Laurie Horsfall says caged egg producers who haven't started transferring to colony systems yet will not have have the time to do it before they are banned. Photo / Paul Taylor
Laurie Horsfall says caged egg producers who haven't started transferring to colony systems yet will not have have the time to do it before they are banned. Photo / Paul Taylor
A major Hawke's Bay egg supplier's transition from conventional caged eggs to a colony cage system took him 15 years and $2.5 million worth of investment.
Laurie Horsfall, of Hawke's Bay Eggs in Mangaroa, says caged egg suppliers who haven't started to try to meet new welfare standards are nowalmost certain to go out of business in two years.
Egg producers say the country could be headed for a significant egg shortage as a result, and Horsfall says he's glad he took steps as early as he did.
Conventional cage eggs or battery eggs will be banned in New Zealand under new Code of Welfare standards by December 2022, forcing egg producers to transit into new production systems such as colony, barn or free range.
As of October 2020, 40 per cent of the egg production in New Zealand is produced by hens in battery cages, which have a height the size of an A4 paper.
Horsfall proudly stopped producing battery eggs in April, after 15 years transiting to a colony system - also called furnished or enriched cages.
He said it took $2.5m of investment, most of which was spent on computerised and temperature-controlled sheds, as well as cages which are higher and equipped with perches, nests and scratching areas.
Colony cages remain the most economical option for transitioning farmers as it means they do not have to reinvest in extra land for free-range eggs, with the Government confirming that no financial contribution will be given to egg farmers' transitioning.
But it's not without controversy itself - the SPCA has publicly denounced colony cages due to continued welfare concerns.
Countdown has banned both caged and colony eggs from its private label by 2022, and has committed to selling only free-range and barn eggs across all its supermarkets in the North Island by 2024.
Foodstuffs is aiming to do the same throughout all its North Island supermarkets by 2027.
Previously a sheep farmer in Whanganui, Horsfall was after a change and moved to Mangaroa in 2000 to invest into egg farming. "Egg farming, like other types of farming, is all about knowing your animals," Horsfall said.
Laurie Horsfall has spent $2.5m upgrading from a caged to colony egg system. Photo / Paul Taylor
Horsfall said even in the early days, there was opposition to caged eggs.
By in 2005, the family business started the transition to colony and free-range production system.
"We thought that if we were going to have to get rid of the cages, we were better to get rid of them now," Horsfall said.
Free-range production required outdoor space but Horsfall's business in Mangaroa was constrained by the limited amount of land available around him.
Transitioning to colony cages included the acquisition of material such as bigger sheds, computers, the equipment installation and the lift of the old sheds.
Egg Producers Federation executive director Michael Brooks says a significant number of New Zealand farmers have chosen to go into a colony cage system, at significant cost, and now it appears to have a limited shelf life.
The country might face an egg shortage as farmers who have not transferred their production to barn or free-range would not be able to sell their products. Furthermore, a short available supply will push up egg prices for consumers and businesses.
Hawke's Bay Eggs now produces 48,000 eggs a day - 90 per cent from its colony cages and 10 per cent free-range.
Horsfall says colony eggs are a good product.
"I think what comes out of the colonies is a better product – it is a controlled environment, the temperature does not vary and stays at 22 degrees Celsius.
"We control their food, making sure they get the nutrients and vitamins and manage the hygiene."
Laurie Horsfall with a computerised system that controls temperature, and egg gathering inside the Mangaroa shed. Photo / Paul Taylor
