CEDAR CITY, Utah — In the middle of that nationwide egg shortage that has impacted supermarkets and cafes, the question is... where does that whole "egg before the chicken process" begin?
For nearly 15 years, Heather Carter has run Nature Hills Farm with an assist from her Southern Utah University sweetheart, Travis, who by day is an Enoch police officer.
Heather is also known for her book on making cheese, as well as her role as the manager of the Festival City Farmer’s Market. On her own farm, she maintains pigs, one cow, a turkey, peacocks and the feature attraction, chickens for poultry and eggs.
Heather adds that all her animals are treated well.
"They're really healthy," she said. "We feed them really good food."
And that, Carter adds, is the secret to having chickens and other birds with a clean bill of health in a growing avian flu epidemic.
Robyn Oguinye explains below what's driving egg shortage, rising prices:
"So we do try to feed them non-GMO corn and then we also, in the winter, we try to feed them a lot of grass," Carter explained. "They get all the sunlight that they want. They get to roam around.
Carter believes that having a smaller operation is why there is currently less sticker shock when people buy eggs on her farm compared to the supermarket.
"We are actually underpriced right now considering what the stores are priced at and we're just fortunate enough to be able to kind of maintain our prices, but a few years ago, when eggs were $2 and $3 a dozen, our eggs were $5 and $6 a dozen," she explained.
Local News
Like most Utahns, local family bake sale feels pain of egg shortage
According to Carter, the big markets rely on bigger farms that are less likely to know their birds are sick.
"Most of the time, when people are caring for animals in a small setting, they are more aware. They're a lot more aware of what's going on with their animals versus in a large setting," Carter said.
So is the solution smaller farms, almost like having a bed and breakfast for chickens with better accommodations, and better food? Or are there other pieces of the puzzle? Heather says it's going to come down to what the customer chooses.
"I've heard it called buyer beware," she said.
