My Organic Market’s ER

For various reasons, these percentages have changed drastically and consumers must now rely on and trust their local grocer to provide the most healthful organic products at a reasonable price.

At MOM’s you can count on us. Our buyers have developed a protocol and perform due diligence on each product before we offer it for sale.

Whenever possible, we purchase locally to maintain our connection to the source. For instance, in the egg case at each store you will be able to find eggs from Jehovah-Jireh Farm located in Dickerson, MD.

I visited the farm at the end of August and had a chance to meet Cathy and Myron Horst and their 6 children, Joel, Nathan, Kara, Daniel, Luke, and Melody. In 2000, their family took on the 25-acre farm that had long been abandoned with the intent to recreate a farming operation that would replicate egg production from 100 years ago.

Myron is a smart farmer. His research has taught him that pastured poultry is the way to go. Myron has developed a day range system for his nearly 2,000 laying hens. It is by far, the healthiest way to raise a chicken. Here is how it works.

In separate paddocks throughout the farm, the chickens have “picnic areas” that provide food and housing for roughly 300-400 birds. These areas provide them with shelter, a constant supply of food and of course nesting boxes for them to lay their eggs each day.

After they lay their eggs and have their fill of grain, chickens love to exercise and interact with each other. They will travel hundreds of feet from the picnic areas in search of fresh grass and companionship. Chickens on pasture are gregarious, sometimes noisy and actually very amusing to watch. I have always made the observation that, “pastured birds are poultry in motion.”

Are the eggs really that different? You will find that pastured chickens produce eggs with a superior flavor and a rich dark yellow or orange yolk. When you open a carton to inspect the eggs, expect to see different colored shells. Each egg is different because each chicken is different. They really stand up well during the cooking process and if you are a fan of poached eggs, then pastured is the way to go.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 10th, 2005 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Anecdotes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.