The Rural Voice, 1995-04, Page 30Gerald Pocchman has a
problem. At a time when
producing too much for the
market is plaguing many
Canadian farmers, he can't possibly
fill the market for his farm's
products.
Gerald, his wife Marlene and their
children operate one of only two
certified organic laying hen farms in
Canada, and they simply can't keep
up with the demand for their eggs.
Gerald estimates he could sell two to
four times as many organic eggs to
markets in Toronto and Montreal if
he had them.
As in many things, the family's
situation came about because of a
combination of hard work and good
fortune. They turned what most
poultry farmers would see as a
terribly inefficient, floor layer barn (a
barn Gerald jokes is 20 years out of
date) into an asset through innovative
thinking and marketing.
The seed for the idea of an organic
egg farm was first planted by fellow
ecological farmer Lawrence Andres
when, on a visit to the Poechman
farm six or seven years ago, he
looked into the barn, saw all the hens
running around on the floor and
asked Gerald if he knew what a gold
mine he had. For several years,
though, Gerald admits he could see
only the problems that would be
involved in producing organic eggs,
not the opportunities.
Three years ago, however, he
started seriously into the transition
and when the family took over the
home farm from his father Harold
two years ago, the changeover began
in earnest.
To be certified by the Organic
Crop Improvement Association
(OCIA), eggs must be produced by
hens that arc fed certified organic
grains, that aren't kept in cages and
that have access to fresh air and open
spaces when the weather is warm.
The old barn became an asset
because all he had to do was open the
door to let the hens out.
Finding a premium market for the
eggs began while he was still in
transition. It takes three years of
using no chemical fertilizers or
pesticides for a farm to be certified
organic. During the transition years
Gerald was feeding part of the grain
26 THE RURAL VOICE
ADVENTURES IN
CONSUMERLAND
A Bruce County family learned a whole new side
of the food business when they started selling
their organic eggs directly to the stores
By Keith Roulston
Marlene (left of sign) and Gerald Poechman (right of sign) and their children
are part of a family operation, a fact that wins customer loyalty.
produced on his farm to the chickens.
He also began feeding flax to the
birds after reading about experiments
that showed feeding flax to hens
caused them to produce more
healthful Omega 3 fat to replace the
saturated fats that promoted
cholesterol buildup. Using that edge
of eggs from flax -fed hens, he first
approached a distributor who
services health food stores in
Toronto. After much negotiating, he
wangled an extra eight cents a dozen
for the special eggs.
A year later, the transition was
complete, and he could offer certified
organic eggs to the health food
markets in the larger cities (he also
sells from the farm door and attends
the farmers' market in Walkerton).
But when he talked to his distributor,
he was told there might be a market
for 10 cases of eggs a week (15
dozen eggs in a case) to begin with,
rising to 20 cases at the end of a year
at a premium of 10 cents a dozen.
Since he was producing 100 cases a
week, it hardly seemed worth while
for that small a volume.
But he hired a consultant and
they talked over his ideas, then
one stormy day the two of them
visited four or five natural food
stores in Toronto. At the first one,
The Big Carrot, they got an order for
eight to 12 cases a week. At the next
there was an order for six cases a
week. Already he had nearly as many
eggs ordered as the distributor had
promised at the end of a year. To
spread the risk, he also contracted
with a distributor in Montreal to
supply stores there. Soon he was
selling out.
But there were other problems to
be solved first. Number one hurdle
was packaging. Agriculture Canada
officials at first were reluctant to
allow the OCIA certification seal on
the carton, a step Gerald felt was