A NORTH-EAST egg farm is to take on more staff after stepping in to help smaller producers following the introduction of new legislation.

Lintz Hall Farm, in Burnopfield, County Durham, the largest egg producer in the North-East, is to create six jobs after unveiling plans for a new packing centre fed by automated egg collection.

The family-run firm, which markets 38.6 million eggs across the North-East each year, has been awarded £457,000 from One North East’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

At the last British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) subscriber meeting, it was agreed that there will be no Lion accredited birds in conventional cages from January 1, 2012.

The decision left a number of egg production businesses in difficulty as they were unable to invest in the new systems.

Lintz Hall Farm is supporting a number of these smaller egg producers in the region by taking in their egg production, processing and packing functions and employing the staff.

Lintz Hall Farm manager Richard Tulip, who runs the business with his brother, Stephen, said: “We are very proud of what we do at Lintz Hall Farm, having gone from strength to strength over 57 years, and we think it’s imperative to invest for a sound future while contributing to a thriving food production and distribution business in the North-East.”