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Egg farms hatches successful collaboration

Legal changes have resulted in new business connections for a North East egg farm.

Recent measures introduced by the British Egg Industry Council mean that there will be no Lion accredited birds living in conventional cages from January 1 2012, so that retailers know Lion eggs will be produced in a colony system. The decision left a number of egg production businesses in a difficult position as they were unable to afford investment into the new colony systems.

As a result the largest egg producer in the region, Lintz Hall Farm in Burnopfield, offered its services to the region’s smaller producers. The farm is taking in their egg production, grading, processing and packing functions and employing the business owners and staff at Lintz Hall.

Six new jobs will be created at the farm and eight businesses will benefit through the collaboration.

Richard Tulip, Manager of Lintz Hall Farm, said: “After developing collaborative agreements with smaller producers to allow them to continue with existing customer bases and consequently expanding our business base, it presented us with a challenge and opportunity to develop our business.

“We are very proud of what we do at Lintz Hall Farm having gone from strength to strength over 57 years of trading and we think it’s imperative to invest for a sound future while contributing to a thriving food production and distribution business in the North East.”

To help with the expansion the farm has been awarded £457,000 from One North East’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

Adrian Sherwood, RDPE Manager at One North East, said: “Lintz Hall Farm clearly sees the need for collaborative working and is offering support to other local producers to ensure egg production in the North East continues, retaining a strong egg supply chain following the changes in legislation while also retaining valuable skills in the region that would otherwise be lost.

“The new facilities will help the business create and secure employment, keep egg production and processing local and also minimise food miles used in egg production and processing in the North East.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .