In striving to be the world’s best, Australia’s egg farmers aren’t afraid to have a crack – with the industry leading the way in producing more with less.
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud says today’s World Egg Day (Friday, 9 October) is an opportunity to recognise the important role the egg industry is playing to ensure Australia’s food supply during COVID-19.
“Eggs are in 95 per cent of Australian households and are a staple in the national diet,” Minister Littleproud said.
“Maintaining a fresh, reliable supply of an average of more than 17 million eggs a day is a credit to the hard work of our producers, all those along the supply chain and of course the millions of layer and pullet hens in the national flock.
“All our farmers have answered the challenge of COVID-19 to provide food on the table for Australians and ensure that our country is set up to recover strongly.
“I commend the egg industry’s efforts during the pandemic and welcome the findings of recent CSIRO research that showed providing safe, nutritious, affordable and secure food staples, like eggs, was more important than ever.”
According to the CSIRO Australian Egg Industry Community Research Report, 75.8 per cent of respondents said that the pandemic made them more aware of the importance of food security, with 86.2 per cent agreeing that producing eggs was an essential service.
Minister Littleproud said the Australian Government was supporting the Australian egg industry’s advancements in areas such as food security and the environment highlighted in its 2020 Sustainability Framework Report.
“Productivity improvements in the egg industry have coincided with a lowering of an already small environmental footprint through improved farm management, uptake of on-farm solar and new waste management technologies,” Minister Littleproud said.
Fast Facts:
- A laying hen today lays 38 more eggs per year than a hen did 20 years ago, and it does so despite consuming five per cent less feed.
- That equals an extra 800 million eggs each year across Australia’s national flock, produced with 42,000 tonnes less grain and an emissions saving of 30,000 tonnes of carbon.
- The Australian Egg Industry Community Research Report is the third annual cycle of community engagement to inform the Australian Egg Industry Sustainability Framework.
- The aim of the research is to provide the egg industry with a deeper understanding of community sentiment and measure the impact of engagement and responsiveness by the industry on key sustainability issues.
