Blackacre Farm Eggs
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BEST OF BRITISH
10th December 2003
A Somerset free-range egg producer has won a national award for his commitment to food quality and the welfare of his hens.
Tim Wood, who runs Blackacre Farm at North Cheriton, has been presented with a Good Egg Award from the British Free Range Egg Producers Association.
Despite operating outside both the Lion Code and the Freedom Food Scheme, Tim Wood has pursued his own research into welfare issues and has the health of his 25,000 strong flock independently monitored.
As a result, the former cage-only producer has turned his Blackacre Farm Free Range Eggs into one of the most visible egg brands in the South West.
"What we are doing with our brand" says Tim, "is being 100% honest with the consumer. We tell them the shops are getting next day deliver and they are and they are welcome to come and see for themselves."
The Award was presented at the BFREPA national conference at Daventry and chairman Tom Veysey said: "What Tim Wood has achieved in the South West demonstrates that despite the huge scale of much of our industry, there is still a place for individuals with the necessary drive and flair to create a niche for themselves."
Blackacre Farm supplies a network of 700 shops in the region with distinctive eye-catching packs carrying the pictures of its birds. As part of its latest promotional scheme purchasers can get a free copy of an interactive computer game, "Shoot the Fox", by collecting Blackacre box tops.
Tim Wood underscores the Blackacre sales message with a professionally created video. It shows that its eggs are produced in the way customers expect them to be and delivered to the shops within hours of being laid - it represents the ultimate in traceability!
The image of the Blackacre Farm Eggs product is based on a mobile housing system of 19 chicken hotels, which accommodate the 25,000 birds. Due to the small size of the flock in each 'hotel' there is no overcrowding and therefore less stress to the hens. Nesting boxes are situated in the centre of the house, where the hens lay their eggs.
The hens are fed on a wholesome, natural, vegetarian diet, with no added antibiotics or hormones, and to make life more pleasant there is a scratching floor area. The remainder of the floor is constructed of slatted plastic, which allows droppings to pass through, keeping the house clean and hygienic.
Tim Wood says: "The market place demands a quality product and true free range eggs come from a healthy chicken. The mobile units enable us to produce eggs in the way consumers would like them produced. The hens live in a light and airy environment and suffer less stress - so we get a superior product."
Tom Veysey, Chairman of the BFREPA, said: "Tim's promotional activity has been outstanding and what he has achieved has not just ensured the success of his own business, but has reflected on the qualities of free range as a whole."
Archive
SHOOT THE FOX!
Friday, 21 June 2002
Visitors to the Bath & West Show will be invited to join an elite force of vigilantes and come to the defence of the countryside by shooting a fox. .
With the curbs on fox hunting, a group of free range hens are fighting back against persecution from foxes thanks to a Somerset egg farmer who's devised a unique computer game for the internet. .
Consumers will be able to do their bit to protect the hens by eliminating as many foxes as possible and the highest score each day will win a state of the art DVD player. .
"Shoot the Fox" is the brainchild of Tim Wood, who has some 20,000 free range hens on his Black Acre Farm at North Cheriton near Wincanton. .
Black Acre Farm is one of the leading producers of free range eggs in the South and West of England, supplying eggs to 700 independently owned stores. .
"It might be non-PC, but the game is supposed to be a bit of fun and was devised for our web site," explains Tim. "But within the first few weeks of it going up we have had more than 6,000 hits on the site and many have already tried playing it." .
Visitors to the Bath and West Show will find "Shoot the Fox" game on the Black Acre Farm stand in the Chicken and Egg section.
They'll be able to team up with a task force of hens, which go by names such as Rapid Fire Rhonda, Sniper Sylvia and Ninja Nora, to hurl tomatoes at as many foxes as possible. A word of warning, however - don't hit the farmer's wife! .
