Candling Certificates Provide Opportunity to Sell Eggs at Farmers Markets

Originally published in the April 16, 2014, issue

 

By Dallas Duncan

 

More than 50 Augusta-area producers are now certified egg candlers, thanks to a class on March 27.



Katherine Crossan of Martinez, Ga., holds a commercial chicken egg to a
candling light to check for imperfections such as cracks or blood spots during
a candling class in Augusta, Ga., on March 27. Photo by Dallas Duncan

“This egg candling certificate will allow you, as a backyard producer, the ability to sell your eggs off your farm at other locations such as local farmers markets or local flea markets,” said Greg Manous, the Department’s Food Safety Division sanitarian who taught the course. “This certificate will not allow you to wholesale your eggs to the convenience store down the street or the restaurant down the street.”

 

To do that, he said, producers must go a step further and become licensed egg producers, with their farm and facilities coming under inspection by the Department.

 

During the Thursday afternoon class, participants learned about egg makeup, egg grades and how to properly clean and care for the food product. In order to obtain their certificate, they had to take a written exam, candle several dozen eggs and provide secure and verifiable documentation about their farm operation.

 

The process of candling involves holding eggs up to a special light and examine the egg for imperfections: meat spots, rot, blood spots and cracks, Manous said. Though the eggs participants practice with are commercial grade, he said producers are welcome to bring in a few of their own eggs from home to candle as well – though those will not count toward the certificate.

 

Eggs must be candled within 36 hours, and must be labeled with an expiration date of no more than 45 days from the candling date, he said. The Georgia Egg Law requires producers to refrigerate eggs at 41 degrees or lower, including if the eggs are sold out of a cooler at the farmers market.

 

Egg candling classes are held throughout the state several times per year, Manous said. Most of the attendees are small egg producers with just a handful of chickens – like Katherine Crossan of Martinez, Ga.

 

“I now have eight backyard chickens and I have more eggs than my husband and I need,” she said. “I’m currently giving them away, but I thought it might be nice to have candling class knowledge and if I ever wanted to sell them at a farmers market, I could.”

 

For Angie and Todd Neville of Hephzibah, Ga., the class provided an opportunity to expand their market if need be. Right now, their operation focuses on breeding poultry rather than egg production.

 

“About a year ago, our son Tyler decided he wanted some chickens. It started out with a few chickens and it has progressed from there,” Todd Neville said. “Anything dealing with chickens interests us right now, and we saw this class and thought we should go ahead and get our license just in case we have to get into some eggs.”

 

David Young, president of Savannah River Grange, said spreading the word about services such as the egg candling classes will garner more interest in small farms in the Augusta area.

 

“Augusta’s not considered to be a big agricultural hub, so I just wanted to prove them wrong and say, ‘Hey, we do have a good interest,’” Young said. “Backyard farmers is a movement, it’s not just a fad. People are wanting to grow their own chickens, have their own eggs, grow their own backyard gardens and this is just a good way to help people.”



Poultry Processing Concept Could 'Revolutionize' Industry

Originally published in the Sept. 4, 2013, issue

 

By Dallas Duncan

Generally, students are expected to pay attention in class. But for University of Georgia poultry science graduate Eric Ayers, daydreaming during lecture could actually pay off.

He remembered professor Scott Russell telling him that if he could develop a poultry harvesting system that would save water and save the carcass, he’d have “a billion dollar idea.”

“It actually hit me in the side of the face one day,” Ayers said. “For the remainder of the class, I just drew and drew and drew, just drawing what I had in my head. I immediately went up to him and asked if I could have 10 minutes of his time … After that, he advised me to start looking for investors.”

Ayers, now a regional account manager with Water Management Resources, is finding a way to turn his classroom drawings into a tangible piece of equipment.

“It’s based on the time-old concept of using rubber fingers to remove feathers. The machine itself is not a new concept, but the style of finger that I have developed is what sets it apart from any other unit,” Ayers said. “It allows you to reduce water while using the system, because technically you won’t need any water with the design of these fingers.”

The concept is designed to reduce wing breakage and carcass damage, which are costly to the poultry industry.

