Award winning Local Food Farmers focus on barn eggs

While the Griffiths brothers from Oakland Farm Eggs emerged as Poultry Farmers of the Year at the recent Farmers Weekly Awards, egg producers Peter and Hilary Cochran from Dunbar in Scotland enjoyed equal success in the Local Food Farmer section. Philip Case reports

Fresh fare from field and farmhouse is the aim for eggs and other produce sold in the farm shop at Knowes in East Lothian – and that maxim has held good for more than 30 years.

The shop opened in 1979 to retail eggs and potatoes direct to customers and today about 900 dozen eggs are sold weekly over the counter, 7% of total production.

But despite the success of the venture, change is in the air, prompted by the impending EU conventional cage ban.

Faced with this prospect, many egg producers have gone into free range. But the Cochrans have opted to focus on barn egg production as an alternative to their four-tier Hellman cage system, which will be phased out by 2012.

Although barn eggs is a minority production system, representing about 5% of the UK market, it ticks the boxes for welfare and provides consumer choice.

“Enriched cages are too expensive and do not fulfil our retail customers’ expectations,” says Mr Cochran. “We will continue to supply a quality product for a retail market and not try to run with the big boys.”

\Marketing eggs direct makes it possible to price the product according to the genuine production cost rather than relying on a market where jousting supermarkets manipulate producer prices to win retail custom, he adds.

“Our customers seek quality and appreciate that higher production costs may be a consequence,” Mr Cochran says.

Barn system

Inevitably, the change will involve some shrinkage of the egg production side of this mainstream arable farm, which employs more than 20 staff.

One flock of cage birds will be taken out of production in December and replaced by a barn system, holding about 2000 hens. The second house of cage hens will be emptied next June and a decision taken then whether to expand further into barn production.

The new system will be a production centre for the farm shop and the Cochrans will continue to supply eggs to local retailers, shops, restaurants and hotels. “The barn system should be able to produce eggs of the same or better quality as we have been doing in the cages,” says Mr Cochran.

“It satisfies all welfare standards, has few of the problems associated with free range, and provides customers with a price choice.”

The business will still have a small free-range flock at the front of the shop to appeal to customers and will market its eggs under the slogan “We pick, you choose”.

The Cochrans produce their own labels for pre-packs sold direct and if they win awards for quality – and over the past 30 years they have had a few – they print the details on the packaging.

Passion for business

Their latest success in the Farmers Weekly Local Food Farmer of the Year award was a reflection of their passion for running the business and their strong sense of local community attached to the farm shop.

Turmoil

Mr Cochran believes that egg production will be in turmoil over the next few years as the sector adjusts to the conventional cage ban. He wants to see things stabilise before committing to major investment.

“The market is in a dreadful mess and there is an over-production of free-range eggs,” he says. This has led to cascading, with high-welfare eggs sold as “value”, just to help clear the surplus.

Despite this, many producers are selling at less than production costs, given the recent sharp rise in world feed grain prices.

“This is not sustainable and, while the price may recover a little in the short term, it will take some years for prices to fully reflect the real costs of investment and production,” he says.

The move to barn eggs means the Cochrans will stop supplying their wholesaler, Farmlay Eggs, which has taken the bulk of their production for the past 20 years.

“Farmlay Eggs has been helpful in allowing us to phase-out caged production gently, one house at a time,” says Mr Cochran.

“The company takes everything that doesn’t get sold through the shop and local retail outlets.”

Market conditions

Despite downsizing, Mr Cochran hopes his association with poultry will expand. “I have worked with hens all my life,” he says.

“They have contributed to the long-term success of my business despite having many difficult spells. I cannot imagine Knowes without hens and look forward to the test of adapting our business in response to market conditions.”

Creating a nest egg

Peter and Hilary Cochran are passionate about their local community and they have raised hundreds of pounds for good causes. Their latest project, Community Nest Egg, aims to provide funds for a local day centre that was facing cuts.

Egg prices will soon be increased slightly in the shop and the money raised will go to the East Linton Day Centre, in East Lothian. All funds raised will be doubled by the Cochrans from their business profit.

“The people in the day centre are our original customers from 30 years ago and we want to thank them for their help,” says Mrs Cochran.

“It’s their children who are buying the eggs now, so it’s one big family project.” The scheme is due to start this month and, if successful, will be extended to other local day centres.

KNOWES FARM FACTS  • 160ha (395-acre) arable tenancy, including 21,000 laying birds • Grows cereals, eggs, potatoes and vegetables • Knowes Farm Shop is the commercial heart of a modern, mainstream, working farm • Eggs sold from hen houses on-farm from the late 1960s and 1970s • Farm shop opened in 1979 • UK and Scottish Egg Quality Award Winners four times – 1983, 1988, 1998 and 2006