Aussie farmers demand compensation as caged egg phase out looms

It comes after supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths pledged to remove caged eggs from their stores by 2025.

Currently, cages make up 50 per cent of Australia's egg production.

"We announced our plans to transition our entire egg range to cage-free back in 2013 and we're working closely with our suppliers to gradually phase out caged eggs from all the brands we sell by 2025," a Woolworths spokesperson said.

"We know many retailers and hospitality operators are moving in a similar direction."

Pressure from animal rights groups such as the RSPCA prompted an independent review by Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry which recommended that hen cages be phased out by 2036.

But Egg Farmers of Australia chief executive officer, Melinda Hashimoto, is urging the panel to delay the phase-out by 10 years.

"This will impact the livelihood of current cage farmers who say they will demand compensation from their relevant state government if their agriculture minister rubber stamps the review panel's recommendation," she said.

Victoria Farming Federation egg group president and agricultural consultant, Meg Parkinson, said the changes would hurt the financially vulnerable.

"There are a lot of consumers who are short of money nowadays and they look for the lowest costs they can," she said.

"The lowest cost is usually the cage egg because it's the lowest cost to produce.

"An egg is the cheapest protein that there is, cheapest animal protein - so these people need those products."

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The costs won't just impact consumers but farmers as well, she said.

"To set up the new systems, you would need three or four times the shedding that they now have with cages," Ms Parkinson said.

"So that's the core problem, the cost of putting in those sheds and the cost of planning permissions and the amount of time it all takes."

Egg Farmers of Australia chairman, Bede Burke, said farmers needed extra time to adjust.

"As it stands, the new draft guidelines mean this phase out would be a decade early and that could financially ruin some family egg farms," he said.

"If the document is not changed, then cage egg farmers would expect state government compensation - just like the seafood industry obtained when their livelihoods were ruined by new state rules."

Mr Burke said there was concern the early phase out could cause egg shortages.

"If they don't [delay the phase out], the ministers better start budgeting millions of dollars for compensation packages to help cage farmers transition into new egg production methods or exit the egg industry altogether."

A joint meeting of the federal and state agriculture ministers will discuss the matter in Perth on July 13.