr Niessen.

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35

NEWS

Managing agricultural development in a changing landscape New research aimed at boosting industry and community understanding of the challenges posed to agribusiness developments by an expanding urban fringe and changing rural demographic has been released by 2015 Nuffield Scholar and NSW primary producer, Bernadette Mortensen.

The report investigates the viability of agribusinesses in a changing landscape, and the effect of urban sprawl on existing land uses, as well as the role of policy and legislation in shaping the next wave of agribusiness growth.

With support from Woolworths, Mrs Mortensen was motivated to undertake her Nuffield Scholarship after experiencing first-hand the challenges that land use and planning processes can pose to agribusiness development.

As an avocado and free-range chicken producer on the New South Wales Central Coast, Mrs Mortensen has had to grapple with complex planning processes to ensure the viability of her business, and was keen to use her Nuffield experience to improve industry and community understanding of the challenges and opportunities posed by our changing urban and rural landscapes.

“My Nuffield research set out to investigate rural expansion and diversification and the motivations behind objecting to or approving developments, and looked at solutions to build better engagement between farmers, communities and governments to prioritise the importance of food production and meet community expectations,” Mrs Mortensen said.

“It found that a renewed approach to communication, flexibility and understanding in planning and farm diversification was needed, in order for farmers to remain financially viable and to feed a growing global population.”

Mrs Mortensen’s research confirmed that many other agricultural countries face similar challenges when the viability of farming is impacted by segments of the community that have limited understanding of the resources needed to produce food, and an assumption that scale and intensification automatically leads to poorer environmental, community and animal welfare outcomes.

36

The report recommends that government and agribusiness improve cooperation, and focus on improving mapping and data collation around existing land use, developments and approved technologies.

This information could then be used as a reference for planners and regulators when assessing development applications and proposals.

“An improvement in education and awareness of approved farming

methods and technologies would empower planners to approve farming activities in a more efficient and cohesive way, which would reduce uncertainty, lead to clearer planning decisions and ultimately benefit all stakeholders,” she said.

Travelling throughout the Middle East, United Kingdom, United States, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe and Asia during her Nuffield scholarship, Mrs Mortensen also explored the role that land use policy and legislation can play in improving the viability of agribusinesses.

“In Ireland, the use of Land Mobility Schemes designed to facilitate joint leasing of agricultural land and associated tax-free thresholds on rental income has improved the viability of agricultural operations by allowing land to be kept in production, even when family succession is not an option,” she said.

“Coupling supportive designated agricultural land areas with taxation incentives and ownership structures like this would reduce the reliance on development applications by managing changes to the rural demographic and promoting agricultural land preservation.

Santrev charity golf day After winding up enthusiasm for golf with their mini golf stand set up at PIX/ AMC 2018, Santrev is organising an Industry Golf Day at Brookwater Golf Club near Springfield in Queensland on Friday August 24, to raise funds for the ‘Black Dog Institute’ an organisation that helps to fund research into mental health.

“We invite you to become a player at this year’s Poultry Industry Golf Day raising funds for the ‘Black Dog Institute,” said Luke Trevanion a Director of Santrev.

This one day spectacular will be an exciting event, including lunch and of course, an 18 hole golf tournament, promotional holes, and a selection of high quality prizes and charity auctions. Participants will enjoy a full 18 holes, lunch and presentation function,

a welcome gift with green fees and golf cart hire covered in the $250 per person entry fee.

The golf course is recognised as one of the best in Australia and was designed by Greg Norman.

Beer, wine and soft drinks will be available and afternoon canapés will be served.

The Tournament Schedule includes, registration, lunch, putting competition and welcome from 11.00 a.m. on the August 24.

The shotgun start and drinks will commence at 12.30 p.m.

Later in the day presentations, canapés, prizes, raffles and auction commences at 5.30 p.m.

“It will be a great day and we can enjoy our golf as well as raising funds for a great cause,” said Luke.

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Consumer perceptions of colour are directly related to perception of food quality and acceptance.

Consumers look for a consistent colour and tend to follow brands that Christine Clark provide this.

Chickens are not able to produce pigments, they must be ingested. There are several ingredients that add pigmentation to poultry diets. These include corn (maize), corn gluten meal, marigold extracts, lucerne and grass.

