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Stanberry Amish Community Farms is located just
north of Kansas City in Stanberry, Missouri.
Fifteen of the thirty-five family farms raise
eggs for the Good Natured Family Farm alliance.
Their egg production and packaging is completely
opposite of the large scale commercial egg
production we know today. Daniel Fry, head of
the egg group, explained that their laying hens
spend the cool mornings and evenings outside
running, dust-bathing and foraging for insects.
Of course, in the heat of the day they find
shade and during bad weather and at night they
go in the barns. Daniel also stresses that they
keep their hens longer than the large commercial
laying houses. Our hens have a longer laying
cycle than commercial layers, and when an older
hen’s egg production diminishes, we just keep
collecting what she produces and the next group
of younger hens makes up the difference. In the
commercial laying houses, they dispose of the
older hens as soon as production drops off.
The eggs are hand gathered several times during
the day due to the hot weather. They hand wash
and grade each egg, place it in a pink egg
carton, and then store it in their ice houses
until a refrigerated truck comes by to take the
eggs to the market.
These family farms egg production and packaging
is regulated by the Missouri Department of
Agriculture. Each of the fifteen egg farms has a
Missouri egg license number that is stamped on
the end of the egg carton. This allows the eggs
to be traced back to the farm from which they
came.
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