Avian influenza in Victoria putting the pressure on South Coast egg producers

Kangaroo Valley Pastured Egg farm owners Kristen and Mark McLennan began their farm with 50 birds and, nine years later, have a flock of thousands.

During that time, they've dealt with bushfires bordering their farm, heatwaves wiping out hundreds of birds, and, more recently, the threat of salmonella.

Now, they face the risk of avian influenza crossing the border into NSW.

"If we do get it up here, the government hasn't really released much information about what they'll do, how they'll manage it and how they'll compensate farmers," Mrs McLennan said.

"With salmonella, they didn't compensate financially, you just have to kill all your animals, essentially shut down, clean everything and then maybe start up again."

"If we had to do that we couldn't afford to, so if there's no monetary compensation that would be the end and we would lose the farm, this is how we're paying off our huge mortgage on the farm."

Despite not sourcing feed, birds, packaging or equipment from Victoria, where five farms were found to have infected birds they still have significant concerns for the future of their farm.

"Wild birds are the biggest risk for us," Mrs McLennan said.

"Once it's in the wild bird population you can't control the movement of it."

"It could be cross-contamination through trucks, but like Covid, we don't have a clear understanding of how this is transmitted."

Mrs McLennan said her stockists haven't started to panic yet, but customers are raising concerns about whether there could be a shortage expected.

"Demand does increase because backyard chooks aren't laying in winter, and those customers are the ones that are likely to spend the money on true free range," she said.

"The demand is always growing, I don't necessarily have new clients, but everyone wants more product, which is really lovely.

"We stock mostly small businesses, like IGA's, butchers, fruit and vegetable shops and some cafes and restaurants."

The infected Victorian properties between Ballarat and Geelong have been placed in quarantine and all birds at infected farms will be culled in an effort to contain the infection.

Supermarket Coles announced a temporary two-carton egg limit per customer in all stores except in Western Australia, as cases of bird flu spread in Victoria.

"We are working closely with all of our suppliers to ensure eggs remain available for our customers and we are providing support to the industry in responding to the Avian Flu cases in Victoria," a Coles spokesperson said.