Carotenoids are red, orange, or yellow pigments that include the familiar compound carotene. This range of carotenoids (pigments) give the colours to plants, fruits and vegetables.

It is important to understand that the differences in raw materials available in Australia are somewhat different than raw materials in other parts of the world.

Where corn (maize) is the base of raw materials for feed, the feed contains natural xanthophylls. Xanthophylls are yellow pigments that occur widely in nature and form one of the two major divisions of the carotenoid group; the other division is formed by carotenes.

Australian raw materials are predominately wheat, sorghum and barley and are referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;whiteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; raw materials and there is not enough xanthophyll content to give a colour score expected by consumers. The use of pigments is common practice and the level used is specifically based on egg yolk score requirements.

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Pigments are available in different forms; powders that can be used in premixes or at the feed mill or liquid forms that can be used at the mill, to accommodate for the various operation milling systems.

Historically, the natural pigments have been costlier on a gram for gram activity bases and not ideally suitable for premixes, but in recent times with innovative manufacturing technology, specific natural yellow pigments can now more reliably be included in premixes, and with an extended shelf life and at near equivalent pricings to the synthetics.

Variations in egg yolk colours.

It is important to be aware that there are some ingredients in feed and premixes that can impact the effectiveness of yolk pigments and this should be discussed with your nutritionist or supplier.

Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s egg producer has access to a consistent source of quality raw materials from the modern manufacturing facilities where natural pigments are produced.

This has resulted in an improved and consistent source of natural pigments and far more stable sourced products than previously available.

Problem solving Pigmentation of egg yolks is an indication of what is happening on farm. Many factors effect the efficiency of pigment uptake including the quality of feed ingredients, health (especially enteric health) of the bird, intake of the bird and the age of the birds.

When these factors are considered, the efficacy of various egg yolk pigment colours can be observed.

Colour response is a three-dimensional measurement that includes the levels of red and yellow as well as the brightness of the yolk.

These can all be affected by many things that may not initially be considered, like the health of the flock and bird physiological factors.

Specific disease causally associated factors could include mycotoxins, internal and external parasites, fatty liver disease, enteric diseases or any systemic disease that reduces the layers intake and wellbeing.

Any factor where feed intake is affected must be considered and these include birds in early lay, free ranging activity, water availability and competitive behaviour. A reduction or low feed intake will effect egg yolk colour.

The substantial increased demand for free range and barn laid eggs in recent years has contributed to more challenges in maintaining egg yolk colours.

Premium Agri Products has more than 25 years of experience in the pigment industry and the company is partnered with several manufacturers to supply the Australian and New Zealand markets. *Christine Clark has recently joined Premium Agri Products and is working with Rudi Stout.

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39

NEWS

ADM expands health and wellness with aquisition of Probiotics International Ltd Archer Daniels Midland Company has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Probiotics International Limited (PIL), a UK-based provider of probiotic supplements for human, pet, and production-animal use.

The all-cash transaction will be valued at £185 million, subject to customary adjustments.

“ADM is already one of the world’s largest providers of human and animal nutrition solutions, and the acquisition of PIL will add to our extensive portfolio of products that promote health and wellness,” said Vikram Luthar, President, ADM Health & Wellness.

“We took a major step in this area last year with the addition of Biopolis, and then added to our capabilities with our personalised nutrition collaboration with Mayo Clinic, our joint development agreement with Vland Biotech, and our new enzyme lab in California.

Now, with the addition of PIL’s extensive sales and marketing network to our existing R&D capabilities, we are building a world class, fully integrated probiotics and nutraceuticals business.”

PIL, based in Somerset, UK and known under its umbrella brand

Protexin, is a leading provider of probiotic supplements for human wellness and animal markets, including aquaculture, equine, livestock and companion animals.

“With sales into more than 60 countries, PIL produces the popular Bio-Kult brand of probiotic supplements along with contract-manufactured products. The company has about 160 employees.

“Early this year, we brought our wide range of animal and human nutrition product lines together into a single Nutrition business unit, with the goal of not just feeding the world, but also providing better nutrition and improving the quality of life for consumers around the globe,” said Vince Macciocchi, President of ADM’s Nutrition business unit.