The defeathering machines on the market now use rubber fingers that rotate to knock feathers off the bird carcass. Portions of a carcass damaged by rubber fingers have to be cut off and discarded.

“It’s a yield loss thing,” Russell, a former poultry science professor of Ayers’, said. “Wings are $1.25 a pound. If you’re breaking wings, you’re losing that money.”

Though it took a little while to find backers for his concept, Ayers developed a partnership and has plans to patent and develop the project, though is not sure what his timeline will be. The rubber finger concept he’s developing can cost upwards of $6,000 to make one mold – and if that mold doesn’t work, it’s back to the drawing board and he’s out several thousand more dollars.

“You want to make sure you have a solid concept. You want to make sure you have that kind of money to go ahead and develop instead of dragging it out,” he said. “My machine will only be able to use my fingers, and my fingers will only be able to be used in my machine.”

Russell said there have not been significant developments in the picking, or plucking, portion of poultry processing since the 1960s.

“It’s worked well and people think why fix it if it’s not broken, but the reality is there is a lot of issues with current picker systems,” Russell said.

Aside from the issues of carcass damage, another concern with existing machinery is the amount of water used. Though Ayers’ concept will not be completely devoid of water, he plans for it to reduce the amount needed.

“It’s good at what it does, because it clears the chickens of all the feathers and the same concept has been used for 30 years,” Ayers said. “The huge downfalls are that it does beat up the bird [carcass]. It damages the bird in a way that decreases profit. It also uses water to wash down the feathers.”

These systems use between five and seven gallons of water per bird. That’s because unlike beef, pork and lamb, where the hide is exposed to bacteria and thus removed, the skin of the chicken is what has the potential to come into contact with fecal and bacterial material in the processing facility. It takes more water to wash the poultry carcass to keep these things at bay, Russell said.

“Water usage is very, very expensive. [Poultry plants] use a million to a million and a half gallons every day. They have to pay for the water and pay for the water to be treated,” Russell said. “In the picker systems they use a lot of water to spray over the birds and wash the feathers. If you don’t have to use all the water to pick that bird, it’s a lot of water savings.”

With that in mind, he said there is potential for Ayers’ concept to take flight in the poultry processing industry.

“It’s really amazing that Eric was sitting in class and just used that opportunity to come up with something new … something completely unthought of that revolutionizes the way we do things, and I think it might just do that,” Russell said.

Guest Column: Poultry Science Degrees 'Best Kept Secret' in Agriculture

Originally published in the Nov. 13, 2013 Market Bulletin

 

Purvis

Most of us have all driven by the water tower that says “Gainesville – Poultry Capital of the World,” but what exactly does that mean? And why is it so important that it gets written on the water tower? Georgia is the top producer of chicken in the US, and Gainesville is often referred to as the Poultry Capital of the World due to its large and robust poultry farming industry, as well as the pounds of poultry it produces yearly out of the city. In fact, if Georgia were its own country we would be third worldwide in production! I’d say it’s pretty important to our state!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Linda Purvis, a biology and poultry science professor at the University of North Georgia-Gainesville campus, previously known as Gainesville State College, of which I am an alumna with an Associates degree in poultry science, and I hold two degrees from the University of Georgia: a Bachelors of Science in Agriculture in poultry science and a Masters of Science in infectious diseases. I started teaching at UNG in 2008 and have been working to rebuild our poultry science program since 2010. 
In the last two years the college was awarded almost $5,200 for a grant focused on recruitment and student involvement.

“Why?” you may ask. “I’ve never heard of a poultry science degree.”

Well. There is your answer! We often say it’s the best-kept secret in the agriculture world. Most people are not aware of the vast number of job opportunities available to them in this industry. Yes, we know it takes farmers and people to work in the plant, but what about the scientists, researchers, lab technicians and pharmaceuticals? Those are all needed in the poultry industry as well.

