“Over 40% of our staff can walk to work and 70% of our turnover goes back into our local community.”

Our workplace

Fortunate to be located on the edge of the Lake District National Park, we have some of the most stunning surroundings in which to work – an environment also appreciated by our hens.

Lakes hens and Lake District view

 

Hen with factory in background

Factory overview

Training for staff

The new egg packing centre is state of the art and has room to grow. Taking advantage of new technologies, we took the opportunity to upskill our workforce, with much of the basic manual handling done by machines and robots. Most recently our staff, recognising the importance of first aid at home as well as in the workplace, took the opportunity to refresh or learn first aid skills.

Support for our producers

Producer training and regular Producer Days  provide our farmers with an opportunity to learn from visiting experts and keep up to date with the latest initiatives. It also allows us to benchmark against each other and the industry – we are leading edge in production with an average of 314 eggs/bird.

Farm Advisors make regular farm visits and we support our producers with group buying for supplies. Enlisting external specialists like the Cumbria Farm Environment Partnership (formerly FWAG), we help producers enhance their ranges by developing bespoke Bio-Diversity Action Plans.

“We are proud to have very high retention rates for staff and producer”

Pioneering a culture of innovation

As leaders in the field, we were first to trace eggs, plant trees and use naturally ventilated hen housing. We continue to innovate and work closely with partners to further enhance animal welfare and reduce the impact on our environment.

Poultry Breed research – working with DEFRA/Government and NGO’s on breeds and beak triming

Chick Rearing – R&D with University of Bristol and building new dark brooding facilities

McDonald’s – continued research on animal welfare in conjunction with FAI Food Animal Initiative

Lakes team with Queens Award