Judy Tholen JRS Country Acres

Lake Mills, WI

January 17, 2013

Brown Eggs

Everything you want to know about the production of our

cage free brown eggs.

History

Current Operations ◦ Obstacles

Future

2004

Hobby

~ 10 laying hens

5 turkeys

Original Chicken Coop – 10’ x 10’

What to do with all these eggs?

First Egg Customers in 2005: ◦ On Farm Sales

◦ 2 Restaurants

◦ Beauty Salon in Fort Atkinson

◦ Lake Mills Farmers Market – Saturday morning

Great! We’re in Business.

What else can we do on our farm?

Current Barn – 37’ x 140’ Farm Property – 175 acres

Meanwhile:

Egg Sales and Demand

◦ 2007 – Quit Produce ◦ 2008 - Quit Feeder Calves ◦ 2009 - Quit Pigs ◦ 2010 – Quit Meat Chickens ◦ 2011 – Quit Turkeys**

But each year we continued to

add laying hens.

2010-2011 ◦ Mixture of

Breeds

◦ 3,000 birds

◦ Open barn

◦ Hanging Feeders

◦ Manual Drinkers

◦ Nesting Boxes

◦ Ranged

2012 ◦ New Barn System

Installed

◦ 4000 birds

◦ Auto Feeder

◦ Auto Waterer

◦ Auto Nest System

◦ Scratch Area

◦ Raised Slatted Floor

◦ Power Ventilation

◦ Lights on Timer

◦Auto Waterer 50 units

Plastic

Low pressure

4 – 6 PSI

Well water

◦Auto Feeder Continuous loop

Metal chain

Safety grill

Runs by timer

5 min every hr

Auto Nest System 12 holes/unit

23 units

Length of Barn

Sloped Floor towards back

Nest pad

Center Conveyor Belt

◦ Raised Slat Flooring Plastic Interlocking Self cleaning Raised 20 inches Manure “storage”

◦Scratch Area Socializing

Scratching

Sunbathing

Power Ventilation Exhaust Fans

10 Units

Summer – All running

Wind speed 2- 3 mph

Winter – 1 – 2 running on timer

Circulation Fans 2 units Continuous run

Fall 2012 ◦ 2,500 birds

◦ Remodel Hay loft

◦ Hanging Feeders

◦ Auto Drinkers

◦ Nesting Boxes

◦ Lights on Timer

JRS Country Acres - Current

Covers Four Areas: 1. Feed and Water 2. Environment 3. Personnel Management 4. Bird Health **3rd Party Verification/Scorecard

Chicken Breeds ◦ Rhode Island Reds

◦ Silver Wyandottes

◦ Barred Rocks

◦ Dominiques

Good Layers ◦ 200 - 250 eggs/year

Dual Purpose Birds Large sized eggs Lay well in winter Grandpa’s birds

(<1950)

Rhode Island Red genes

Highly productive ◦ 280 Eggs/yr

Breed for cage free environments

Numerous Hybrids ◦ 15 years to develop

“Ready to Lay” Pullets ◦ Order 7 – 8 months

in advance.

◦ Grower raises them from 0 – 17 weeks

◦ Grower responsible for all vaccinations

◦ Grower raises them for farm type.

Chicks ◦ NPIP Registered

Flocks

Vaccinations ◦ Chicken Diseases

Coccidiosis

Mareks

Newcastle

Fowl Pox

Avian Encephalitis

◦ Human Disease

Salmonella

E Coli

Abendroth Hatchery – Waterloo, WI

Hartwig’s Farm – Fort Atkinson, WI

Sutcliffe Farms – Mason City, IA

Arrive at about 18 weeks of age: Start on new layer diet

Start on Lighting Schedule Acclimate to new home

Re-establish pecking order

Specialized Feed ◦ Point of Lay – 32 wks ◦ 33-44 wks ◦ 45-58wks ◦ 59+ wks

All Vegetarian ◦ Corn

Soybean Meal Dried Distillers Grain’ Wheat Probiotics Vitamins/Minerals

Big Gain, Lodi WI ◦ Ridley Feed, IL

Specialized Feed ◦ Egg Sizes

Controlled by:

