Use of insects as a food source for commercial poultry is well underway in North America, Europe and Australia. Insects are a natural food source for birds and many other animals and the sustainability of using insects like black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) in feed is high. BSFL are very efficient feed converters – and they are fed food waste that would have gone to the landfill site. Their production, therefore, requires no dedicated crop production.
The first layer farm in Canada to include BSFL in its ration was Lockwood Farms on Vancouver Island. They won the Outstanding Young Farmers Award for B.C. in 2019 for this and other innovations such as generating all electricity needed with on-farm solar production.
Their eggs are branded as EcoEggs and sold in specialty retail stores and restaurants in the Victoria area. “We produce about 5,800 a day and the retail price is in line with organic eggs, generally about $7.50 for a dozen large,” farm co-owner Cammy Lockwood says. “We tend to get more medium eggs than large. We’ve noticed feather coverage is better and for longer in the life of the hens.” | READ MORE
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