Time for a price increase

[Awnry Abe]

I had a bit of a "reality check" today when I went to the grocery store. I have been way out of touch on the rising cost of milk, eggs, and meat. I haven't kept up with rise in prices. We started selling our eggs to co-workers for $3/dozen and milk for $5/gallon just a couple of years ago. At the time, I was more interested in offsetting the cost of our food habit and learning how to raise a consistent product than I was earning money.

Back then, demand was "fair" to "good". I occasionally had to hit people up to see if they wanted any eggs that week. Most of the time I sold out exactly and no one went home empty handed.

Fast forward to now, and I feel like I need to wear riot gear when I arrive with product. For the past few months, my normally loving, friendly co-workers have been...(trying to find the nice word)...assertive. Everyone says how good the eggs/milk are, but no one ever used the word "inexpensive" to describe them.

I went to the grocery store for lunch stuff today, and happened to see a dozen of the ordinary watery cheap eggs "on sale" for $3.09. The closest comparable product was $3.59/doz. Aha! I went to the milk aisle to check things out. Wow. No wonder I am seeing this side of these folks. Whole milk was in the $4-5 range. The local "no hormone" milk with clever branding was $7.10/gal.

Couple those facts with our effort to start a sustainable model, and we now have an opportunity to raise prices.

(We haven't started selling freezer beef, yet. The R&D cycle is too long. But when I do...oui...The super-cheap-80/20-beef-in-a-tube was $5.09/lb. Chuck roasts were $7.39/lb. I really need to re-think my pricing on this, too.)

[Michael W. Smith]

Just don't increase the price too high that it's comparable to "factory free eggs" or "no hormone" milk, or you may find yourself trying to push your product again.

Just tell folks that the price of feed has gone up, and you have to pass the "increase" on to them.

Feed prices have gone up - in the last few years - but not lately - not that your customers will know it. Price it somewhere between the cheap stuff and luxury stuff. Customers are getting fresh products and you will get an increase in your prices - both sides win.

[Callieslamb]

I think you need to move or shop elsewhere. Nothing here is nearly that high.

[jassar]

We are still stuck in Southern CA and do not expect to be able to move to N. Idaho for a couple more months. Can't wait to be able to have our own chickens. Until then, we gladly pay between 7-8 dollars per dozen for the organic pasture raised chicken eggs from one of the CSA's here; Worth every penny. Won't pay a dime for that junk in the grocery store (we just go without eggs in between our csa deliveries). Same hold true for the meat and dairy we get.

I wish I had a co-worker that would sell their farm fresh food at my place of employment. You deserve a pat on the back for bringing local, sustainable food to others.

[poorboy]

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

I think you need to move or shop elsewhere. Nothing here is nearly that high.

I suppose if you search hard enough you can find prices close to that high here.., but at Town'nCountry today down in the flatlands (poplar Bluff) eggs were 1.78 for grade A large,even cheaper at Aldi's...Milk was easily found at the three dollar mark..I sell about three- four doz. surplus eggs from my hens for a buck-fifty...don't keep more hens because I have no local mkt to sell em to..I only keep the chickens because I want fresh eggs for myself..

You must be in an unfortunate part of our fair state..

[Awnry Abe]

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

I think you need to move or shop elsewhere. Nothing here is nearly that high.

I know, right? Fortunately for me, I don't have to pay that. But the folks buying my stuff do. It must really stink.

I can buy farm fresh eggs here 4 dozen for $5.00 . I can't imagine the prices you're quoting . How much is a 50 lb bag of feed ? $300.00 ?

[Ernie]

Groceries are pretty high-priced in my area of West Texas. Food stamps make up the vast bulk of everybody's purchases and that drives the price up substantially. Stores are going to charge whatever the market yields.

If I could buy 4 dozen fresh eggs for $5, I wouldn't bother raising my own chickens. That's insane. That's about $0.10 an egg, which I wouldn't hardly bother gathering them up to fetch. Heck, the cartons probably cost 30% of the price there.

Milk runs $3.79 a gallon and a dozen store eggs is $3.19. Pork usually runs about $2.69 per pound, chicken for somewhere over $3, and even hamburger meat runs $5.40 per pound.

You can sometimes get better deals at the local Walmart, but you've got to catch the sales and then stock up. It's too far of a drive for every day shopping.

Originally Posted by Ernie

Groceries are pretty high-priced in my area of West Texas. Food stamps make up the vast bulk of everybody's purchases and that drives the price up substantially. Stores are going to charge whatever the market yields.

If I could buy 4 dozen fresh eggs for $5, I wouldn't bother raising my own chickens. That's insane. That's about $0.10 an egg, which I wouldn't hardly bother gathering them up to fetch. Heck, the cartons probably cost 30% of the price there.

Milk runs $3.79 a gallon and a dozen store eggs is $3.19. Pork usually runs about $2.69 per pound, chicken for somewhere over $3, and even hamburger meat runs $5.40 per pound.

