Free Range Egg Cooperative

2005 Annual Report for FNC04-526

Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2004: $12,475.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2006
Matching Non-Federal Funds: $4,400.00
Region: North Central
State: Michigan
Project Coordinator:

Free Range Egg Cooperative

Summary

OBJECTIVE
The Farmers Egg Cooperative, which produces free-range eggs and sells them wholesale, proposes to address two problems with its educational project. One is a local problem particular to the Cooperative itself. The other larger problem being addressed is one that is national in scope, if not global: the drop in numbers of small and family-run farms due to the lack of options for sustainable agricultural production.

This trend was impacting rural life in Eaton County, Michigan as increasing numbers of farming families found themselves without viable, marketable agricultural products and were forced to sell their land for development. In order to address this concern, local farmers sought and were awarded a Kellogg Foundation grant to pilot a model for small-farm sustainable egg production. The Co-op was formed and its members are finding that earnings from egg production are improving the viability of their farming operations. The Cooperative is an enormous success. The demand for free-range eggs outstrips the Co-op’s ability to supply it, however, and the single most significant reason is that the number of egg producers has not increased at the same rate as the demand for the Co-op’s product.

The immediate objective of this project is to increase the numbers of egg producers. With a carefully targeted education and promotional effort, the Co-op expects to attract new producers and grow the operation. A SARE award will make it possible for the Farmers Egg Cooperative to design and carry out an educational campaign that promises to increase producers and members for the Cooperative. In achieving this modest local goal, the local community and the region gain a successful model for sustainable agriculture that 1) connects local food production systems with local consumers, and 2) generates viable income for small farmers.

RESULTS
As of January 9, 2006, we are exactly one-half the way to realizing our goal of increasing our membership by eight new producing members. We now have four new members as a result of this project. Even though the place we expected to find the initial audience differed from our original stated project, we feel that we gained some good ground by going to where the potential members were.

This progress has been achieved through the existing membership’s willingness to compile comprehensive information gleaned from strict record keeping on production management. The information was then formatted into a slide presentation that made the information easily accessible to potential members through on-screen and hard copy.

We have found that the delivery of this information has been much more effective face-to-face with two or three individual producers. Our original intent was to meet with 4H groups, Farm Bureau groups, and other such traditional farming groups to make presentations to a larger number of people. Our thinking behind this was to cast a big net at once to catch more fish in a single haul, as it were. But this approach was not an effective use of our resources as the returns to time and investment were null. We found that the farmers who are serious about small egg production sought us out through word of mouth, through existing relationships that gave our presentation built-in credibility. As a result, we have four strong members who now have gained good management skills in small egg production.

Adding strong membership to our marketing cooperative has created opportunities to increase capacities of demand and to capture more economies of scale for our members.