BEISEKER, Alta. – When John and Mike Richter open their 10,000 laying hen operation this fall, they will be abiding by the newest environmental and animal welfare guidelines.
The family has been farming at Beiseker for nearly 50 years and gradually sold off its cattle and hogs to become an egg farm on 2,200 acres of cropland.
“The egg side of our farm has been helping to keep our total farm viable,” John Richter told a recent tour group.
The egg operation started in 1976 at 5,000 birds, but with the new barn, refrigeration unit and manure handling facility, the Richters were able to double in size to 10,000 laying hens.
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They decided to rebuild in 2003 because the old barn was not big enough for expansion and the laying hen cages needed replacing. They applied to build a new unit that would meet modern standards.
The Natural Resources Conservation Board approved their plans in May 2004, but the high cost of construction held them back until this year.
“It is a significant investment. It is not required but we think it’s going to be better for the environment within the barn … and it will be better all around for ourselves and our neighbours,” said Richter.
The new barn is 53 metres long by 13 metres wide and is connected to a smaller manure storage building.
With the expansion they will have sufficient room to raise birds for themselves or for clients. They will also have space to introduce an all-in, all-out system for biosecurity, in which all birds are removed at once and replaced with a new flock.
Old birds will be euthanized on the farm and sent away for rendering.
The farm is within two kilometres of Beiseker, so they are mindful of their neighbours.
Under their new development plan the buffer zone, known as the minimum distance separation, is lower than before because of substantial improvements to manure storage and other environmental enhancements.
One innovation is a special shed to contain nine months worth of manure. The shed will receive manure via conveyor belt from the main chicken barn. The enclosed shed has a cement floor that slopes away from the door to prevent runoff and an air blowing system to dry the manure.
The Richters plan to spread and incorporate it into their own land twice a year.
“For all practical purposes we’ll probably take it out in the spring just prior to seeding so it can be incorporated, and in the fall just prior to putting fertilizer down on the ground,” Richter said.
John’s son Mike has also completed the environmental farm plan, which makes them eligible for government assistance to install more improvements.
A major concern for many farmers is fuel and fertilizer storage. The Richters have purchased double walled tanks to prevent spills, leaks and leeching into the ground water. Under the Alberta-Canada environmental stewardship plan, they could receive back 30 percent of the cost of the new tanks.