The conference not to be missed

With a truly international line-up of speakers this year’s BFREPA free range conference promises to be an event not to be missed.

Taking the stage for the first time at a poultry producers’ conference in the UK will be the world’s leading authority on the nutritional value of eggs, Dr Donald McNamara from the United States.

Dr McNamara is executive director of the Egg Nutrition Centre in Washington DC, a nutrition research and health education centre funded by the giant US egg industry. His research work over the years into the links between nutrition and heart disease has arguably done more to improve the image of eggs as a healthy food than any other factor.

Entitled ‘The return of the good egg’, Dr McNamara’s presentation will not only dispel the myths surrounding eggs and dietary cholesterol but will also reveal details of the latest research that promises to further promote the nutritional benefits of eggs, along with a look at what nutrient-enhanced eggs can offer consumers. His findings continue to help boost egg consumption around the globe.

From Austria comes Willi Kallhammer who, as chairman of the International Egg Commission, has helped pull together egg producers from far and wide.

Mr Kallhammer describes the IEC as a “facilitator and educator” relaying information about eggs worldwide. He became involved with the organisation 14 years ago and in that time has seen membership grow from 18 countries to over 50 and now representing over 80 per cent of the world’s egg industry.

But for the BFREPA conference Mr Kallhammer will be concentrating on Europe and its growing free range sector. In a talk which he says will be “controversial but not antagonist” he intends to question a few aspects of free range. Is it a better egg or are consumers simply buying into a perception? And with the threat of avian influenza with us for years, how will that affect free range if birds have to be regularly housed during high-risk periods?

“In Austria we are completely crazy about free range,” says Mr Kallhammer. “But birds had to be housed last winter and when the 12 week period of grace was up producers let them out again as if AI was no longer a problem!

“Is that what the future holds—yo-yoing between the outdoors and indoors. How will the industry cope with such a thing?”

Mr Kallhammer, whose past honours include International Egg Person of the Year and the Silver Medal of Honour of Merit from his homeland, plans also to present a case study of an Austrian producer who, he says, has done an excellent job of marketing free range eggs.

Completing the line-up of speakers will be John Campbell OBE, the man behind a proposal for the world’s largest free range enterprise and founder of Glenrath Farms based in Scotland. Look out for a profile of Mr Campbell in next month’s Ranger.

*The free range conference will be held on Thursday 23 November at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. For further details contact event sponsors Hy-Line UK on 01527 850221 or email firstpost@hyline.co.uk