As reported in a previous issue, Beking’s Poultry Farm, a third-generation family run egg farm in Oxford Station, is opening a new organic barn to extend and improve local, organic farming in the area. In 2005, John and Cora Beking raised the bar on animal welfare by going completely cage-free. Now, in 2018, along with their son David Beking, and in partnership with his siblings Kris Beking and Colleen Ford, they are raising the bar again on animal welfare with cutting edge innovation.
After three years of planning and research, the Beking family is building a new organic barn in North Grenville that will be welcoming its residents at the end of October. This barn will house 3,800 laying hens that will be certified organic in a cage-free aviary system, the first to be installed by Volito and Choretime in Canada, and only second in North America. These hens will also have access to a couple of acres of open pastures where they can eat grass and run outdoors during different times of the day.
Other innovations and renewable energy technologies have been brought in to create a housing system that will be close to a net zero carbon footprint. One example is that the barn will have heat exchangers that capture and recycle up to 80% of the heat that other barns lose through ventilation in cold winter months. The barn will also use new cloud-based technology to better manage the hen’s indoor environment.
Bekings aim to have these organic eggs laid by their free range Rhode Island Red hens available to consumers by Christmas. You will be able to find this organic variety alongside Bekings Free-run eggs at select stores around Eastern Ontario, with the same fresh taste and “Direct from Farm to You” promise.
For industry professionals and customers interested in this new system, the family is opening the doors for an open house on October 23, 2018 from 2-6 pm. For more details please contact them at info@bekingseggs.com, or visit their website at www.bekingseggs.com.
