Robert Peffer
Nuffield Australia 2015 Scholar
Robert Peffer, from Molong in New South Wales, received a Nuffield Scholarship supported by the Australian Egg Corporation. He studied world’s best practice in non-cage egg production systems.
Robert is principal manager of egg sales and distribution for Peffer Pastoral Co – producing, packing, marketing and distributing barn and cage eggs. They have capacity for approximately 100-thousand hens, 20 per cent of which are in barns and the remainder caged. The family operations also include over 3000 ewes, 150 cows and 1000 hectares sown mostly to wheat and canola.
Robert hoped to bring back the latest management techniques from around the world in non-cage egg production systems.
“Alternatives to cage systems generally lose several percentage points in production through higher mortality, higher instances of disease, social stresses and eggs laid on the floor or broken by other birds.
“My hope is that adoption of several good ideas from around the world might begin to reduce the deficit in performance of alternatives to cage systems,” he explains.
Robert toured the UK, Europe, New Zealand, USA and Canada.