This grant money will help build awareness and support for the recruitment of students in our area to take agriculture courses at our campus. There are two courses currently offered on our campus that set up students to easily transfer into UGA’s Poultry Science Department. There are Introduction to Poultry Science and Internship in Poultry Science. We have had about 45 students go through these courses in the last three years and we are hoping to continue to increase this number by awareness of our program. Through the introductory course taught every spring, students learn of the variety of jobs available to them and the different degrees that these companies are looking for. By having this program at our school, we are helping prepare the next generation of industry managers, scientists and workers for the poultry industry.
Our internship program gives students hands-on experience in the local poultry industry, and over the last several years, some students who participated have gone on to find jobs with those companies that they interned with, either through part-time or fulltime work.

Having this program and these classes available is crucial to not only the local poultry industry work force, but the future of the industry as well. And I believe the funds available from this grant are only going to enable us to do more with our local industry and deepen the connection between the industry and the university.

Linda Purvis is a biology and poultry science professor at the University of North Georgia-Gainesville campus. For more information on the poultry science program at UNG, visit www.ung.edu or email Linda at linda.purvis@ung.edu.



Agricultural Documentary "Farmland" Makes Its Atlanta Debut

By Dallas Duncan

Though its national premiere is two weeks away, Georgia agriculturalists got a sneak peek of the new agricultural documentary Farmland at a private screening on April 1.

Georgia poultry farmer Leighton Cooley
of Roberta, center, with son Lawson, 3,
and Commissioner of Agriculture
Gary W. Black at the Atlanta screening

 

“All in all, I thought it was a balanced presentation,” Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black said. “I think it accurately tells the story that our policies shouldn’t be either-or, our policies should accommodate all types of agriculture.”

 

The documentary follows six producers, including Georgia’s own Leighton Cooley, on the day-to-day operations of their farms. Cooley’s Roberta, Ga., poultry houses were the primary highlight of his portion of the film, but the other operations showcased row crops, vegetable crops, swine and cattle.

 

“The film is so genuine, I think is what’s so captivating about it,” Cooley said. “We’re certainly not actors, we’re farmers; we certainly didn’t have a script.”

 

He said filmmaker James Moll’s focus was to “capture the American farm in its most pure farm,” and Cooley believes the final product did just that.

 

Cooley, center, answers audience questions along with
representatives from the US Poultry & Egg Association and
Georgia Poultry Federation

“The film was incredible. It gave great insight,” Bryan Tolar, president of Georgia Agribusiness Council, said after the screening. “The role you play with sharing your farm with children, what you do with your family and also the way your family is involved in the faith part of what agriculture really is – if faith isn’t part of agriculture, then you’re missing the point.”

 

The Atlanta audience included about a 50-50 mix of agriculturalists to consumers, who were encouraged to ask questions of Cooley and representatives from the US Poultry & EggAssociation and Georgia Poultry Federation after the show. Promoting dialogue between producers and the public was a major goal of the documentary, said Gwen Venable, vice president of communications for US Poultry & Egg Association.

 

“The film was made by James Moll to really give a voice to the farmers and ranchers who produce food for the US, and provide conversation about how the food is raised,” Venable said. “There are so many people in the US that do not understand where their food comes from. The purpose is to really make sure that consumers understand their food supply and the passion that farmers and ranchers have in growing food.”

 

Cooley said participating the documentary allowed his family a chance to demonstrate their love and pride for their chosen profession.

 

“I think it’s going to be an incredible tool, to actually bridge a lot of gaps,” he said. “On our farm, we’re always interested in the opportunity to share what we do.”

 

Black said he hopes audiences appreciate the stars of the show.

 

“I hope that they embrace the believability of the characters, because you’re talking about something that’s totally unscripted,” he said. “You hear the passion in their voice. You can see the believability in their eyes.”

 

And though the six farmers have diverse backgrounds – conventional, small organic and large organic; multi-generational and first-generation – the film strives to portray America’s myriad styles of family farms.

 

“Sure, we have different thought processes, which is why we farm different things. Sure, we maybe do things differently or have different production methods,” Cooley said. “But at the end of the day, we’re farmers. We all have the same goal and task at hand.”

Coming to Georgia theaters:

 

Atlanta: May 1 at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

Macon: May 1 at Douglass Theatre

Macon: May 2 at Douglass Theatre

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