Escalating demand for eggs spurs optimism

Despite the soaring input prices of this past year and political uncertainty ahead, Western Cape poultry farmer Agmat Brinkhuis, Agricultural Writers SA New Entrant to Farming of 2021, is upbeat about egg production. He spoke to Lindi Botha about his business, Chamomile Farming Enterprises, and his hopes for the future.

- Lindi Botha

What were the highlights and lowlights of 2022?

The year started on a high with the opening of a new chicken house on the farm. But the excitement didn’t last very long because feed prices quickly escalated, and we had two price increases during the year. Diesel prices followed suit, and we had one increase after another. Because our systems are automated, we have a backup generator that we use when there’s load-shedding. At one point, we had Stage 5 load-shedding for five days in a row, resulting in a R16 000 diesel bill. And this while the prices paid for our eggs stayed the same, of course. But, as they say, ‘cowboys don’t cry’, and neither do farmers; we carry on. All we can control is production, and we’re doing everything we can to keep this as high as possible so we can survive the increases in input costs.