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Inside industry: Poultry

PIRSA Livestock Industries work in partnership with the SA Chicken Meat Council. Their aim is to double current production and significantly add value to products set out in the Poultry Meat in SA strategic directions plan.

SA the best location for chicken industry

South Australia is the best state to grow poultry.

This was the outcome of a strategic planning process implemented by the SA Chicken Meat Council and PIRSA in 2005. It found South Australia was well placed over other states as a poultry-farming region.

The state’s chicken meat industry has been growing for the past few years, supplying consumer-ready chicken products into the eastern states, which is buoyed by an increase in consumption of five percent per annum.

South Australia’s climate is well suited to the industry. The risk of introducing disease is lower than other states because of isolation and climate. As well South Australia has lower input costs and closer proximity to processors and suppliers.

Justin Centenera, a contract chicken meat grower, was involved with the process and agrees with the claims.

"I moved here from Sydney with my young family in 1994 to build a three-shed broiler farm at Two Wells. I left a career in IT to join my family in the chicken meat industry and I have not looked back," said Justin.

Justin primarily made the change for lifestyle reasons but was soon attracted by the incentives to continually improve his contract growing business.

"The biggest appeal was the benefits it had for the family unit – the farm lifestyle compared to the Sydney lifestyle."

"The chickens we grow are owned by the processor and we’re paid to raise the chickens. For us it is important to minimise mortality and maximise the feed conversion (amount of feed versus weight gain)."

To assist with data collection, benchmarking and performance measurement, Justin implemented a computer system to record information during the birds’ life cycle.

"I used my IT background to automate the data collection process and install computers in the sheds. I can log on to the shed computers from my home office and monitor how the birds are going."

Implementing South Australia’s chicken meat plan soon identified a number of shortcomings relating to infrastructure needs.

The chicken meat industry has been working closely with SA Water and ETSA to ensure there is access to water and three-phase power in the regional areas.

With the infrastructure issues addressed, attention has now turned to the labour, which is now the number one priority for the industry.

"Any further expansion of the chicken meat industry in this state is now being blocked because of a lack of workers. The resources don’t exist in this state so we are working with the Government to bring in skilled migrants."

Free-range niche for Greenslade

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Greenslade has found a comfortable niche supplying fresh free-range country-grown and killed chicken meat.

Matthew Greenslade says in terms of the value chain "chooks are great."

Not only do they provide a quick turnover, but land to grow them in South Australia is relatively cheap and plentiful.

From their family farm in Riverton, near Clare in the north of South Australia, the Greenslades produce around 180,000 free-range chickens each year.

The chickens are free of any hormones, antibiotics and growth stimulants, and are processed without the use of chemicals.

Greenslade buy chickens in at four weeks old, and then free-range them on their 700-acre property. The chooks are housed in fresh ventilated barns and are free to roam the surrounding yards during the day.

Twice a week, chickens are taken to Kapowie, where they are slaughtered and gutted by hand.

Whole fresh chickens, chicken portions, thigh fillets, breast fillets, stir fry meat strips and offal are then supplied to a range of retail outlets including Barossa Fine Foods in the Central Market, speciality food shops and supermarkets.

Kapowie is only 20 minutes from the Greenslades farm, which Matthew says is a distinct advantage in terms of cost and quality.

"We’ve been able to build up [good] markets based on quality and service. We consider ourselves just a very small niche in the South Australian poultry industry, but it’s important people have an alternative in terms of a free-range poultry product."

"People are wanting more natural products."

Want more info?

Contact
Matthew Greenslade
p +61 8 8847 2223
e chicken@eldersnet.com.au