Feed conversion key benchmark on broiler farms

There are 28 broiler chicken farms in North Taranaki, all operated on a rotational basis to match Tegel's processing requirements.

The company employs 500 people in its operations, which includes a feed mill and hatchery in addition to a bird-processing plant in Paraite Rd, Bell Block. It has similar-sized operations in Auckland and Christchurch.

Robert Lloyd, the Tegel broiler production manager in Taranaki, says the birds are fed a compound mixture made up of various grains and other ingredients, formulated to supply the chickens with a balanced nutritious diet.

"There are no growth hormones used and it is my understanding that there never have been in New Zealand.

"Thirty-odd years ago, there was a media story about growth hormones being fed in Brazil to chickens and, as a result, the chicken industry worldwide has been branded with this."

The farms are geared to maintain Tegel with an uninterrupted supply.

"We know three months ahead what our requirements will be on any given day. We supply fertilised eggs to the hatchery; the chick takes three weeks to hatch, six weeks to grow and we plan on that timeframe.

"The name of the game is converting kilograms of feed to kilograms of meat. The growers are rewarded for how well they perform against the group average efficiency. The main benchmark is feed conversion."

Mr Lloyd says it's a reasonably good return for the growers "but it depends on how much debt you are coming in with".

"You are buying a complete business and it's quite expensive. To buy the broiler sheds alone, it's about $540 per square metre.

"So an average-sized farm will cost over $2 million and we require the grower to start with 50 per cent equity.

"We do not help finance growers into business."

All the offal and feathers go to a by-products company at Okaiawa to be turned into a high-protein mixture called feather meal offal, which is exported.

"The grower is constantly weighing birds at random through the run. We have a range of liveweights we require at the plant, from a 1.75-kilogram small rotisserie bird through to 3.2 kilograms, which will be cut up and boned out.

"Everything is dictated by what the markets want and we supply accordingly. It's not the other way around. It doesn't change much, but sometimes a supermarket chain wants to do a special on a particular size bird and we will supply that.

"There is some occasional export from here, but virtually all the product is for New Zealand consumption.

"Most countries are pretty much self-sufficient these days in chicken production for their own use."

Mr Lloyd has been in the Tegel industry for 20 years, starting out managing a breeder farm, then into broilers and now Tegel senior management.

"I like the wide-ranging nature of the industry.

"It's quite complex and offers many opportunities."