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Two new family farms producing Nellie’s Nest eggs |
Marlin Wadel produced eggs twenty years ago in an old-fashioned poultry barn on his farm in Wolcott VT until the market for his eggs dried up. Since then, Marlin has worked at a number of activities to make ends meet including raising heifers, running a farm stand and a lawn mowing/maintenance business.
When Marlin learned about the opportunity to produce eggs for Pete & Gerry’s, he worked with Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation and Yankee Farm Credit to finance a brand new, fully automated poultry barn on his property.
The barn’s unique design offers his 12,600 hens a humane cage-free environment. Feed, water and ventilation are all continuously monitored by a central electronic console. A cold storage room keeps the eggs chilled until the weekly pickup by Pete & Gerry’s. And the operation provides Marlin with a reliable, secondary revenue stream for two to three hours a day of non-strenuous labor.
Brian and Phil Ward had milked cows on their family’s farm since high school. Like many small dairy farmers, they were finding it harder and harder to make any money. While they had a productive herd of about 85 milking cows, the economies of scale weren’t on their side. So this spring, the Ward brothers sold off their herd and rebuilt their Monroe NH dairy barn for poultry.
Phil and Brian are second cousins to our own Jesse Laflamme, which made it an easy decision to produce eggs for Pete & Gerry’s. After an intensive and thorough remodeling of their barn, 12,700 laying hens are contentedly clucking away inside. The renovation, which included gutting the barn and installing automated feed, water and egg collection systems, took just over 90 days.
Both of these family farms are now producing our delicious Nellie’s Nest Cage-Free eggs.
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