“A key part of that integrated Nutrition platform is our Health & Wellness business, which includes bioactives, botanical extracts and specialty nutritional oils, including innovative products such as our Onavita algal DHA oil, and Novatol Vitamin E 1490PH. The addition of PIL is just one of the many important investments we are

making to grow our entire integrated Nutrition business.

From the growth of our bioactives platform, to new Animal Nutrition facilities in North America and China, to our expanding network of food and beverage ingredient innovation centres, we are enhancing our presence in a growing market and ensuring that we are the go-to provider for complete health and wellness and ingredients solutions for human and animal nutrition customers alike.”

“PIL has created market-leading brands in the veterinary, equine and human health markets around the world, and we are delighted to join ADM’s Health and Wellness business.

We very much look forward to building on this success,” said Jonathan Sowler, PIL commercial director.

“There are great synergies with ADM and Biopolis, especially in the area of R&D, and we plan to add to an already very exciting development pipeline to provide innovative, evidence-based products of the highest quality for people and animals.”

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

New director of Australian Animal Health CSIRO has announced Dr Trevor Drew as the new Director of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) following a competitive international search.

Dr Drew spent more than 30 years working with various UK agricultural bodies ensuring the UK’s preparedness and laboratory response to incursions of exotic disease affecting animals and humans.

His most recent role was Lead Scientist for Animal & Zoonotic Viral Diseases at the Animal and Plant Health Agency laboratories at Weybridge in the UK. In this position he led teams of scientists and veterinarians in delivering a diverse portfolio of research and surveillance for different stakeholders in the animal and human health arena.

CSIRO Executive Director for Digital,

40

National Facilities and Collections Dr Dave Williams said Dr Drew’s wealth of experience in public sector research and innovation would be a great benefit to AAHL and CSIRO. “Dr Drew is an active advocate of international cooperation, with a strong and established network across Asia, which will be invaluable experience for creating new opportunities for collaboration and partnership for researchers and government here in Australia,” Dr Williams said.

Dr Drew said his past experience would equip him for this role at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory.

“My background in leading research and surveillance on behalf of the UK to ensure preparedness, agility and innovative approaches to detection and response should be a great benefit for Australian agriculture,” Dr Drew said.

“I’ve worked closely with scientists

at AAHL on a number of occasions in the past and I’m really looking forward to leading them in a new era of greater innovation and international engagement.

“Working in true partnership and collaboration between academia and industry is essential if we are to meet the formidable challenges of food safety and security in the coming years.”

Dr Drew will commence with CSIRO in September 2018 and will be based in Geelong, Victoria.

The Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) helps protect Australia’s multi-billion dollar livestock and aquaculture industries, and the general public, from emerging infectious disease threats.

It is a high-containment facility designed to allow scientific research into the most dangerous infectious agents in the world.

NEW PRODUCTS

Nor-Grape 80 can partially replace Vitamin E In simple terms, apart from benefits to broiler chickens and layer hens, Vitamin E increases shelf life of meat products, and can reduce drip loss, so in general it’s a vital additive in livestock production.

Vitamin E requirements may increase under heat stress. In layers, several studies have concluded that a vitamin E supplementation between 125 and 500 mg/kg was necessary to alleviate the adverse effects of chronic heat stress on egg production, egg weight, eggshell density and feed efficiency.

For broilers, supplementing starter feeds with 200 mg vitamin E per kg was found to minimise peroxidation of erythrocytes in various tissues at three and five weeks of age.

So, vitamin E is a vital component in livestock industries, but it is expensive.

Poultry Digest visited the Mediralis and Think Livestock stands at AMC/ PIX 2018 and spoke to Dr Jaffa Pazani, a poultry vet and director of Mediralis about the company’s Nor-Grape 80 product which is a standardised grape extract rich in polyphenols (natural anti oxidants anthocyanins and proathocyanidins).

“The Nor-Grape 80 product produced by the French based NOR-FEED company offers synergy with other antioxidants and optimisation of the antioxidative defence.

“It can be used in organic certified farming, has a low inclusion rate and is a well characterised and a fully standardised plant extract,” he said.

Dr Pazani believes that Vitamin E can be partially replaced by Nor-Grape 80 with up to 50% substitution.

