Judy Tholen JRS Country Acres Lake Mills, WI. January 17, 2013

Transcription

1 Judy Tholen JRS Country Acres Lake Mills, WI January 17, 2013

2 Brown Eggs

3 Everything you want to know about the production of our cage free brown eggs.

4 History Current Operations Obstacles Future

5 2004 Hobby ~ 10 laying hens 5 turkeys Original Chicken Coop 10 x 10

6 What to do with all these eggs?

7 First Egg Customers in 2005: On Farm Sales 2 Restaurants Beauty Salon in Fort Atkinson Lake Mills Farmers Market Saturday morning

8 Great! We re in Business. What else can we do on our farm? Current Barn 37 x 140 Farm Property 175 acres

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10 Meanwhile: Egg Sales and Demand

11 2007 Quit Produce Quit Feeder Calves Quit Pigs 2010 Quit Meat Chickens 2011 Quit Turkeys** But each year we continued to add laying hens.

12 Mixture of Breeds 3,000 birds Open barn Hanging Feeders Manual Drinkers Nesting Boxes Ranged

13 2012 New Barn System Installed 4000 birds Auto Feeder Auto Waterer Auto Nest System Scratch Area Raised Slatted Floor Power Ventilation Lights on Timer

14 Auto Waterer 50 units Plastic Low pressure 4 6 PSI Well water

15 Auto Feeder Continuous loop Metal chain Safety grill Runs by timer 5 min every hr

16 Auto Nest System 12 holes/unit 23 units Length of Barn Sloped Floor towards back Nest pad Center Conveyor Belt

17 Raised Slat Flooring Plastic Interlocking Self cleaning Raised 20 inches Manure storage

18 Scratch Area Socializing Scratching Sunbathing

19 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

20 Fall ,500 birds Remodel Hay loft Hanging Feeders Auto Drinkers Nesting Boxes Lights on Timer

21 JRS Country Acres - Current Covers Four Areas: 1. Feed and Water 2. Environment 3. Personnel Management 4. Bird Health **3 rd Party Verification/Scorecard

22 Chicken Breeds Rhode Island Reds Silver Wyandottes Barred Rocks Dominiques Good Layers eggs/year Dual Purpose Birds Large sized eggs Lay well in winter Grandpa s birds (<1950)

23 Rhode Island Red genes Highly productive 280 Eggs/yr Breed for cage free environments Numerous Hybrids 15 years to develop

24 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.

25 Chicks NPIP Registered Flocks Vaccinations Chicken Diseases Coccidiosis Mareks Newcastle Fowl Pox Avian Encephalitis Human Disease Salmonella E Coli

26 Abendroth Hatchery Waterloo, WI Hartwig s Farm Fort Atkinson, WI Sutcliffe Farms Mason City, IA

27 Arrive at about 18 weeks of age: Start on new layer diet Start on Lighting Schedule Acclimate to new home Re-establish pecking order

28 Specialized Feed Point of Lay 32 wks wks 45-58wks 59+ wks All Vegetarian Corn Soybean Meal Dried Distillers Grain Wheat Probiotics Vitamins/Minerals Big Gain, Lodi WI Ridley Feed, IL

29 Specialized Feed Egg Sizes Controlled by: Protein Levels Methionine Young birds >Protein, >Methionine Older Birds <Protein <Methionine

30 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

31 Training to lay in nests Walk barn several times per day Pick up floor eggs several times per day Nest box area slightly dimmer

32 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.

33 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!!!

34 Egg Collection Center Conveyor 3 times/day Baskets

35 10 feet by 8 feet Egg Machine Grader 2 Tables Double Sink No Heat No A/C No Windows Avg. Day = 6 hours Original Milk House Egg Washing Room

36 WI DATCP Shell Egg Inspections 4 x year Room Eggs USDA Shell Egg Grades AA A B Fully Licensed Egg Washing Room

37 Egg Machine Hand Loaded Candler Hot Water Spray Double Roller Brushes Air Dryer

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

39 Packaging Hand Packaged 30 count flats Cartons 15 dozen/case

40 Cooler 40 F Eggs ready to go

41 Delivered by: JRS Country Acres Food Distributors: Neesvigs Meat Purveyors (Restaurants) Soderholm Wholesale Foods (Grocery Stores) JRS Truck

42 Where do they go? 15 grocery stores 13 restaurants 1 senior home Home Milk delivery company

43 JRS Country Acres - Current Who works here?

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45 #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

46 #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

47 #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

48 #3 Getting the Eggs to the Customer Attractive Packaging and Branding:

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50 Future Egg Sales and Demand

51 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!!

52 Any Questions??