Page 12 - National Poultry Newspaper

Australian Eggs launches tools
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cies and improving training outcomes.”
veloped in response to community issues raised through our sus- tainability framework process – including our training programs, tools and research – are making an impact not only in the industry but also with Australians’ trust in our industry continuing to grow.”
Other advancements to have come out of the sustainability frame- work process, and been invested in over the past year, include a trial of artificial in- telligence to track the wellbeing of a flock remotely, a traceabil- ity project to provide greater transparency over the origin and production of eggs, and a joint carbon neu- tral research project to develop carbon-neutral eggs and chicken meat.
The 2021 sustain- ability framework report completes the third annual cycle with the process starting in April 2017.
“Through our CSIRO research we have seen an ongoing increase in trust in the egg indus- try over the past three years, with the respon- siveness of the egg in- dustry to community concerns identified as the strongest driver of trust,” Mr McMonnies said.
The process was de- veloped to support the Australian egg indus- try’s objective of farm- ing eggs for Austral- ians in a way that is socially, environmen- tally and economically responsible.
“It’s great to know that the outcomes and initiatives we de-
Thefullsustainability framework report 2021 is available for download at australianeggs.org. au/assets/Uploads/ Sustainability- Framework- Report-2021.pdf
Australian Eggs managing director Rowan McMonnies said many egg farming busi- nesses were already exploring opportunities for improvement.
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tunities to improve water
Australia is facing unprecedented water shortages in response to a changing climate and rising demand for water, which presents a serious challenge for the local chicken meat industry.
Future proofing water security for Australia’s chicken meat industry
THE Australian chicken meat industry currently delivers more economic and nutritional value per megalitre of water than other meat products and horticultural industries.
security for the chicken meat industry.
grow-out farms and pro- cessing plants.
“We were pleased to find that the chicken meat industry is one of Aus- tralia’s top performers for water use efficiency,” Mr Robinson said.
identified and tested the viability of a number of the available options.
It’s now focussed on finding ways to get smart- er about its future water security.
Australia is facing un- precedented water short- ages in response to a changing climate and rising demand for water, which presents a serious challenge for the local chicken meat industry.
Chicken meat outper- forms all of the compari- son horticultural and meat products assessed in the study for both economic and nutritional value per megalitre of water re- quired.
“It’s critical that new technologies and ap- proaches be considered as design elements for any future developments of new facilities or retrofits of existing facilities.
New research shows Australian chicken meat production is highly water efficient.
New research funded by AgriFutures Chicken Meat Program and de- livered by Integrity Ag and Environment, has addressed this challenge head on, investigating wa- ter use and water secu- rity in Australian chicken breeder farms, hatcheries,
Integrity Ag and Envi- ronment environmental engineer Marty Robinson and IA&E agricultural and environmental engi- neer and lead researcher Eugene McGahan have worked to deliver the re- search project over the past 18 months.
AgriFutures Australia manager research chicken meat Annie Lane said the intent of the research was to identify and recom- mend clear pathways to improve water productiv- ity for the chicken meat industry in order to future proof its water security.
As competition for wa- ter increases, the chicken meat industry is well po- sitioned to deliver greater economic value than most other commodities.
“Trading water, cover- ing run-off dams to re- duce evaporation, water- efficient cooling methods and advanced water treat- ment plants are several options producers could implement over the next five years.
The report has identified
that there are both on-
“The research has giv- en us not only a robust knowledge base about the industry’s water use but also a number of real so- lutions to improve water security,” Ms Lane said.
farm and off-farm oppor-
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This includes pathways to improve water alloca- tion security and the im- plementation of new tech- nologies.
Compared to other Aus- tralian agricultural com- modities, chicken meat production was found to be highly water efficient.
“That makes it one of the most economically valu- able industries in Austral- ian agriculture and that’s something consumers and policymakers alike should know about.”
“I want chicken meat producers to know that there are real and viable options for improving wa- ter security out there that they can implement now,” Mr Robinson said.
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Given its positive score- card for water efficiency, the chicken meat industry is far from being compla- cent about water security.
Speaking of what is next for the industry and furthering water security, there is more work to be done to develop a com- plete picture of how the chicken meat industry uses water.
“These include several close- loop options, as well as water allocation or licensing policy settings that can be changed.
“Many of these water security options have al- ready been implemented successfully at farms and processing plants in Aus- tralia, so there are exam- ples people can look to.
“As competition for wa- ter increases, the Austral- ian chicken meat industry is strongly positioned to deliver greater economic value than most other ag- ricultural commodities. “Knowing how water ef- ficient the chicken meat industry is will help us to engage effectively with regulators and policymak- ers to improve future wa- ter security.”
“Then of course we also have a watching brief on emerging water security technologies like man- aged aquifer recharge, which is now proven at a commercial scale in West- ern Australia.”
The possibility of fu- ture water scarcity due to climate change and increased competition for the resource means chicken meat producers are considering all water security options available along the industry’s sup- ply chain.
“The next step after this research project is to de- velop a national bench- mark based on a holistic life cycle assessment of all the chicken meat industry supply chains in Austral- ia,” Mr Robinson said.
The research report ‘Water security in the chicken meat industry’ was produced by Integrity Ag and Environment with funding from the AgriFu- tures Chicken Meat Pro-
Page 12 – National Poultry Newspaper, April 2021
The research project gram.
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