“One gram of the grape extract based Nor-Grape product can replace 11g of vitamin E (i.e. up to 50% substitution) which in Europe delivers a saving of 41 Euro cents per tonne of complete feed,” Dr Pazani stated.

To subscribe to Poultry Digest magazine call 0409 944 472 or +61 2 9797 2406. Email: primarymedia@bigpond.com Visit the website for information www.primarymedia.com.au

LtoR: Mehdi Saeidpour, Afsaneh Gorganzadeh, from Mediralis, Dave Roberts from Think Livestock and Dr Jaffa Pazani from Mediralis.

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41

NEWS

Insurance advice from an industry veteran After a long farming career, Doug Phipps could have been excused for thinking he knew everything there was to know about his livelihood as he cruised towards retirement.

But when his new insurance provider identified an as-yet-undiscovered fire risk, he realised he hadn’t quite ticked every risk-reduction box after all.

After decades on the land, Doug is progressively handing over the running of his farm in Coominya, Queensland to his son Rhett and daughter-in-law Christina.

Over many years, he’s managed to build up an impressive enterprise.

“We grow Lucerne and cattle and lease out part of the property to broccoli and seedless watermelon growers,” he said. While they have a number of other revenue streams, the Phipps family is serious about their poultry farming.

They’ve got six RSPCA-accredited sheds, 160m x 17m wide, and get five and a half batches of meat chickens a year. Those batches usually number 250,000.

“We grow Ross chickens, though we’ve started to bring in Cobbs,” Doug said.

“I’ve had contracts with Inghams and Baiada, but I’m now with Darwalla Group. They’ve got an incentive system where the farm that does the best job in terms of growth and so on, gets a bonus payment. From memory, we’ve got that bonus in three out of the last four batches.”

Like any good Australian farmer, Doug has a laser-like focus on threats to his livelihood. “Biosecurity is always a considerable risk with chickens.

“In this part of the world, as we were reminded in 2017, flooding is a concern.

So are droughts. Then there are what I label the man-made risks, such as the power supply failing, or some part of the wiring getting so hot it bursts into flames.”

The thought of seeing his life’s work laid waste means Doug is big on risk management and making sure he’s well insured.

“The sheds are made from an advanced, fire-resistant material and have tunnel ventilation as well as additional ventilation on the roof,” Doug said.

“We’ve put them 30 metres apart, so if something goes wrong in one of them, it can be contained. The control boxes are located away from the sheds

42

LtoR: Ken, Rhett, Doug and Christine Phipps with Louisa Aldridge from Darwalla at the Poultry Information Exchange 2018. and have design features that keep them well ventilated. If something does burst into flames, there are fire extinguishers in the generator shed and near all electrical controllers.

“Every six months they are independently serviced by a company we’ve contracted.”

As luck would have it, Rhett is an electrician by trade, so that side of things has received plenty of attention.

“We’ve got a back-up generator in case the power supply is interrupted, and 12-volt back-ups for the ventilators on the sheds if the generator is also knocked out,” Doug said.

“There’s lots of lightning protection in the form of stripped underground copper cables. We’ve also got solid surge protection to safeguard our computerised feed, water and ventilation systems.”

“The farm’s sophisticated computer system monitors the temperature, humidity and internal pressure in the sheds. If it detects anything amiss, it sounds an alarm that can be heard within a 500-metre radius.

“If that isn’t responded to within in two minutes, the alarm system calls the farm manager, then several back-up numbers.

“We also have a comprehensive risk management plan,” Doug said.

“That comprises a range of standard operating procedures and logbooks for activities such as testing the generator.”

Doug argues that even if he were inclined to skimp on insurance, it wouldn’t be fair to his clients or bank to do so.

“With the Darwalla contract, we don’t own the chickens, we just raise them. Likewise, we have finance from Rabobank. Reasonably enough, they want to be covered if something goes wrong. So, I’ve always taken out full coverage with all the bells and whistles.”

The Achmea Australia difference Doug decided to approach recent entrant to Australia’s farm insurance market Achmea Australia for a quote.

Operating with the goal to keep farmers farming, the insurer was originally set up in Holland over 200 years ago, when a group of farmers put money in a glass jar to protect their businesses from hay fires – and that ‘glass jar’ philosophy of mutuality and cooperation still holds true today.

