Free range open-day aimed at new entrants

The strawberry-growing fields of Herefordshire play host later this month to an open-day aimed at potential new entrants to the free range sector as well existing producers who may be considering expanding.

The event is being hosted jointly by Haygrove – a company that has its roots in soft fruit growing and now manufactures Halo mobile houses – and equipment supplier Jansen UK.

Haygrove's expertise in building free range houses stems from over 10 years of producing tunnels for the soft fruit industry and it now produces a full range of mobile buildings for the poultry sector. This includes a 12-metre wide model which has been introduced to meet the RSPCA's new ruling on access-to-litter under the Freedom Food scheme.

Haygrove's Roger Walford comments: "Mobile houses offer a very cost-effective solution for housing free range birds as well as the flexibility of repositioning, thereby helping to avoid problems with disease build-up on the land around the house.

"In addition to this, following the scrapping of the Agricultural Buildings Allowance (ABA), mobile houses can offer benefits when it comes to taxation. They can also mean an easier route when it comes to gaining planning permission."

Not only will visitors to the event – which is being held on Wednesday 25 June – see a range of fully-equipped mobile houses on display, but they will also have the chance to meet and hear industry experts with a series of short presentations planned to run throughout the day.

With representatives from egg packer Stonegate on hand to outline the marketing opportunities within the free range sector and key personnel from the RSPCA and Freedom Food in attendance to give an insight into the UK's leading animal welfare assurance scheme, the event offers new entrants the perfect introduction to the free range industry.

For an invitation and further details, please phone Jansen UK on 01884 259555.