SOMERSET MP VISITS CHICKEN
Friday, 21 June 2002
David Heath, the MP for Somerton and Frome,. will see for himself how one Somerset egg producer is giving his hens the five star treatment.
Tim Wood, of Blackacre Farm at North Cheriton, is one of the first free range egg producers to install state-of-the-art mobile poultry houses, which have been dubbed 'chicken hotels'!
The individual units provide comfortable accommodation for 1300 laying hens. There are two 'pop' holes on each side of the side of each house, allowing the hens to pop out at any time of the day and range free.
Blackacre Farm has 20,000 free range hens and supplies eggs to 700 independently owned stores throughout the South and West of England.
The advantage of the 'chicken hotels' is that they can be towed from site to site, allowing droppings to be cleared away, so ensuring no land contamination. During his visit, Mr. Heath will also be invited to try his hand at a new computer game - named 'Shoot the Fox'.
The 'non-PC' game, which has been devised by Mr. Wood as a bit of fun, involves a group of free range hens fighting back against persecution from foxes. It was officially unveiled at the Royal Bath & West Show and has since been installed on the farm's website at www.blackacrefarmeggs.com where it's received more than 41,000 hits.
QUALITY APPROACH TO EGG PRODUCTION!
April 2002
A Somerset farmer is pioneering an innovative new approach to the production of eggs designed to ease concern over health issues and animal welfare.
Tim Wood, of Blackacre Farm at North Cheriton, is one of the first free range egg producers to install state-of-the-art mobile poultry houses, which have been dubbed 'chicken hotels'!
Unlike many labour-saving industrial hen-houses, which hold thousands of hens, the individual units designed by Moorspan, provide comfortable accommodation for only 1300 laying hens. There are two, two-metre wide, 'pop' holes on each side of the house, allowing the hens to pop out at any time of the day and range free. Each "hotel" is complete with fresh water drinkers and ample feeding stations.
Blackacre Farm is run by husband and wife team, Tim and Judy Wood, with son Dan and has been producing eggs for over 20 years.
The farm has 20,000 free range hens and supplies quality free-range eggs to 700 independently owned stores throughout the South and West of England.
Due to the small size of the flock in each 'hotel' there is no overcrowding and therefore less stress to the hens. Nesting boxes are situated in the centre of the house, where the hens lay their eggs.
The hens are fed on a wholesome, natural, vegetarian diet, with no added antibiotics or hormones, and to make life more pleasant there is a scratching floor area. The remainder of the floor is constructed of slatted plastic, which allows droppings to pass through, keeping the house clean and hygienic.
The advantage of the mobile 'hotels' is that they can be towed from site to site, allowing droppings to be cleared away, so ensuring no land contamination. This also prevents any spread of disease or sickness in the flock being passed on through cross contamination.
Regular inspection of both hygiene and animal welfare is carried out by independent inspectors.
Tim Wood warns that calls for a complete switch to free-range production, however, could be disastrous for the egg industry and for the health of consumers.
"The consumer will always want the option of buying cheaper eggs and supermarkets will simply buy from abroad if the British producers cannot satisfy the demand," he said.
"We have the most stringent codes of practice for vaccinations against salmonella in the world and have got the health of the British birds right.
A ban would mean we'd end up importing eggs from countries with no codes of practice. We'd be bringing the salmonella problem back into the UK and the health of consumers would be put at risk.
Tim explained: "UK battery cages contain five hens, while in the USA, for example, there are seven hens to a cage. If people think British farmers are cruel they should look at the consequences of a ban."
"Producers in other parts of the world will not expand the number of cages to meet the increased demand from the UK - they'll simply add more birds to the cages!"
However, Tim says the future undoubtedly lies in free range: "A great deal of money is now being spent on research and development of free-range birds. The market place demands a quality product and true free range eggs come from a healthy chicken.
"The mobile units enable us to produce eggs in the way consumers would like them produced. The hens live in a light and airy environment and suffer less stress - so we get a superior product."
