When the former cooperative was established, cattle and pigs were the livestock species used to extend the trajectory of feed production. At that time, the sale of livestock generated a much higher income than the direct sale of corn, wheat and barley.
The world has changed a lot since then, with crop yields increasing and the high demand for live labour in cattle and pig farming has focused attention on the poultry farming, thriving on village farms. The cooperative’s management came up with the idea of pasta production in the 1960s. After the foundation of the pasta factory, the most important task of the hen segment was to supply the plant with quality fresh eggs.
The development of the pasta factory was accompanied by an increase in the number of laying hens. Currently we have the facilities and equipment for keeping 660,000 laying hens on three sites, in a total of 9 different-sized hen-houses. To comply with animal welfare regulations, the company has invested billions of forints over the past decade in the construction of new, large-scale hen-houses. The system of feeding, watering, ventilation, manuring and collection of eggs in the hen-houses is fully automated, reducing the necessary live labour to a mere fraction of that before the development efforts.
The egg segment produces 170 million eggs annually, of which 90 million are sent to the pasta factory and the rest are sold to industrial users and retailers in packs according to customer demand.
Egg production has been controlled from the very start. The day-old chicks purchased go to our own breeding farms, where we raise the pullets on our own feed. The largest part of animal breeding costs is animal feed. The mixed feed needs of the Holding’s livestock are met by the feed factory, opened in 2018 and operated by Gyermelyi Tojás Kft., mostly using its own raw materials. The raw material purchasing, storage, technology and quality management system of the feed factory guarantees that the feed types produced fully respond to livestock needs, while favourable pricing ensures profitable production.