Protein Levels

Methionine

◦ Young birds

◦ >Protein, >Methionine

◦ Older Birds

<Protein

<Methionine

Lighting

14 hours

Increase by ½ hour every 4 days

16 hours max

◦ Light Intensity – 2 to 3 foot-candles

◦ Never decrease light hours

◦ Fluorescent light fixtures – highest lumens

Training to lay in nests

Walk barn several times per day

Pick up floor eggs several times per day

Nest box area slightly dimmer

What Happens to the Birds? Keep for about 14 months Options:

Molt – good for another

year

On Farm Euthanasia & Composting √Buyer purchases birds to

sell to ethnic groups.

SE Prevention Program - FDA All farms over 3,000 birds Written Plan for these items:

Pullet Procurement Bio-Security Rodent / Fly Control Refrigeration Recall Procedures Environmental Testing Documentation!!!

Egg Collection ◦ Center

Conveyor

◦ 3 times/day

◦ Baskets

Original Milk House Egg Washing Room

10 feet by 8 feet Egg Machine Grader 2 Tables Double Sink

No Heat No A/C No Windows Avg. Day = 6 hours

Egg Washing Room Fully Licensed

WI DATCP ◦ Shell Egg

◦ Inspections 4 x year

Room

Eggs

USDA ◦ Shell Egg Grades

◦ AA

◦ A

◦ B

Egg Machine ◦ Hand Loaded

◦ Candler

◦ Hot Water Spray

◦ Double Roller Brushes

◦ Air Dryer

Egg Grader – Jumbo, ExtraLarge/Large, Medium/Small

Packaging ◦ Hand Packaged

30 count flats

Cartons

15 dozen/case

Cooler kept @ 40˚F

Eggs ready to go

Delivered by: •JRS Country Acres •Food Distributors:

•Neesvigs Meat Purveyors (Restaurants) •Soderholm Wholesale Foods (Grocery Stores)

JRS Truck

Where do they go?

15 grocery stores

13 restaurants

1 senior home

Home Milk delivery company

JRS Country Acres - Current

Who works here?

#1 - Finding Equipment ◦ Small Mom & Pop Operations or Huge Farms

Many EU companies, few USA companies

Southwest Poultry – MO, Used equipment dealer

Nest System – 1/4 of it, drinkers. Feed system

Sutcliffe Farms – IA, Used Egg handling dealer

Egg Washer

EBay – PA

Egg Grader

Craigslist

Refrigerated Truck

Local Farm Auctions

Refrigerated Truck Cooler, Many misc items

#2 - Finding Packaging Supplies ◦ Small Mom & Pop Operations or Huge Farms

2 Companies that make recycled pulp products

1 US, 1 Canada

Buy Direct from Manufacturer – Semi-loads!!

10.5 cents each

Storage

Buy from Distribution Company:

Expensive (Large = 19.5 cents Jumbo 35 cents)

Label – add another 11 cents per carton

Not always in stock

Shipping from warehouse

#3 – Getting the Eggs to the Customer ◦ Store Shelves

Stores familiar with wholesale distributors

We already have a brown egg

Other national and regional brands – price point

Increasing demand for local products

Restaurants/Institutions

Familiar with wholesale distributors

We already use a brown egg OR so what, egg is an egg

Other national and regional egg suppliers – price point

Increasing demand for local ingredients

#3 – Getting the Eggs to the Customer ◦ Attractive Packaging and Branding:

Egg Sales and

Demand

Future

Increasing demand = Business growth and job creation!

◦ More birds = another farm building ($0.5M)

Bank Loans – slow economy, slow to lend

Private Investors – hard to find, Time, business structure

√ Work with other producers

Amish family farms

Platteville area – Wisconsin Farmers!

Purchase, then transport, grade and package at JRS

New Egg Processing Building < New Chicken Barn

First Employees!!

Any Questions??