Hens wearing radio frequency identification technology in a University of Melbourne research project. Picture: Supplied

FARMERS say the cost of free-range eggs could surge to $10 a dozen if politicians this week decide the test for using the term is whether “most hens go outside on most ordinary days”.

Satisfying such a definition may require tracking birds with expensive radiofrequency identification (RFID) or GPS technology, they say, as well as employing “chicken wranglers” to force flocks out of barns.

“If the test is you have to prove that most of them go outside then you have to do” these things, said John Dunn, spokesman for Egg Farmers of Australia (EFA), which has already delivered the warning to the Federal Government in private meetings.

But consumer groups say the suggestion chooks would have to wear “Fitbits is … absurd”.

CRACKDOWN FOR ‘FREE RANGE’ EGG LABELLING

More than $700 million is spent annually on free-range eggs, paying an average price of $5.45 a dozen in 2015 — 70 per cent higher than cage eggs.

EFA’s Mr Dunn said the free-range price could rise to $8 to $10 a carton, depending on the outcome of a meeting of federal, state and territory consumer affairs ministers in Canberra on Thursday.

EFA, which represents producers in all states, wants the ministers to define free range as meaning hens are unconfined within a ventilated hen house and have “meaningful access to and are free to roam and forage on an outdoor range area during daylight hours in a managed environment”. It seeks a “stocking density” of up to 10,000 chickens per hectare.

However, Matt Levey, the campaigns director at consumer group Choice, said egg farmers were trying to derail attempts to get a commonsense test.

“This idea that you need to be putting Fitbits on hens is just absurd,” Mr Levey said.

Matt Levey, head of campaigns at Choice, accused farmers to trying to stop a commonsense test. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Choice — which brought the GPS claim to light — wants a free-range definition that says the majority of chickens actually go outside regularly, have room to move comfortably when indoors or out, with farmers made to “undertake animal welfare practices”. If a stocking density is to be labelled on a pack, the maximum limit should be 1500 hens per hectare, according to Choice.

An academic who has conducted an Australian-first study into hen movements told News Corp Australia that RFID technology would cost $1 million per shed to install.

New research by University of Melbourne’s Jean-Loup Rault, to be presented at the Spatially Enabled Livestock Management symposium in Sydney on Friday, finds more than 14 per cent of hens didn’t go outside. Among those that did, most time was spent within 2m of the shed. The research was part-funded by egg farmers.

“The definition of what a free range hen is should probably come from what the hens want, not from what people want for the hens,” Dr Rault told News Corp Australia.

In a further sign of how contentious the debate has become, one free-range farmer said he feared for the safety of his family if he spoke out against producers of cage eggs.

“We don’t want to be a target,” he said. “The environment is not nice.”

At Thursday’s meeting of ministers, an information standard that says “most hens go outside on most ordinary days” could be mandated. The federal government is yet to say where it stands.

A spokeswoman for Kelly O’Dwyer, the federal minister responsible for consumer affairs, said: “our aim is to balance consumers’ need for clear and accurate information with any potential red-tape burden for producers and retailers.”

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Small Business Kelly O'Dwyer said the government is seeking a balance between consumers and producers. Picture: Kym SmithSource:News Corp Australia

Where the states stand:

NSW: Free range to be up to 1500 hens per hectare

SA: Wants a national approach; has a voluntary code of 1500 hens per hectare

Tasmania: Free range to mean “most hens go outside on most ordinary days”; stocking density of up to 10,000 hens per hectare

Queensland: no response

Victoria: no response

Northern Territory: no response

EMAIL:john.rolfe@news.com.au