As the Scenic Rim wraps up Eat Local Month, the Beaudesert Bulletin is sharing insights into the lives of local quiet achievers through the final story in its ‘real farmers, real stories’ series.
Warren Drynan and his offsiders stand in a gently heated shed surrounded by 46,000 13-day-old chicks.
The birds cheep a cheerful chorus, freely eating, drinking and scratching around in sawdust litter, their needs tended to by a team dedicated to ensuring their quality of life.
By 21 days of age, when they are feathered, doors will open along the length of the shed and they will be free to range outside with grass underfoot, sheltered from the elements.
These chickens are here for a good time not a long time, living for about 50 days before they become the meat on our plates.
Destigmatising the industry
When the Bulletin asked Warren, fourth-generation owner of historic Innisplain property Telemon Crossing, to be part of the ‘Real Farmers, Real Stories’ series, he agreed only because he is keen to end stigma surrounding the chicken meat industry.
The Drynan family celebrated 150 years of Telemon Crossing in 2025 and Warren says the farm’s longevity is tied to a willingness to try new things.
One of those new things is chickens, which Warren ventured into in 2017. He and his team now run the second largest free to range farm for Inghams in south east Queensland.
Telemon Crossing Chickens holds 325,000 birds on a 65-day cycle.
The busiest time on the farm is actually when there are no birds – the week of cleaning between farewelling one lot and welcoming another.
Farm Manager Jai Bennett said animal welfare was central to every step of the process.
“We have an RSPCA requirement when we put the chicks in, we don’t take longer than 45 minutes for bird welfare, the trucks (collecting birds) are the same – they don’t have more than an hour, for bird welfare,” he said.
Warren said it was in growers’ best interests to keep their chickens happy, with processors supplying all the birds and the feed, and paying on a food consumption ratio performance basis.
Jai said maintaining high air and water quality directly led to better production outcomes.
“The happier and healthier the birds, the better they’re going to perform,” he said.
Beyond chooks
The broiler chickens are a huge talking point for Warren, but his business is more than poultry.
Telemon Crossing is 800 acres, from 300 acres of river flat through to grazing country on the western side of the railway line.
He runs 500 to 800 head of cross breed cattle on that property, produces hay for his own mob and the family’s two properties out west and leases other country to run up to 1200 head.
He also purchased a second meat chicken farm at Coominya in recent years.
The company is a family affair, his wife Carolyn by his side in the business since before they married in 1981 and their adult children Angela, Cameron and Andrew (Johnno) and their families involved too.
Enduring
Warren is keen to make sure this story isn’t all about him but there is no denying the power of his persistence.
He has survived serious farm accidents and dairy deregulation, court battles with Council, droughts and floods and ever-present industry challenges.
A trip abroad on the Nuffield Scholarship in 1992 piqued his interest in chickens but he didn’t pursue it until after he stopped dairying in 2013.
For Warren, farming is about teamwork and a willingness to try new things.
“Dad always told me to make sure you communicate with all your staff every day,” he said.
“And you’ve got to always keep having a go. If there’s a chance of improving, don’t get stuck but let it go and take the next step.”
