An interview with Kate and Paul Knight of Feathers Farm
to certain retailers as well as to local cafés, coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, fast food outlets and franchises, catering companies, bed and breakfasts, schools and universities. Scratch Patch free range eggs are relatively new to the Feathers Farm stable, tell us more .. .
Scratch Patch eggs are laid by happy free-range hens who have nesting boxes in barns, as well as access to kikuyu pastures where they enjoy dust baths, sunshine and goggas.
The way we farm these hens is in strict accordance with the SA Poultry Association’s guidelines, which in turn, are of an international standard. We are regularly audited.
Our customers can sleep easy knowing that a Scratch Patch egg is 100% free range as certified by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The feather in the Scratch Patch box is your signature, how did this come about?
In a bid to give our newly launched free-range brand a unique selling point, we looked at various options – wood shavings, lucerne and straw.
But, in terms of food safety law, no foreign matter may be added alongside eggs in packs.
While walking through the barns, a feather floated in front of Paul in a shaft of light and the idea took hold. Readers can rest assured that no chickens are harmed when collecting the feathers and every single one is washed and sanitised by hand. Food safety is a growing global concern, how does Feathers Farm address this?
The pack station is one of a handful in the Eastern Cape that meets the stringent food safety regulations audited by Intertek.
This means that each year an extensive inspection and audit is done of every facet of our business.
Feathers Farm has consistently scored an A Grade for the past ten consecutive years. This certification is based on HACCP and ISO standards and is a condition for Feathers Farm to supply eggs to retailers such as Spar, Pick n Pay, Shoprite Checkers and Boxer.
In short, our eggs are not only fresh but also packed full of nutritional goodness. How did Feathers Farm get its name?
It was during the terrible drought of the 1940s that Kate’s grandpa and Southwell cattle farmer, Avro Randall, began “supplying the Kowie” with eggs laid by his small flock of chickens. As the business grew, it was his wife, Pat who coined the name “Feathers Farm”.
She said that once all the bills for the farm had been paid, there was “feathers left for housekeeping”!
In 1972, Pat and Avro’s daughter, Jocelyn and her husband, George Guest joined the farm from Johannesburg and traded as “Randall and Guest” for a short while.
Upon buying the business, the name went back to Feathers Farm. Their daughter, Kate and her husband, Paul Knight in 1994 joined the farm and, upon Jocelyn and George’s retirement, bought the farm in the name Knight Poultry Pty Ltd trading as Feathers Farm. What’s the key to your 70 years of success?
Remaining hands-on and in synch with animal husbandry and market trends, while also ensuring that our staff are trained and ready to provide tip-top customer service.
We are very grateful to our Eastern Cape communities who continue to support us too.