Farms - Spring update

Winter has seen the continuation of wet conditions across the farms. Our 12-month rolling rainfall has been consistently above 1,000 mm, peaking at 1,129 mm on 4 August which is almost double the long-term average. This has led to some challenging conditions for both feathered and non-feathered folks with lower egg production and a record number of vehicles bogged as a result. Whilst overcoming and adapting to these conditions, we have also successfully maintained full operation during the Covid lockdowns in regional NSW and the Canberra region, which is a credit to the whole team.

With longer days and warmer temperatures, the onset of spring has led to a rise in egg production and we are set to continue that trajectory through the warmer months, ensuring a plentiful supply of eggs in stores. The cows are now well into calving and fortunately the abundance of feed we had in reserve for the winter has seen the cows and calves doing extremely well. The early spring pasture growth and favourable conditions is most welcome as our cows reach the peak of their nutritional needs with calves at foot. By managing our pastures with time-controlled grazing we match our stocking rate to the carrying capacity of our land and manage rests to encourage optimal root and pasture growth, supporting the sequestration of carbon in our soils.