The Soviet era: 1956–1991

Tallegg’s predecessor, Tallinn Poultry Factory, launched operations in 1956. The decision to establish Estonia’s first poultry factory had been passed by the government six years earlier, in July 1950, but the organisation that was to be responsible for its construction only convened in April 1953. The director of this organisation, Nikolai Burmann, would go on to become the factory’s first director.

Since Estonian poultry farmers lacked experience in the commercial production of eggs and poultry, there were serious concerns as to how they would staff the factory. Of great help here was the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Poultry Factory, to which 12 farmers were sent for training. A veterinarian and animal technicians were also sent to the factory to study the technology it employed. In its first year of operations the factory produced just 24,000 eggs and 7.4 tonnes of poultry.

In 1957 the factory’s five henhouses held a total of 11,500 chickens, who produced almost 1.15 million eggs and 32.3 tonnes of poultry. The number of employees in the factory had grown to 88. The production cost of eggs and poultry remained high, and the factory was operating at a significant loss. Since this situation failed to improve in the two years that followed, the management of the factory was replaced in April 1959, with Ilmar Sõstar – the senior animal technician with the Haude Poultry Farmers Trust – appointed as the new director. The factory then developed at pace: by 1965 it was producing 12 million eggs annually, and production costs had more than halved.

Appointed as factory director in spring 1966 was Aleksander Lind, who would later become well-known in Estonia as a leading figure in the field of agriculture. Lind had specific, long-term views about the development of poultry farming, agriculture and rural life in general.

Poultry farming was the first branch of agriculture in Estonia to make the transition to commercial production, which it had made by the mid-1960s. Commercial poultry farming involved a method of producing eggs and poultry which ensured stable, year-round production and a high level of mechanisation in the production process.

The initial planned capacity for the factory – 8 million eggs per year – was reached (and indeed exceeded) in 1965. By this time the staff had sufficient experience in large-scale production, and demand for eggs and poultry was growing, so the decision was taken to expand the company in order for it to be able to produce at least 40 million eggs annually. This objective was achieved in 1968, when the factory produced 42.2 million eggs. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Estonian S.S.R. then set the factory its next challenge: to bring its production up to 100 million eggs per year by 1980.

In November 1982 Kostivere state farm was merged with Tallinn Poultry Factory, and the two came to be known collectively as Tallinn Model Poultry Factory and State Farm. The management style and experience of the factory and the construction and financial options open to it stood the farm in good stead, as it was one of Harju County’s biggest, but had been allowed to fall by the wayside.

Promoted to director of the company in 1983 was then production manager Herbert Lass, who had previously worked in the Ministry of Agriculture. As the director he focused primarily on the problems with the Kostivere farm and on meat and milk production, and also paved the way for the growing of mangold for stock feed.

In late 1987 Ants Käsper was appointed as the new director of the company.
More serious attention now began to be turned to poultry farming.
By 1989 each hen was laying on average more than 20 extra eggs per year, and total production year-on-year had grown by as much as 15 million eggs (with feed costs having dropped markedly).
Measures were taken to stabilise the health of the chickens; the way in which feeding was carried out was reorganised; bolder use of medication was made; and new veterinary measures were introduced.

By 1991 the company was producing more than ever before.
The year would prove to be its biggest, with 211 million eggs and 1891 tonnes of poultry produced.