Alternatives to "Selling eggs at the gate"

[Peace]

Hi, I hope this is in the correct part of the forum.

I've been selling eggs to my friends 45 minutes away from me. I live in an area where my customers are expected to come to my gate to buy eggs from me. I don't think it's realistic for them to drive all this way for eggs (since I'm going to town anyway). Everyone I talk to says, "I wouldn't worry about it. I deliver eggs all of the time." But, I am worried. I can't afford to be fined for selling my eggs away from my gate.

I had this idea. What if my friends 'bought' chickens and I took care of them on my property for a fee? Weekly, I could deliver their eggs to them. Does anyone do this? Has anyone had problems like this?

Thanks!

 

[Back2Roots]

Hi, I hope this is in the correct part of the forum.

I've been selling eggs to my friends 45 minutes away from me. I live in an area where my customers are expected to come to my gate to buy eggs from me. I don't think it's realistic for them to drive all this way for eggs (since I'm going to town anyway). Everyone I talk to says, "I wouldn't worry about it. I deliver eggs all of the time." But, I am worried. I can't afford to be fined for selling my eggs away from my gate.

Hi. I live in Ontario,

and I'm very new to raising backyard chickens for eggs myself. I don't know a lot about farm gate selling, only what my friendly neighbourhood feed store owner told me: He said that selling eggs at the farm gate just means that you can sell your eggs to friends, neighbours and co-workers, etc., from your property, but can't set up a stall at a farmer's market or county fair or something like that. Apparently it's ok to advertise on Kijiji or Craigslist, and he didn't say anything about customers having to pick up their eggs from your property; he brings in his own eggs to his store for his customers to pick up there. I am curious to know how a by-law where your egg customers must pick up from your property can be enforced. How can you prove that your customers pick up their eggs on site?

 

[Peace]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Here is the article that got me paranoid:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life...-local-grey-market-eggs/article1478849/page2/

What do you think?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I think making it illegal to sell eggs to a restaurant is paranoid. As long as the eggs are grade A, free of dirt and poop, they are the same as store bought only fresher. If free ranged even tastier.

I'm not Canadian and have never seen an ordinance/law about gate sales. Here we can sell to stores or anyone anywhere as long as our address is written on the carton.

 

[Back2Roots]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Here is the article that got me paranoid:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life...-local-grey-market-eggs/article1478849/page2/

What do you think?

Hi,
I read the article, (interesting) and did some additional digging around, and honestly, IMHO, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Here's some more light reading for you

:

Production and marketing controls:
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/farmproducts/factsheets/production.htm#provincial
Attention : 'Exemptions' section, reference to unregulated egg producers. I know this is Ontario-specific, but I wasn't able to find anything NS-specific in the time I had to poke around on the internet. There should be a similar provincial government site for Nova Scotia, though. I imagine the laws in your province will be similar.

http://www.betterfarming.com/online-news/quota-exemption-ontario%E2%80%99s-small-chicken-farmers-1484

http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/Chicken_a/Chicken_Egg_Excess/farm-gate-egg-sales.php
This last one is a UK site, but has some useful information - plus, since Canada is a former British Colony, our legal system is similar.

So here's my 2-cents worth, based on what I've read thus far, and what subject Matter Experts (SMEs) I've talked to have told me: I think that (a) as long as you don't have anywhere near the 99 layer hen limit, or (b) plan to raise more than the 300 meat bird limit, you have nothing to worry about. The only thing is, you cannot sell your eggs at any farmer's markets, county fairs or to retail stores (or restaurants). I have not read anything anywhere to-date about customers having to come to your premises to buy their eggs. Seriously, delivering your eggs to customers at their home or workplace or whatever, rather than having them come out to your home for pick-up, shouldn't be an issue.
Enjoy your chickens!

... I am SO looking forward to raising my very own little flock!