Poultry International - February 2012 - 10
10 Mark Clements UK pig and egg producer invests in future following fire Mixed pig and egg producer in Suffolk is confident in the future of free-range egg production. It sometimes takes a disaster to appreciate how fortunate we are, and this is the attitude taken by UK pig and egg producer Simon Brice of Poplar Hall Farm, Suffolk. Simon and Alison Brice saw a blaze rip through their farm early one morning in June 2010 after an electrical fault in the piggery shed's wet feeding system. On what Simon describes as "one of the most awful days of their life," the fire destroyed the building, which was the central hub of the farm and resulted in the death of almost 300 pigs. Forty-five-year-old Mr Brice had been in the drinks industry for 18 years but was no novice to farming. His father had been a pig a farmer and had reared chickens and ducks himself on a contract basis. Farming is "in his blood." Yet he had never experienced anything like the fire. Forward planning With stock and income down, it has taken over a year to rebuild the farm, yet Mr Brice and his wife remain undaunted and are looking firmly toward the future. Now that the pig side of the business is back to capacity, plans are already underway to expand egg production, which was unscathed by the incident and acted as a lifeline following the fire. The Brices bought Poplar Hall With stock and income down, it has taken over a year to rebuild the farm Farm some 10 years ago and set about establishing a pig business. Four years ago they added freerange egg production. Egg production currently accounts for some 20% of the business, but this is due to rise to 50% in 2012. So why the move into egg production? Mr Brice explains: "We were at the maximum with the pigs and my brother said that he would take eggs - I had a bit of spare land and a ready market. I only sell to my brother and he only supplies free range. We decided to go for free range because you can get the maximum price without having the expense of enriched cages." Mr Brice's brother, Alaistaire Brice, owns Havensfield Eggs and supplies free-range eggs to local schools and hospitals. He has 10,000 www.WATTAgNet.com | February 2012
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