Gippsland Free Range Eggs to expand thanks to grant

Expanding to keep up with customer demand is not a challenge confronting too many businesses during the current coronavirus restrictions.
But for a family business Gippsland Free Range Eggs started two years ago by a Willow Grove couple, James and Julie Hill, a 50 per cent increase in the output of its free-range egg production is a focus of their attention.
That has been given a major boost with the announcement by Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing last week that the couple will receive a state Business and Industry Capability Fund grant of $50,000 towards upgrading infrastructure to accommodate more laying chickens.
The improvements the Hills have planned will enable them to increase the number of layers by 900 to 3000 and importantly upgrade its facility for egg grading, a big daily job with the farm already producing about 16,000 eggs a week.
James and Jill took over the family property in 2018 adding free range chickens to the 120 beef cattle they run there.
They have installed purpose-built caravans where the chickens perch at night and lay their eggs.