Howard Greninger
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
On the heels of an outbreak of salmonella in eggs from Iowa farms, several Wabash Valley farmers are seeing an increased demand for locally produced eggs, both at farmers markets and from food retailers.
“People are concerned about it. People when they want to buy a dozen eggs ask, ‘have you got salmonella-free eggs,’ because that is what they want. They are really thinking about that,” said Don W. Conner, who with his wife, Jane, operate Lookout Farms, about 8 miles northeast of Terre Haute in Otter Creek Township.
The couple regularly sells eggs at the Terre Haute Downtown Farmers Market from 8 a.m. to noon each Saturday through October at the intersection of Ninth and Cherry street in Terre Haute.
Terre Haute resident Carole Bostrom began buying locally produced eggs about five years ago, sparked, she said, by an increased interest in health. She buys from Lookout Farms.
“The eggs are only as good as what you feed the chickens. When chickens are able to run and eat the bugs and grass, you can tell such a difference in the eggs as far as color and taste and quality,” Bostrom said. “If you are going to eat eggs, you want to eat healthy ones.”
Bostrom said she wants to know who owns the chickens and how eggs she buys are produced.
“I don’t trust anyone but who I know and the local people,” she said. “We have a large family, with five children, and some of my kids have had health issues and we have seen results in health improving” since buying from local farmers.
“Plus, with the way our economy is going, I think we need to support our local farmers and make sure we have a local supply available to us, as well,” Bostrom said.
Brian and Andrea Lau of L&A Family Farms in Paris, Ill., have long been corn and livestock farmers, with Brian a full-time farmer for the past 16 years. The farm diversified into producing vegetables and brown eggs about eight years ago, forming a partnership with Kevin and Joyce Augustus. Kevin Augustus is Brian Lau’s cousin.
“We are big on the local food movement. We generate a lot of our products for that with eggs, chicken, beef and turkey. We are a seeking a movement where our products are moving well, and it has been increasing every year since we started that,” Lau said.
L&A Family Farms started by selling products through the Community Supported Agriculture Subscription (CSA), a system that pre-sells a regular purchase of farm products. The farm also sells to food retails in Terre Haute, available at Baesler’s Market year-round and to the downtown Market Bella Rosa from November to June.
“We have around 250 egg-laying hens, and while production is down right now in the heat of the summer, we generate 15 to 20 dozen eggs a day,” Lau said.
Lau said the national spotlight focused on salmonella allows local farmers “to put a face on your food. The customer ought to know how the product is raised … they can specifically ask you because you are the grower/producer. You got that personal contact with the customer. We are feeling there is definitely a demand for local product,” Lau said.
Since the national egg recall due to salmonella, Lau said he has been watching for an official cause of the outbreak from at least two large Iowa egg farms.
“It will be interesting to see what really caused their problem, whether dumb luck, or if the [Iowa farms] were not doing things to safeguard their procedures. Our chickens are outside and are exposed to different things, but we are hoping that with the hens being outside in Mother Nature, that they are more healthy than chickens raised in a cage,” he said.
“We have not done anything different since the [salmonella] scare, because we have been trying to do everything by the book anyway with the licensing and all the requirements,” Lau said. “We are trying to raise a good food product.”
Small-production egg sellers are regulated the same as supermarkets in both Indiana and Illinois.
L&A Family Farms has an Illinois state egg license and is inspected annually by state officials.
“The inspector checks handling, makes sure temperatures are right in the coolers, and the procedures on handling and grading,” Lau said. “We keep our eggs at a minimum temperature of 32 degrees and maximum of 45 degrees, and try to keep our transportation temperature at 45 degrees, so we try to keep the eggs cold, which will stop any of that bacterial development.
“Our eggs are gathered daily. The day we gather them, we wash them, handle, grade and package them, so they go right into the pipeline pretty quick,” Lau said. “Right now, we have more demand than supply.”
Lau said he farms about 700 acres, which includes about 15 acres for vegetables. The farm is located in the southeast corner of Edgar County, about 10 miles from Terre Haute. For more information on the farm, go online to www.lafamilyfarms.com.
Lookout Farms in Vigo County is licensed and inspected annually by the Indiana State Egg Board.
Conner said as a licensed egg producer, they gather eggs two to three times a day, then “cool them down right away to about 40 degrees. Wash any dirty ones and not sell any cracked or dented eggs,” he said. “All of our eggs we sell are less than a week old.”
Lookout Farms has 80 chickens, generating 20 to 30 dozen eggs a week, Conner said.
The 40-acre family farm is located about 8 miles northeast of downtown Terre Haute in Otter Creek Township. The Connors have been selling eggs for 10 years from their family farm. Jane Conner is a retired associate music professor at Indiana State University, while Don Conner is an optometrist.
The name Lookout Farms has been the same since the 1860s, Conner said. Now, in addition to eggs, the farm is known for alpacas. The farm has 23 alpacas, and sells scarves and gloves made from the fleece. The farm’s website is www.lookoutfarmsalpacas.com.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
