Carolyn, I can't believe the price of organic feed that you are asked to pay! Is the regular chicken scratch as expensive? Our eggs are "organic" in that the hens eat organic feed and free-range whee there are no pesticides/herbicides, but strictly speaking, with the treats of cooked pasta, cooked rice, heel ends of bread, and the occasional cooked meat trimmings, "organic" is more wistful thinking than fact!
Drought last year in Iowa yield was down. hay prices way up. And land going for up to $10,000 per acre in some parts. $300,000 tractor.
Yes, Jane the organic movement is a virtually impossible standard to meet unless one is raising caged birds and can control every step of the operation from raising the grain to grinding, mixing and feeding the birds. Scratch grain is about 14.00 a 50# bag. The regular layer mash is 10.50 a 50# bag. I think to go pick up a bag of grain the price is about 50.00 ( I called, but I was #9 in line). a ridiculous sum of money and when someone asks me if my eggs are organic I explain that the grain is 50.00 a bag vs. 10.50 a bag ...ummm no, I can't pass that cost along to my customers nor can I absorb the difference. EDITED I just got through to the supplier and she said a bag of organic grain is 25.00. Not as bad as it was, but still no way I am paying that either. I dont' think my customers would pay 5.00 a doz. for eggs either.
There was an interesting article in the Dallas Morning News today. Here is a link: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/...uch-are-you-willing-to-pay-for-an-avocado.ece It is an explanation of why and how much prices are rising on food. I was glad to hear egg prices are rising. Now people may not complain about $3 for a dozen creamy orange yolked, big brown eggs laid by happy hens! (One man told me he was on a fixed income and wouldn't pay that price for eggs. I told him I was on a fixed income, too and if I didn't get $3 for a dozen eggs, my income wouldn't be fixed, it would be broken!)
I just stopped at the little store in town and their eggs were 1.50/dz. This is the week of Easter, too. Usually they are 99c for them this week.