Doug decided to move his business across to Achmea Australia – and he

NEWS soon discovered he was being provided with best-practice risk management advice from a company with a twocentury long history of insuring farms all around the world.

“One of the first things Achmea Australia did was arrange a thermal imaging assessment of our sheds,” Doug said.

“It turned out there was excessive heat build-up in some of the electrical boxes. I immediately arranged to have thermostatically-controlled fans installed on the side of those boxes to keep them well ventilated, especially on 40-degree summer days.”

While Doug was surprised by his new insurer’s meticulousness, it’s the characteristic of a company that’s committed to working proactively with clients to identify and mitigate risks.

Achmea Australia’s parent company has decades of experience insuring higher-risk intensive farming systems in Europe and elsewhere – which means the insurer is an industry leader when it comes to spotting potential dangers on farms that use a lot of electricity, have major infrastructure or employ a lot of

staff.

While Doug is confident about his farm’s future, he does see challenges ahead for poultry farmers.

“Leaving aside threats such as exotic disease, which an individual farmer can’t do much about, I see two challenges on the horizon,” he said.

“Many smaller farms will need to add sheds and create efficiencies of scale if they want to continue to operate profitably.

“Also, residential encroachment is going to become even more of an issue.

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I’d suggest farmers buy any adjoining land that becomes available.

“They need to build up a buffer while they can still do so affordably.”

Doug’s final tip is to get the right expert advice.

“It is always about insuring risk. For that you need an experienced partner.”

To find out how Achmea Australia can help insure and protect your farming business, contact your local Achmea Australia Risk Specialist.

Visit www.achmea.com.au or call 1300 724 214.

NEWS v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 specific workshops held during PIX including ‘Improvement in hatchery management run by Aviagens’ Eddie Van Lierde.

On Tuesday June 5, the Chicken Meat Session – Production Opportunities opened with Professor Malcolm Mitchell from Scotland’s Rural College speaking about ‘Physiology and environmental stressors’.

Professor Sergio Vieira (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul) talked about ‘Economic responses to dietary amino acid allowances for broilers’.

Alan Parnham, Farming Director at Inghams Group and prior to that General Manager at Hook 2Sisters UK, spoke about antibiotic reduction from a UK perspective.

After delivering details on the UK AB stewardship program, Alan summarised what had been achieved including, “measurement of antibiotic usage in place and transparency of published data so now industry can speak from a position of knowledge.

“The need for legislation has been avoided, and there has been positive communication about the industry.

“We have preserved the opportunity to use antibiotic in production systems where they are clealy required, and the response to therapy when needed is actually better,” he said.

“We need to start to understand the drivers for increased usage, though the upside in the UK has been some

1

positive PR recognising industry effort as no other livestock sector can provide meaningful data.

“Reducing antibiotic usage requires healthy stock, i.e. viable chicks, a good environment, quality feed, and creating a disease free status through good biosecurity and hygiene levels.

“Going antibiotic free is not a good option, and an antibiotic free debate should be avoided.’ Alan concluded.

Dr Kylie Hewson, Deputy Director of the Chicken Meat Federation next explained the path towards a vital update of the industries’ Biosecurity Manual last modified in 2009.

“Many changes have occurred in the industry including the structure and location of key infrastructure, RSPCA code adoption, 2012/13 AI outbreaks in NSW, a large increase in free range

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• In crea sed wei ght gain • Im prov ed f con eed vers ion •M axim econ ised omi cal ben efit

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1. Rudi Stout and Christine Clark from Premium Agri Products with Dr Peter Scott (Scolexia).

2. Professor Malcolm Mitchell, Scotland’s Rural College.

3. Nuffield Scholarship winner in 2016, Ben Edser.

production, an increase in the size of farms and finally major overseas AI outbreaks,” she pointed out.

The aim was to finalise the updated and more detailed manual before the end of 2018,” she said.

In the PIX closing session on June 5, the inaugural Gary Sansom Award sponsored by Agrifutures was presented to Ashlee Morgan, an Adelaide Uni honours student currently working with PIRSA. Dr Vivienne Kite introduced Ashley Radburn, Agrifutures Chicken Meat Program manager and Julie Sansom.