You can sometimes get better deals at the local Walmart, but you've got to catch the sales and then stock up. It's too far of a drive for every day shopping.

Actually I would like to keep a few chickens but it's just not feasible when I can buy eggs at that price .
A small store near me sells farm fresh eggs , bought from local people , for $2.00 a dozen . Don't know if it's legal or not but they do .

[Ernie]

Originally Posted by WV Hillbilly

Actually I would like to keep a few chickens but it's just not feasible when I can buy eggs at that price .
A small store near me sells farm fresh eggs , bought from local people , for $2.00 a dozen . Don't know if it's legal or not but they do .

There are a couple of things we do just because I want to do them, not because it's economically beneficial. Almost ALL farm foods I could buy at the store for cheaper than I can produce, and with less labor, but then I wouldn't learn how to raise them and my children wouldn't either. And I fully expect that at some point in the future they won't be available at ANY price.

There is a lot of value in learning how to do things . I already know how to raise chickens having done so in the past . At this point it doesn't make sense to me to produce my own eggs at a loss .

[sisterpine]

When we are comparing prices we may want to ascertain that we are comparing apples from the same tree so to speak. Raw organic milk (if that is your choice) with the same product in a store. Same with eggs...folks used to tell me that they could get eggs for less than mine at a store...and I used to tell them that was because they are buying factory eggs and not farm eggs.

[JoePa]

I went to a Sam's Club yesterday and got a big order - spent close to 400 bucks on various things - mostly food and paper products that I stock up on - 18 large eggs for $3.47 - gallon of 0% fat milk for $3.73 - I always buy frozen Alaskan fish and put it into my freezer - this is pretty expensive - but I eat a lot of fish - probably one of the cheapest things you can get are bananas - 8 for $1.46 - T-bone steaks at $7.87 a lb. - so yes things add up - but one thing - you can always raise your own food if you really want to -

[Horseyrider]

I don't know where you work, but at my DH's office the eggs are more like Field of Dreams. Folks there aren't buying eggs. They're buying the memory of their grandparent's farm, where they spent soft summer days exploring pastures and creeks, dusty outbuildings and orchards. It's a chance to reach back and touch what once was-- when food was good and each bite was handled by someone who you knew and loved you.

The memories come in a brown shell, cracked in a skillet on a Saturday morning when the day still feels full of possibilities. I think we could ask whatever we want for them, because they're not just eggs.

[hiddensprings]

I believe you just have to know the market you live in. In my small, rural community, I sell my "Free-Range" eggs for $4.00 a dozen but when I go to the market in a larger community, I sell the same eggs for $5.00 a dozen and wish I had more to sell. I also sell pasture-raised chickens for $4.25 a lb. Of course folks can buy there chicken less expensive at Walmart, but they prefer to know where their chicken came from and know that they can come out to my farm to see the birds and how they are raised. In my rural community, I do not see a lot of birds, but I do in the larger community. The same is true of my goat's milk. I get $8.00 a gallon for raw goat's milk through a herd share program which is the only legal way to sell raw milk in my state. I've raised my prices over the years but always tell folks that the increase is because of the cost of feed and in the case of the meat birds, my processing cost (I can not legally process my birds so I do have to drive them 70 miles away to be processed at a USDA facility.)

[TRAILRIDER]

I sell farm eggs for 3.00 a dozen in KY. You can buy "watery" white eggs in walmart for 99 cents a dozen most days, up to 3.99 a dozen for cage free organic. I don't make any money on the eggs, but the 3 bucks here and there help cut the feed costs.
If I did the math I would say the goat's milk we drink cost us 3 - 4 dollars a gallon to produce. Its not just the cost of feed, there are many more expenses. Not even counting my time.
I could save ALOT of time, get a lot more sleep, save a bunch of money if I got rid of all my animals and just shopped the grocery store. But this is what I do.....and I love it : ) Do what is right for you and your customers.

[rickpaul]

Wow, I envy y`all, I pay $18 a gal for goat milk here.......

[JoePa]

Tell me - what is basically the difference between cow's milk and goat milk - why do people drink the goat milk - often wondered - thanks -

Originally Posted by JoePa

Tell me - what is basically the difference between cow's milk and goat milk - why do people drink the goat milk - often wondered - thanks -

Goat milk comes out already homogenized . The fat globules in it are smaller . People that can't drink cow milk can a lot of times drink goat milk with no ill effect . Many people keep a dairy breed goat or two because they don't require a lot of space , hay , grain & pasture like cows do . Their milk is also delicious if handled properly .
I think I got those first two sentences correct , it's been a few years since I had goats . I think lactose intolerance is the term for people who can't drink cow milk .

[TRAILRIDER]

18.00 a gallon? Wow! I'm going to give my goat girls extra treats and hugs tonight!

The local farm market/butcher shop here sells chicken pot pie for 15.00 a pie. I went home and told DH to be nice to my chickens, who knew they were so valuable?