Green-Division Ltd., PU-LI-KA Ltd., Orvia Hungary Ltd. and Bonafarm-Bábolna Feed Ltd. are conducting their production activities in an exemplary co-operation.
First we asked József Kutni, the Managing Director of Green-Division Ltd. to present his company and its main activities to us.
- Our venture, Green-Division Ltd. has been dealing with poultry husbandry and production in Orosháza from the very beginnings. Our primary activity is goose breeding, incubation, rearing, fattening and, from recent times, slaughtering and trading have also been added to our portfolio. By now we have established a closed production chain which operates by the close co-operation of our company with three other enterprises.
- Since 2006, we have been able to process poultry reared by us and in the framework of an integration. For a long time, the production of fattened geese constituted our main profile, and later on the production of fattened ducks was also added to our production
- Currently our annual output is 450 thousand fattened geese and 900 thousand fattened ducks, and we started to slaughter lean ducks of large body size, as many of our customers tend to have a higher demand for this than for duck products obtained by fattening through force-feeding. Our lean duck division was transferred to PU-LI-KA Ltd. in the form of a production integration, and we can co-operate very efficiently with that company that is also a family venture. Our annual output of lean ducks of large body size is 400 thousand birds. As these products are obtained by strict compliance with the relevant animal welfare considerations, we can export them also to the Swiss and Danish markets. These ducks, produced under conditions similar to those of organic farming, achieve an average body weight of over 4 kg by 56 days of age. The genetic line is provided by Orvia Hungary Ltd., who made available to us their newest genetic line named ST5 LOURD duck through their French parent company. PU-LI-KA Ltd. produces ST5 LOURD ducks with very good results. – and here I consider it important to emphasise that, besides their careful activity supported by high technical expertise, the feed closely meeting the genetic requirements also made it possible that these ducks can produce eggs in a number far exceeding that specified by the breeder parent company. It is safe to say that the duck parent stock and growing duck product portfolio of Bonafarm-Bábolna Feed Ltd. has passed the test with flying colours.
We are in a slightly difficult position, as for us this is practically the first Pekinese-type duck line. What is more, for this genotype this was the debut, as it has not been kept either in Hungary or in other countries previously. In this sense we do not have a basis for comparison – however, PU-LI-KA Ltd. achieved substantially (i.e., 15%) higher egg numbers with the parent stock feed of Bonafarm-Bábolna than the number specified in the technology.
We are very proud of this result also because the French parent company has also continuously monitored our production results achieved with this first genetic line, due to the fact that this was the debut of this genotype. Now we are already using the second genetic line, and the experts of PU-LI-KA Ltd. were surprised to see that the birds could achieve a production level higher than that projected by the genetic parent company.
As regards the feed requirements, the specialists of Bonafarm-Bábolna Feed Ltd. have been able to perfectly follow the French formula; thus, their professional work also had a role in enabling us to surpass the expectations of the parent company.
As I see it, our joint success story is to a great extent attributable to the fact that our partner, PU-LI-KA Ltd. is also a family venture, with a mission and vision similar to ours. It is very fortunate that we have access to feed of suitable quality, as feed manufacturing plants have an enormous responsibility in the feeding of parent flocks. Namely, here there is no room for error, as even a single problematic batch may jeopardise the success and economic efficiency of the whole production cycle.
Our first flock produced eggs without any problem even in week 70 instead of the 52 weeks specified in the technology. I think that these numbers speak for themselves. In view of these results, we are looking forward to the future with great confidence – and I suggest that we should now listen to the account of the management of PU-LI-KA Ltd. about our joint ‘success story’.
We asked Kristóf Pintér, the Managing Director of PU-LI-KA Ltd. about how the Transdanubian farm was operating and what were the main pillars of the production system.
- We bought our Kaposszekcső farm in 1993, where we have always operated a waterfowl hatchery in the form of a family venture. My parents laid down the foundations of the waterfowl farm, where I have been working for as many as 25 years – and I trust that in the future my two sons, who are currently teenagers, will be able to enjoy that we have built up here.
We have buildings kept from the 1980s which have been renovated, and in 2010 and 2018 we built completely new houses as well.
As regards avian influenza, we are working under ideal conditions, as we are remote from Bács-Kiskun county which is a focal point for the disease, and there are no poultry farms in the vicinity of our farm; thus, we are relatively well protected from avian influenza.
With Green Division Ltd. we have been working in a close co-operation and integration since 2017. Initially we operated a hatchery for grey and white geese to our mutual satisfaction, then in 2019 we started serious negotiations on that duck production was the activity that we should strengthen for our integrator.
On the basis of the agreements reached, our co-operation started successfully, with the participation of Orvia Hungary Ltd. as a third partner. They provide us with the technical background and the day-old duck supply of the parent flocks. The fourth, also basically important player of our technical co-operation is Bonafarm-Bábolna Feed Ltd., which provides us with excellent-quality feeds in a reliable manner.
Duck hatching and pre-rearing has moved to the focus of our portfolio to such an extent that now we are building our new developments and investments on that activity. One of our previously mentioned new houses has been fitted up with a fully automatic feeding system, in preparation for the pre-rearing of duck parent stock. During the rearing of these birds it is very important to provide them precisely with the ration (with gram precision) that is prescribed by the technology. In the other new house there is a young laying duck flock that started to produce eggs in December last year. Currently the farm has a surface area of 4 thousand square metres which enables us to conduct a full range of activities from hatching through the placement of day-old ducks to egg laying, by maximally meeting the genetic requirements.
When presenting the main pillars of our activity, I have to return to the topic of nutrition, as a reliable and secure feed supply is of vital importance in our case. In this sense, ‘reliability’ means not only the timely and flexible delivery of the ordered feeds but also the constantly uniform quality of the excellent feed mixture required by the technology. This is essential as any change in feed composition or quality will immediately be reflected in the egg production curve of the birds.
First we tried to work together with a different feed manufacturing plant but unfortunately they could not provide us with feeds of uniform content. Then, luckily, our choice fell on Bonafarm-Bábolna Feed Ltd., a company with which we are highly satisfied. After one and a half years, I can safely state that choosing them was a wise decision, as they are characterised by highly reliable feed manufacturing activity and excellent feed quality.
Other fields that are important for me are a focus on clients and flexible service. We have very good relations with sales representative Péter Schilli, who is always ready and willing to help and can be relied upon.
The effect of excellent feed is reflected in our production results. As an example, I would like to mention that one of our laying duck flock has been in lay for 70 weeks without any disruption of the egg laying curve – which can be considered a real rarity. This egg production also reflects the continuously excellent quality of the feed.
We thank József Kutni and Kristóf Pintér for the interview and congratulate them on the successful production achieved in the framework of a co-operation which sets a example to be followed by other producers.
Bonafarm-Bábolna Feed Ltd.
