Just A Seasonal Update ~ Eggs - Still Less Than a Gallon Of Gas
Been busy living the good life.
Let's focus on eggs for a minute. The Incredible Edible Egg. A potentially hazardous food that is highly governed by the department of agriculture, in particular, food safety. Earlier this year we discovered that in order to sell eggs, we need a food processing license.
To get one, you have to have a facility with a stainless sink, three bay of course, hot water, cold water, hand towels, a clean impervious surface on which to place your supplies. Walls that can be washed. A fridge reserved only for 'the EGG.' Floors clean as a whistle. Think laboratory. Think red tape.
We'd already commited to delivering eggs to Troy Community Gardens via their CSA, and we have regular customers of our own. We'd already ordered and raised about 75 hens. So we had no choice but to press on and get licensed.
We also sell meat, of course, so we decided to have a room built in our shed to house the food processing center and the freezers and coolers. We wanted to do this all along; to have a super clean place to keep everything. But the EGG put us over the top.
So eggs, which we sell for $3 per dozen, and raise about 30 dozen per week, about 26 weeks per year, will be profitable on this farm in about 2011.
Here's the detailed look at getting licensed:
The room - (don't ask how much we paid for the room - ouch - we'll just allocate a percentage)
$500
Sink $40
Fridge $400
Towel Dispesner $3
Hot Water Tank $250
Plumbing Supplies $100
Cooler, Etc. $50
Licensing Fee $78
Labels $30
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TOTAL $1451
That doesn't include the routine cost to maintain and feed and house the darling hens......Oh well - that's the egg business
...still cheaper than gas.