The Gary Sansom Scholarship was awarded to Ashlee for her research

NEWS 1 2

1.Michael Pretorius, Andreas Kocher and Michael Pritchard, Alltech Lienert. Golf fun on the Santrev stand. project on understanding factors for attracting and retaining youth in the poultry industry, a key focus of the AgriFutures Chicken Meat Program and her keen interest in contributing to the poultry industry in the long-term.

The Gary Sansom Scholarship is named in honour of AgriFutures Chicken Meat Advisory Panel Chair and Australian Chicken Meat Federation President, Gary Sansom who passed away in March 2017.

Mr Sansom was a long-standing supporter of programs encouraging new people into the chicken meat industry and championed several communication and training initiatives vital to the industry.

Ashlee has worked for Inghamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Enterprises as a Breeder Farm Manager, and is currently employed by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia (PIRSA) as a project officer focused on planning and development of the chicken meat industry.

The scholarship will allow Ashlee to identify the causes of skills shortages and barriers to young people pursuing a career in the poultry sector.

AgriFutures Australia General Manager, Research and Innovation, Michael Beer said the new scholarship will support future industry leaders to make their mark on the industry.

The inaugural Gary Sansom Scholarship was presented to Ashlee Morgan at the 2018 PIX by Garyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife, Julie Sansom.

Ben Edser was awarded a Nuffield Scholarshipp in 2016 and reported on his travels and studies at PIX 2018. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Renewable energy technologies and the chicken meat industry, cost reduction and diversion was the subject of his report. The focus area of his report was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;renewable energy technologies in the Australian chicken meat industry, firstly organics to energy (anaerobic digestion , and secondly solar photovoltaics.

Ben travelled to 10 countries in both the developed and developing world.

His conclusions were ,â&#x20AC;? based on current feasibilities , that anaerobic digestion is viable but scale is required, and that solar PV is viable but system size must be correct,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The final event in the closing session was a lively though surprisingly civil panel discussion: Animal Welfare; present a future was the theme.

Prof Mingam Choct was charged with keeping the proceedings on track. Dr Peter Scott (Scolexia) was joined by Heather Neal (RSPCA), Rob Kestrel (Free Range Egg & Poultry w

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NEWS v

Australia) and Professor Malcolm Mitchell (Scotland’s Rural College).

Some interesting consumer research was presented adding some valuable factuality to what is often an immotive debate.

Audience participation resulted in well informed questions and frank, interesting answers from an expert panel. A fitting end to a series of excellent presentations.

On Wednesday June 6 there were two industry work shops, The Gary Sansom Broiler workshop and Design and Management of Aviary Systems – both were well attended.

The Thermal Neutral Zone of the broiler was addressed by Professor Malcolm Mitchell in a wide ranging and informative paper.

Bernie Green from Aviagen, who is almost without doubt a foremost expert in broiler poultry shed conditions spoke next about ’Introduction to the thermal neutral zone and managing the environment’.

Speakers in the Aviary System workshop were Alex Welbergen from Vencomatic and Tim Best from Specialised Breeders Australia.

Don’t

LtoR: Gemma Wyburn, Samantha Munro, Tamsyn Crowley, Georgie Townsend, Jojo Jackson, Kylie Hewson and Ashley Radburn – Chook Chat Shack.

On Wednesday Jun 6-7, the APVA held its conference.

Thilo Borchardt from EW Nutrition, Germany spoke on the topic of Qurum Sensing and Qurum Quenching, key aspects in the science of antimicrobial reduction and replacement.

Derek Detzler from Jefo Canada spoke later on ‘Antibiotic free broiler production from a producer’s perspective.

Later in 2018 Poultry Digest hopes to bring readers more practical detail in the progress of reducing antimicrobial dependence in broiler production.

PIX/AMC has grown mightily since the early days of a few Queensland farmers and industry reps gathering in a remote regional motel.

The industry has changed even since the last event in 2016 and there are signs that the industry will need to take advantage of modern technological advances if it wants to safeguard its position of the most consumed protein source in Australia.

That’s why events like PIX/AMC are so important as all sections of the production chain can get together and work out just how to stay ahead.

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