Direct sales and farm visits are booming

Our new foal is proving to be a hit with farm visitors. And he just loves people! He's less than a couple of weeks old and already thinks he owns the place.

We are now getting a steady stream of people who want to have a look at how we run the farm as well as buying eggs and hens for their backyards.

The old house on the property is being reorganised to cope with the number of visitors and we are looking at various options to offer people. We may even register our kitchen so we can prepare light lunches and snacks but for the moment we encourage people to bring a picnic.

Growing numbers of customers

This week was a record for us with sales of over 600 dozen eggs! The big boost was demand from our restaurants and other outlets on Phillip Island as a result of the Motor Cycle Grand Prix plus major demand at the Cardinia Ranges Farmers' Market on Saturday which included the fifth annual Asparagus Festival.
The market, always on the second Saturday each month, was packed and we sold just over 150 dozen in cartons and on trays, as well as packs of the dog treats which I baked on Friday.
Our production is going so well right now that we were also able to help out another free range farm with 90 dozen eggs to help satisfy their market requirements. (As members of the Free Range Farmers Association we are only allowed to buy eggs from other accredited members to ensure that audit trails are maintained). That's one of the main problems with non-accredited farms - if they need more eggs they buy them from anywhere and stick their own labels on!
We are getting ready for a new flock of birds which arrive at the end of this month so we are getting the mobile sheds ready and selling some of our current chooks to customers who want laying hens in their backyards.