DECEMBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
New entrant egg producer has
long-term goals Aviary system in place, SPCA certification coming
by JACKIE PEARASE GRINDROD – North
Okanagan farmer Jared de Dood knows to answer the door when opportunity knocks. A third-generation farmer, de Dood jumped on the BC Egg Marketing Board’s new entrant program last year and is now seven months into egg production at Okanagan Riverbend Poultry. “What they want is someone who is in the agriculture community, who has experience in it and financial backup to build a barn like this,” says de Dood. “It’s weeding out the people who think they are getting into something for profit, then leave.” Twenty-seven acres
purchased five years earlier next to his parents’ dairy farm proved ideal for de Dood’s barn, where he began raising 3,300 Lohmann chickens in May.
The 9,100-square-foot barn can house more than 7,500 birds. It includes a Big Dutchman laying aviary with three tiers, space to run and fly, and 14 pop-hole doors to the outside. The aviary’s computer-controlled systems can be adjusted from de Dood’s phone. The system calls or texts him when something is amiss, which isn’t often. “I’ve been pretty lucky
throughout the whole flock and in six months this barn has called me three times and always because of silly issues,” he says. “To me, this barn is the perfect system.” The aviary was the first of
its kind in the North Okanagan (there are now two) and one of about a dozen in BC. The computer system controls everything from air temperature and lighting to nesting availability and feeding. The system feeds the flock six times daily,
with each bird eating about 114 grams per day. Sure Crop Feeds across the road provides the 2.5 tons the flock receives each week. “I’m their closest customer.
I even have a plaque,” de Dood says, laughing. De Dood is preparing to
shift from free-range egg production to organic and SPCA-certified production with his next flock, which will arrive in the spring. “It’s a step I want to take because I believe the market is kind of going that way. I feel a strong pull towards it. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to get into organic. I feel it’s going to grow faster than most,” de Dood explains. “People are becoming way more aware about their food and how it’s raised.” Going organic was an easy decision. The land hadn’t been sprayed or planted with genetically modified seed for at least three years, avoiding the transition period many conventional farms require. It was ready to go. He applied for certification in 2017 and received organic certification this past October.
Becoming SPCA-certified is another natural step, as it follows the lead of his family’s dairy and fits well with organic production. “Honestly, it’s more
paperwork for me but I didn’t have to change a single thing in this barn because it’s organic already,” he notes. While cages provide an efficient production system, he says the industry is shifting towards more humanely raised eggs.
Specialty production trending BC Egg communications
director Amanda Brittain says 85 of BC’s 131 egg producers engage in specialty production. Organic is the most common, with 32 producers, followed by free
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Jared de Dood toured guests through his brand new free-range layer barn in Grindrod in October. The son of dairy farmers, he’s got some serious long-term plans for his new enterprise. JACKIE PEARASE PHOTO
run (30) and free range (24). Eight producers use enriched housing systems for either brown or white eggs. “Our producers continue to
work at transitioning out of conventional,” Brittain says. “The code of practice for care and handling of laying hens mandates that conventional housing will no longer be acceptable as of 2036. By that time, all producers must be using enriched, free run, free range or organic housing.” De Dood’s birds seem
happy with the environment. The current flock produces about 22,000 eggs each week
that are shipped to Golden Valley Foods Ltd. in Abbotsford. Almost all the flock – 99.6% – lay in the nest, meaning he picks up fewer than a dozen eggs off the barn floor each day. That doesn’t mean the enterprise has been without its challenges. A bout with E. coli resulted in seven birds dying in three days but was quickly addressed. Cannibalism was controlled by changing the lighting. Encouraged by his
successes and undaunted by minor setbacks, de Dood is planning two to three years
ahead, ordering his pullets and making arrangements with his grower in Chilliwack to ensure he can rotate out his flock each spring to maintain production. As part of the new entrant
program, de Dood must remain farming for 10 years to realize the full financial benefit of his quota. It’s no deterrent for the young farmer who continues to work full-time at his parents’ dairy in addition to operating his own farm. “For me, it’s something I’m going to do for the rest of my life,” he says, confidently.
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