I'd like to sell my eggs to a health food store but was wondering if you had any advice on how to describe them. My chickens are in excellent health, receive no antibiotics or medications of any kind, no wormers, nothing. My chickens are free range with some supplementary feed bought from the local feed store.

The problem is that that feed store supplement is probably not organic in the method that it is grown. Will that necessarily prevent me from selling to the health food store, or will my explanation allow customers to make their own choice.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), December 05, 2001

Answers

When I used to barter my eggs and the co-op and the health food store, I had labels made with our farm logo and the following message:

These eggs laid by free range hens who have the company of roosters.

I did not say they were organic for the same reason as you, I supplemented with a laying mash from the feed mill.

My eggs were all brown shelled and extra large. On days I brought my eggs to the co-op people were waiting for them. They would not purchase what was in the cooler. The yolks were all a very deep yellow and the customers knew the chickens were feed garden scraps and such and were treated well. That seem to be fine for everyone.

In the 80's, I was getting $1.50 a doz. when I sold outright.

Good luck to you.

-- Cordy (ckaylegian@aol.com), December 05, 2001.

Well, in good faith, you cannot say they are "organic" in any way or form, BUT, you can mention that they are free range and fertile, which, around here where I sell eggs, is all that matters to the local buying public.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), December 05, 2001.

You could also say "Hormone and Antibiotic Free". I've seen that term used before and it is seen as a good thing even when product is not strictly "organic". "Farm raised", "Free Range", "Fertile" are all good catch phrases that health conscious consumers look for.

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), December 05, 2001.

From what I've read, you cannot sell anything with the word "organic" on it without paying a heap-o-money to the gub'mint.

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), December 05, 2001.

Actually, I believe you CAN sell things labeled "organic" without paying a heap o' money to the gub'ment is your total sales fall below a certain amount of money. I don't remember how much, but it seemed to me to be quite a large amount for a home producer.

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), December 05, 2001.

Go to www. usda.gov/news/releases/2000/12/0425.htm for more info on this. Between this release and the things you can find in the search there, you will be able to answer many questions.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), December 05, 2001.

Farm-fresh could also be used.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), December 05, 2001.

Anyone can use the word organic to describe just about anything. It is the word "certified" (organic) that causes the problem. You can not use the word "certified" unless your process/farm is in fact certified.

I like the term "all natural" for eggs. Who could argue with that?

-- Ed Copp (OH) (edcopp@yahoo.com), December 06, 2001.

When I decided to sell eggs I went to The dept of agriculture, this is what they told me " You can not sell eggs as organic unless you are inspected and they approve you as organic. You can state that they were raised with certified organic food. You can call them free range as long as they are allowed outside (there is no outside run size requirement as long as they are able to go outside). You can not sell eggs in cartons that come from the super market as these cartons will have U.S.D.A. inspected on them, and the cartons will have another farms name on them (both of which could get you into legal trouble).Also you should never do egg carton exchange because of bacteria.

-- george (bngcrview@aol.com), December 06, 2001.

Yeah there was a loop hole for under 4-5 k sales to be able to list as organically raised & register as an organic producer w/ the county, but not need to certify [pay $$] your farm as organic . The new fed. definition of organic has done away with that loophole.

On livestock i belive that you do not have to feed your animals cert. organic feed. but you may not feed steroids, growth hormones, or 'preventive/constant' antibiotics.

Antibiotics for sick animals are allowed but you have to wait a certain amount of time before selling the animal as cert.organic.

double check me on this, the new cert. organic regs are several hundred pages thick & i read them with a crop farmers eye.

Mississippi is first in something for once! We are the first state to submit our states' organic certification program to the feds. since the new nation wide standards were set! we're #1 ,we're #1...for once, in something positive.

-- bj pepper in C. MS. (pepper.pepper@excite.com), December 08, 2001.