The Free Ranger shares the provenance of its free-range meat-chickens, raised on farms in Victoria’s Gippsland and Mornington Peninsula, South Australia’s Riverland, and South-East Queensland’s food-bowl.
As Australians continue to seek local produce, while at the same time wanting greater traceability, transparency and sustainability, ‘Provenance’ has emerged as a top food trend focused on communicating greater information about where our food comes from and how it’s been farmed.
Free range, locally farmed, organic, these buzz words have become synonymous with our food, but there is growing demand to really understand what underpins these labels. And for greater transparency into where Australian food is from and how it is produced – as seen through research into testing and validating food provenance being undertaken by the CSIRO and ANSTO, as well as the National Agricultural Traceability Strategy 2023–2033.
‘Provenance’, which means ‘place of origin, history’, goes further than spotlighting the locality of production to share more about a product’s history and story.
The Free Ranger, a leading free-range poultry brand available in Woolworths, has launched new packaging and a dedicated campaign to share the story of its chickens, which are raised in idyllic locations on farms in Victoria’s Gippsland and Mornington Peninsula, South Australia’s fertile Riverland, and subtropical South-East Queensland.
The Free Ranger chooks are raised on leading free-range farms, certified by RSPCA Approved. On these farms, chickens are free to range during the day when they are old enough and the weather is right, then sheltered in climate-controlled sheds overnight and in bad weather. They have free access to food and water and are nurtured with optimal nutrition from grains such as wheat, barley, legumes and soybean meal. Like all meat-chickens in Australia, The Free Ranger chooks have no added hormones, with growth achieved through excellence in husbandry and breeding.
Shoppers seek local and sustainable but want to know where and how.
Research by Roy Morgan reveals that 86 per cent of Aussies say buying Australian-made products is important to them, and the 2023 Retail Sustainability Spotlight report by Australian Consumer and Retail Studies at Monash Business School shows that 64 per cent of shoppers say locally produced is an important factor when making a retail purchase, 62 per cent place importance on products being ethically produced, and 51 per cent say sustainability is a key factor.
But savvy shoppers increasingly want to know more about the origin of a product and understand the ethical and sustainable practices behind socially-conscious product choices.
Provenance of free-range poultry
So where does free range poultry come from? Here we spotlight three farms which produce The Free Ranger chooks – one each from Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland.
South Australian Riverland
Michael and Chris, along with their two sons, have been growing chickens for Inghams for over 15 years. They established an innovative, state of the art free range farming facility almost 10 years ago on a green fields site, in the tranquil South Australian Riverland region near the Murray River. The abundance of sunshine and the lush, leafy green ranging environment creates ideal free range growing conditions. The family are passionate about animal welfare and proud of their reputation in providing an industry leading environment where the chickens can thrive outdoors.
Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Phil ventured into chicken farming 24 years ago, and since then chickens have been a big part of his life, with the welfare of his chooks a foremost priority. Phil’s free-range farm on the Mornington Peninsula is beautifully situated with lush vegetation where the chickens’ forage throughout the day. At night and in bad weather, the chickens take refuge in four state-of-the art poultry sheds, all fully environmentally controlled with RSPCA Approved certification. Phil is a passionate farmer and family-man, and his four children all grew up on the farm helping with the chooks.
Redland Bay District, South-East Queensland
Geoff and Linda have been growing chickens for Inghams for 23 years on their Redland Bay farm and converted to free range chicken farming over 10 years ago. The picturesque farm sits on 60 acres and is surrounded by eucalypt forest. Beekeepers often place Hives on the property for honey production, and cattle also graze on the property. Geoff and Linda are passionate about free range chicken farming and growing happy, healthy chickens under the best possible conditions and the highest animal welfare standards.
