October 8, 2011

Last night on the 7.30 Report there was a great story about the AECL (egg board), the Greens and the push by the industrial giants of egg production to make the legal definition of free range eggs include that the chooks can be stocked at up to 20,000 birds per hectare. That equals 2 chooks per square metre, average! Can you just imagine the crowding, the environmental devastation, the fighting, the smell, the dust, the poo. There would be NO grass at all.

This is all about the big producers wanting to collect consumer dollars by dishonest behaviour. Do you think the average shopper, pressed for time with the kids about their feet in the supermarket is really going to ask the fundamental question about “what does free range mean?” or just trust that free range means the chooks have a decent life because the colour picture on the carton depicts such a life?

We have never called our eggs free range and NEVER will, it is a legal requirement to label eggs either cage, barn or free range but you can rest assured we will not stoop so low as to call ours free range. We noticed that Oaks Organics now call their eggs and meat “open range” on their website, we're flattered to be copied we suppose, but really why would any “true” free range egg producer call themselves that when it has been prostituted so?

So please click on this to view the report, it explains the whole shambles better than I can.

We welcome two new customers this coming week.

La Macelleria is opening, Shop 14, The Beach House, 178 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach. Erik is the boss and the telephone will be 93006388. Call in and have look at the shiny new store – oh and buy some of our eggs!

Nicholson & Saville who are providores will offer our eggs to their customers. They have been supplying restaurants in Sydney and are starting a home delivery service as well. Send them an email info@nicholsonsaville.com.au if you want to be included in their delivery run. Their website http://www.nicholsonsaville.com.au/ .

Our facebook page link is here, you don't need to be a facebook user to see our page so don't get worried about your privacy etc, it's just a better place for us to put pictures and more frequent comments, so have a look to see what we talk about there if you're interested. There is a lovely photo I took yesterday morning in the fog as I was moving the cows and calves, plus lots more.

September 29, 2011

Its raining again on Papanui, fantastic!

New customers in the Newcastle area are Three Bean Espresso in Hamilton who are cooking with our eggs, Jesmond Fruit Barn and Hamilton Fruit Market.

In Muswellbrook we have just started with Hunterbelle Cheese .

In Sydney, Nio and Tony's in Campbell Parade, North Bondi have started with us and Simmone Logue is cooking with our eggs.

August 20, 2011

Hello, its a bit embarrassing this being the first news posted to our site for 2011! We have been using the Facebook page as our current news place, so if you want to see what we've been saying lately click on the home tab above and then on the Facebook logo which will take you there.

Rain has pushed me into the office, which is news in itself as there hasn't been a lot of wet weather on Papanui this year. I just got the rainfall chart up to date and note that there have been just 20 days we've had rain so far this year, and much of that was small falls, only 10 falls were greater than 10 mm.

We've been very busy again this year with building two extra buses for the chooks plus other improvements to our packing shed and helper accommodation. This takes our total bus number to eight for the chooks to roost in at night and lay eggs in during the day, bus 8 still needs some work before it can be used but it is well on the way.

Neutral Bay Fresh Food Grocer has changed their name to Mario's Market – same owners same address in Young Street.

New Customers in Sydney

Berta Restaurant & Bar http://www.berta.com.au/events are using our eggs.

Café Nowhere, 5 Wilkes Avenue, Artarmon.

Jonah's Whale Beach is using our eggs again http://www.jonahs.com.au/page/restaurant.html

Super Fresh, Atchison Street, Crows Nest. http://www.superfresh.net.au/crows-nest-superfresh/

and Hunter Valley

Not Just Apples & Oranges, 80 Wollombi Road, Cessnock http://www.facebook.com/pages/Not-Just-Apples-Oranges/123577114323544?sk=wall

The annual delicious. Magazine Produce Awards finals were held recently and we attended the awards night held at the Opera House. Only two hen egg producers in Australia made it to the finals, ourselves and Cornucopia. Congratulations to Cornucopia who won a gold medal on the night, we were very pleased to have made it to the last two! Last year no hen egg producers made it to the finals (Cornucopia got there with their duck eggs though!), the year before that we won a gold medal along with two others from Victoria. Obviously true free range eggs flavour and characteristics change as the seasons and rainfall events do, so it is interesting to see that the judges can taste the difference from year to year. On that note it must be said our eggs are at their peak right at the moment, the flavour is intense.

Our video is on youtube now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pIlrNo7Oiw to find a wider audience, the quality is not as good as the link from our home page though.