Whats in a dozen eggs???

What's really in a dozen eggs??? Well, when you buy a dozen eggs from the store, just the yolk, and the whites, and not much flavor. HOWEVER, when you buy eggs from a back yard farmer, there is so much more. There is love, dedication, and friendship. When you buy eggs from someone like me, who runs a small farm, some would even call it a hobby farm, you get to know me, and I get to know you. I hear stories and see pictures of your children, and you see pictures of my animals, and even get to see pictures of the chickens that those eggs came from.
I recently took some eggs to a really sweet lady who works in our favorite place to eat. She had asked us about them, so I brought her some, and gave her my information for when she was ready for more. She was really surprised that I charge as little as I do, but I come out ok in the end (more to that here in a moment). I assured her that I sell them better at a lower price.

Recently there was a conversation in one of those groups that I belong to on Face Book, and that conversation did get a little heated. People were discussing how much they should be charging for eggs. People were attacking those who charged too much, and then people were attacking those who charged too little.  One man even went so far as to say that charging such low prices, you will never get back what you had to put into that chicken to get it to lay the first egg. As far as I'm concerned, that's like a high school graduate saying ok, I need to make $80 an hour for anything I do to make up for all the time I had to spend in school to get to this point. You will never get back what you put into that bird to get it to the first egg, until it comes time to harvest that bird for meat.

I get my Chicken feed local, I buy it from the local Co-op, and I get it for less than $9 for a 50 pound bag. I'm buying it local, its also milled local, so, I'm taking money that I made locally, and spending it locally, and that money is staying local...I'm meeting other local farmers, and workers, and I'm helping out my own community. Now, I find that most people that charge high amounts are going to the big box stores, and paying huge amounts of money for feed. That money is not staying local, that feed is not made local, etc etc.

So what's in my carton of 12 eggs??? Local love, and community support.