Scotland's second-biggest egg producer is looking to further boost output with a £2.4 million investment in AI technology.

New computer vision grading equipment will come into use at Aberdeenshire-based Farmlay from the start of next year which will nearly double production from 500 to 900 cases per hour. Managing director Iain Chapman, whose grandparents started rearing poultry in 1946, said the investment comes as retail sales of eggs have grown by more than 20% during the last two decades.

“Getting the new grader installed in January will be a great way to start the New Year,” said Mr Chapman said. 

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“There is a real buzz about eating eggs, with lots of posts on social media platforms such as Instagram with celebrities talking about how they are a healthy way of getting protein into the diet. There are definitely more young people eating eggs now than there have been for a very long time.”

The investment will create 10 new jobs at Farmlay, which began marketing its own eggs in the 1970s. The business supplies Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons and Spar with its own eggs and a growing stable of contract producers’ eggs from the family's 2,500 acre Cockmuir Farm near Strichen.

The AI grading systems uses advanced algorithms and deep learning techniques to analyse high-resolution images of eggs for cracks as well as variations in colour, texture and shape. It is being supplied by the Sanovo Technology Group factory in Holland. 

Latest egg industry data from Kantar Worldpanel shows that while all population sectors are eating more eggs, growth is acknowledged as particularly strong among the 18 to 44 age group. Overall, consumption has risen from 1.6 eggs per person per week to 2.1 eggs per person per week, equating to 110 eggs per person.

Mr Chapman said shortages of eggs at supermarkets during the pandemic and the bird flu outbreak have prompted many retailers to offer five-year rolling contracts to producers. 

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“In many ways those empty supermarket shelves were a blessing,” he said. “No retailer wants to see a repeat of the egg shortages and that - together with the increased consumption figures - has given them the confidence to show more long-term support."

He added: "This really is a golden age for egg production. 

“Numbers enquiring about coming on board as contract producers are at a high, with eggs being seen by many as a new venture or wonderful way of enabling a younger generation to come home to a family farm. Amazing when you think it’s a sector that people might not have even considered just a few years ago.”