Hi everyone! I am wanting to start a small CSA for eggs and meat chickens. I am planning on pasture raising both my layers and meaties but not getting organic certs as it too expensive for now. Has anyone successfully started a csa and how did you advertise and get customers? I am looking to get about $3 a dozen for extra large to jumbo size eggs and $3 a pound on meaties who should average 7 lbs. or so. Thanks!
I am not certified but you can say, "pasture & natural grain fed eggs and poultry," for example. You're basically saying you're organic without saying it. Sell at the farmers markets and such to sell retail; local markets here get $5-8/dozen & $3-4/lb. for whole birds. A small grower cannot compete head-to-head with an industrial grower but we do best in our local niches with our healthy foods. If you process further you'll need to charge accordingly. Check out local growers and compare their food prices with the store and that'll help you get a ballpark figure for your area on how to charge. Selling meat birds in advance helps a lot to insure freshness and storage space; you don't want 400 birds getting freezer burn waiting for a buyer. There is so much more, but keeping your costs down and your prices fair but profitable you should do well. Befriend lots of folks; my insurance agent just found me a stainless counter sink combo for a $1/lb. and it was going to the shredder; can't buy new that low but things like that makes everything else profitable. Build a feedbox from an old pickup bed trailer a pay a local farmer to fill it up; offer them more than the grain elevator would and it should still beat buying feed in a bag. Getting to know local growers helps you find the best grains, etc. Something I hope to do after moving nearer to farmland, it's sparse in the dessert. Hope this helps.
