Packers blamed for egg price collapse in free-range Q&A

For their last meeting of 2010, the Midlands Free Range Discussion Group assembled a panel of experts to answer the most topical questions of the day. Ken Randall reports

With BFREPA chairman John Retson in the chair and a panel comprising Richard Turner of St Davids Veterinary Practice, Ian Mackinson of Premier Nutrition and Gerry Tuffs of Farmhouse Freedom Eggs, members of the Midlands Free Range Discussion Group had plenty of questions to ask, including:

Q: Who is to blame for the over supply of free-range eggs?

Mr Tuffs: Everybody was looking to grab an extra share of the market. We all thought we were in a straight run through to 2012, and didn’t foresee the problems that we’ve been having. We were looking at the European situation and how far behind us they were, and what a good job we were doing in this country.

But at the end of the day the packers have control of the market and have to take responsibility. A problem area that has not been addressed is that we do not have any procedures in place across the industry to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Mr Retson: I think it’s going to hit us again, the chick placings are telling us that. Since I took on this job (as chairman of BFREPA) I have been trying to get accurate figures of the split of the industry into colony, barn, free range and organic, and it’s just about impossible. We’re in a tough situation because we don’t have accurate figures.

Q: In the light of the current market, is there enough TV advertising?

Mr Tuffs: The advertising budget for the Lion scheme for the coming year is £1.3m. As a percentage of total revenue it’s an acceptable level. I’ve been in a number of different industries and the PR campaigns are some of the best I’ve experienced. It’s been a fantastic success in healthy and quick-to-prepare food. We do feel there is room to do more dramatic TV advertising, and there have been discussions about spending another £250,000-300,000 which would be featured around British Egg Week.

There’s also quite a big plan to push forward with foodservice in the coming year.

Q: With the price of soya and the fact that the UK cannot produce its own suitable vegetable protein, is it time for meat-and-bonemeal to come back into rations?

Mr Mackinson: There is mounting pressure from within Europe for getting meat-and-bonemeal back into diets. The EU is looking again at regulations, a decision is likely to be made in 20011, and there’s a feeling there’s likely to be a positive outcome.

What you can expect is interspecies use, eg pigs into poultry. A significant proportion will probably go into fish food, because that sector is under pressure to reduce reliance on fish meal.

For the UK market, there will be a debate among the retailers on consumer acceptance, so while there is potential to see meat-and-bonemeal coming back into European diets, what will happen in the UK will depend on the retailers.

Mr Tuffs: From a marketing standpoint it’s got lots of problems associated with it and I would like to stay away from it for a long as possible. Price will out in the end, but at the free-range level we would like to stay above that and keep to a new standard.

Q: What is the role of brachyspira in reducing the performance of free-range flocks?

Mr Turner: Brachyspira has tended to become the favourite diagnosis, but a lot of people diagnose it on the basis of a slight change in the droppings. I think what we are seeing mainly is lower intestine fermentation, which is involving the wrong sort of bacteria brewing up there, giving the classical yellow frothy droppings.

I think brachyspira in many cases may be secondary. There is a whole range of brachyspira of which only one is probably a problem, and quite a few are not a primary pathogen. I think one needs to look at the intestinal integrity of the bird and what is causing this disturbance.

What we may be doing in effect is supplying some sort of nutrient to the lower intestine to cause that fermentation to develop. That is then causing a malabsorption problem which is affecting egg production.

Q: As an independent producer, can you give me some guidance on the criteria to select who I sell my eggs to?

Mr Tuffs: One of the main criteria is the closeness of the packer, because in bad times such as now, the cost of transport is a significant issue, and your packer is going to feel more helpful if he can pick up your eggs at a reasonable cost.

You’ve also got to look at the packers and see which of them are putting effort into the product you’ve got available. If you’ve got free range or organic, are they specialising in those areas? Have they got their own brands, because that will help the overall position.

Mr Retson: I would say who’s paying the highest price would be the best option. But we’re so spread out, if you’ve got a packer who’s got transport passing by you, it’s an obvious choice. I’m really concerned about the cost of collecting all these eggs in the UK, especially for small amounts.