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Cherry Valley day old ducklings from one of Pepe’s hatcheries.
Growth with gain is the key to success for Pepe’s ducks
By PETER BEDWELL
P
epe’s Ducks, the dominant supplier of duck meat in the South Pacific region, was founded by Pepe Bonnacordo back in 1973 with just 22 ducks reared in his back yard at Parramatta in NSW. On those modest foundations, the company, still owned by the Bonnacordo family, has grown to be a significant player in the Australian poultry industry, processing more than 70,000 birds per week. The New Zealand arm of Pepe’s ducks is a stand-alone company producing more than 20,000 birds per week for the NZ
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domestic market and exports to the Pacific region and some Asian markets. In Australia Pepe’s operates 23 grower farms of which two are company owned, as are four breeder units and two hatcheries. Like many of Australia’s leading poultry industry integrators, Pepe’s Ducks grew from the inspirational determination of its founder and his family into a significant enterprise with the help of a professional management team and well-trained employees. Today John Houston is the General Manager of the Australian operations and his son Matthew Houston is the Managing Director of the New Zealand Operation. Peter Brown is the Grower Farming Manager and looks after the growing operations. Poultry Digest visited Pepe’s Windsor NSW processing plant and offices in January to learn more about ducks and the market for the product from John Houston and Peter Brown. The first surprise was that the majority of Pepe’s Duck’s production is sold to restaurants and the food service industry in general. “Some companies in the food production seem to equate success with the
POULTRY DIGEST, December/January 2012
number of representatives they need to service their market,” said Mr Houston. “We know of companies in the food industry with similar turnover to Pepe’s that have more than 20 sales staff on the road. In answer to the question, how does Pepe’s service its selling operations? Mr Houston’s short answer was, “I do”. In contrast to the minimalistic selling approach, the majority of the 150 plus full time employees are concerned with running sophisticated growing and processing operations. “Ducks require fairly high maintenance,” explained Mr Brown. “They are fussy eaters and our birds’ diet consists mostly of prime quality wheat so feed costs are inevitably higher than for the chicken meat sector where a variety of materials, such as sorghum can be used. “Water quality and flow rates are also vital as ducks not only drink water but also use it for preening,” he said. “Biosecurity is vital and we concentrate on keeping our bird’s environment as clean, and thus as disease free, as is possible. We inspect our birds at farm, management and veterinary levels on a very regular basis. Pepe’s Ducks in fact received The w