With the mass production of meat and eggs supplying grocery stores, the farm culture is disappearing. Many consumers want to buy local for the fresh free range eggs and support the local farmer, but they won’t.
The reality is, consumers expect that the farm experience and fresh product provided needs to match the price shown at a grocery store. What they don’t realize is that farmers put 110% in what they do, to provide their customers with the fresh food. Most are a mom and pop type of business therefore there are added costs.
I posted an ad for pasture chicken eggs from my local farm here in Florida in a local group. It didn’t take more than 3 minutes before my post had to be deleted as it apparently gave a different message than what I was wanting. My price was gawked at with comments such as “Doesn’t WinDixie sell theirs for $1.10 a dozen?” Or “those better be ostrich eggs for that price.” One even commented and had the nerve to mention “why the high price? The going rate here is $3.50 a dozen.” Obviously, the post was going nowhere for my pastured eggs.
To backtrack some, many don’t realize what it takes to sell legally in Florida. In Florida, you need a special permit to sell poultry meat and eggs. The permit itself costs $110 a year including a small cost to get tested in case your birds get sick. In total, that’s around $9 a month. If you have a business license, which is recommended if you are selling anything for consumption, that’s another $200 a year. And don’t forget the feed it takes for the chicken too. A bag of feed goes on average for $18 for a 50 pound bag if you are providing your birds the correct nutrition.
CHICKENS CAN NOT SURVIVE “FREE RANGING” SOLEY
Just like any animal, you will also need to consider the medications if the chicken goes down (this involves withdrawal and eggs nor meat can be sold during that time). Many of these medications have been taken off the counter and require prescriptions. To give you a perspective, it can cost over $1,000 a year to maintain that beautiful flock of 24 chickens that lay those fresh large eating eggs and that’s at minimum. Since everyone wants pasture raised, cage free birds, you have to also take account predator prevention. For $350 you can get electric poultry netting to give your poultry that protection they need to stay productive, otherwise the wildlife around you is enjoying your pasture poultry. With all of the necessities to keep the consumer happy, In order to break even, chicken eggs have to be far more than $4.50 a dozen. As a licensed farm, we also have to get new cartons and labels with specific information which costs about an extra dollar per dozen. We are also limited to sell 30 dozen eggs a week. This may seem like a lot, however it really isn’t for a small operation. Being in Florida, the birds will also lay less in the summer months, therefore we only have two good seasons: Spring and Fall.
So before you judge based on the price of poultry from a local farmer, consider all of the effort the farmer puts in to give you a superior product. We don’t have to be here, but we are because we care about the future of farming.
