Latest Farmer Interview
An interview with Georg Van Der Berg - 9th September 2010
WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE AN ORGANIC EGG
It’s a beautiful sunny day in early Autumn and I’m at the organic farm of Georg van der Berg and his wife, Janett, where the young hens are just beginning to discover the fun of the outside world. Georg has 11,500 organic hens in four different flocks all of whom have access to land with a mix of grass, 3 hectares of woodland, weeds (great for insect feasts) and blueberry fields – yes, the hens get to forage in the blueberry meadow! It really is an idyllic setting for some very lucky birds, a top of the range des-res so to speak and I wanted to know more about why Georg farmed to organic standards:
What drew you to organic farming Georg? "I have always wanted to be an organic farmer and because the market was there we started with vegetables in 2000, then we introduced hens in 2001 and now we farm solely hens and blueberries."
What exactly makes an egg organic? "It’s the whole thing, it’s more animal friendly and for some people it’s important to eat organic food where even the feed is not sprayed or treated with chemicals. The carbon footprint of an organic egg is less than for a free range egg* and of course the hens don’t have their beaks trimmed."
Does organic rearing bring any benefits to the birds? "The main benefit is flock size – from the chickens’ point of view the more expensive the egg, usually the better the welfare conditions, although of course a small backyard flock will often have better conditions still. Also, the smaller the flock the greater the percentage that will free range and typically I would expect 60-70% of my birds to go outside the house daily once they are settled. Whilst breeds and even flocks vary, the majority maintain good feathering throughout their laying life."
What sort of problems do you encounter in terms of health and other issues? "It’s mostly the same as free range, only we can’t use antibiotics so we try to think a few steps ahead by avoiding problems. We use auto-genous vaccines to combat potential problems that may arise in future flocks and herbal extracts are useful too. For example oregano extract is useful in the treatment of blackhead which, although not fatal to hens, can cause a drop in egg production."
Would you ever consider changing production system to make life easier? "No, no, no! We would definitely not consider being conventional farmers, if we cannot continue to be organic farmers, we would choose to do something else. Becoming a caged egg farmer or spraying fruit chemically is not something we would consider."
Do you think organic eggs taste different? "I think so, yeah. A lot of friends say so and when we went on holiday and had boiled eggs, on day two we decided we didn’t like them! There is definitely a flavour thing in them!"
Approximately how much do they cost to buy and why do you think they’re worth paying extra for? "They cost approximately £3.80 per dozen and I think people buy them because they are interested in animal welfare; it’s worth the money for them because definitely the chickens are happy. And for those interested in organic food, they buy them because they are chemical free."
What kind of consumer buys an organic egg? "Presumably those that have a bit more money, but sometimes people who don’t perhaps have the money because it is important to buy these organic eggs. Also for those people who don’t have their own backyard hens, it is the next best thing to perhaps go to a local farmer with organic or backyard eggs where hens enjoy similar standards."
What do you think the future holds for organic eggs given the current economic climate? "Organic egg consumption has been dropping week after week since July 2008, when and if the economy comes up again people will hopefully start to spend more money and buy more organic eggs."
What could retailers do to help? "They seem to have lost interest, there is no advertising of organic eggs, just a little for free range. Packers and retailers insist on taking a much bigger margin on organic eggs (in real terms) than on conventionally produced eggs; this explains the higher prices in supermarkets. For example, I use much more expensive chicken feed which adds 16 pence to the retail price of a dozen organic eggs, but the extra margin the supermarket adds is 63 pence to the retail price of organic eggs. If supermarkets knocked their organic egg prices down so more people would buy my organic eggs, that would really help."
What could consumers do to help? "The organic sector enjoyed 8% of the market share in 2008 and now that percentage has dropped to 3-4% based on turnover. It would be nice if retailers put in a bit of marketing effort to encourage consumers to buy organic eggs and it would be nice if more people bought organic eggs. If it is too expensive to buy from a supermarket try to buy from a local farmer who sells at the farm gate."
As consumers we all have choices, whatever the product, people vote with their wallet every time they make a purchase and that is the only way that corporate businesses will listen to consumers. It is an opportunity to make a difference and if enough people feel something is important, consumers can make a big difference.
Do you insist on organic produce in your own shopping trolley? "Oh yeah, we buy an organic veggie box every week for about £10 and that supplies us with vegetables all week and it’s even delivered to our door! We also buy organic dairy etc and grow some of our own vegetables; organic is very important to us."
What are your hopes for the British industry? "I really hope the EU cage ban goes through in 2012; I hope there will be a system that prevents a flood of imports from Poland and other countries. Most shell eggs sold are now free range and it’s the catering and leisure industry that uses caged eggs and also a lot of imported eggs. It would be helpful if consumers, whilst in restaurants etc, ask questions as to where their eggs came from."
Notes: Organic flocks have a limit of 3,000 hens and the Soil Association has even stricter guidelines stipulating a maximum of 500 hens per flock. The birds are housed 6 per sq metre rather than the usual 9 per sq metre on free range.
I was really impressed with Georg, there’s no doubt he has a passion for organic farming and his hens most certainly benefit from that passion. I walked back to my van, notes in hand, with no doubt in my mind that we should be doing all we can to help farmers like Georg thrive in the UK. He wants the best for his birds and so do we and whilst many of us may not need to purchase eggs on a weekly basis, we can still encourage family, friends, neighbours and colleagues to do so.
We are a powerful lot us consumers and foregoing a third of a pint of beer or foregoing a couple of Mars bars(both unhealthy, not good for the waistline and often accompanied by ‘guilt’), would mean you could spend the extra money on something nutritious, healthy and therefore definitely virtuous!
Let’s support the farmers to produce the food we want to eat.
