A good egg: Pasture-raised egg farms connect with consumers 

The pastel-colored yolk of a conventional, cage-raised egg literally pales in comparison to the rich, golden shade of a pasture-raised yolk—all due to the chickens’ diets. When it comes to nutrition, the proof is in the protein. Research from Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences shows pasture-raised eggs have double the vitamin E and long-chain omega-3 fats, and more than twice the amount of total omega-3 fatty acids compared to a conventionally-raised chicken’s egg.  

Family farms have had backyard chicken flocks for centuries, but recreating this model on a much larger scale without a corporate farm feel was hard to imagine. Around 2007, companies like Vital Farms, cracked the shell of the pasture-raised egg industry. These companies started contracting family farms to produce large quantities of eggs on pasture-raised operations. This provided consumers with humanely-raised products they were willing to pay a premium for with the convenience of a trip to the grocery store. 

Vital Farms partners with more than 425 family farms to produce pasture-raised eggs in what the company considers the pasture belt, which includes states such as Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, and Texas. 

One such operation is Pace Valley View Farm, near West Plains, Missouri. Tanner Pace, his wife, Kelsey, his father, Randy, and his mother, Sherry, entered into a partnership with Vital Farms in 2019 to start a pasture-raised egg farm on their existing agricultural farm.  

They are now caretakers to 20,000 Hy-Line Red hens—a hybrid poultry breed developed for its egg laying capabilities. Outside of the egg farm, Tanner and Randy run Pace Farms, which consists of a cow-calf and hay forage operation. 

“At this point, we’re getting about 120,000 eggs per week,” said Tanner said. “We’re currently in our fifth flock with Vital Farms.”  

What does pasture-raised entail? 

Not everyone knows the difference between caged, free-range and pasture-raised eggs, but Tanner said it really comes down to the allotted space per hen and time spent outside. He said conventionally raised, caged birds are allotted 1.2 square feet per hen; free-range hens must have 2 square feet per bird and pasture-raised chickens have a minimum of 108 square feet. 

“Free-range birds have very limited access to the outdoors and caged birds almost never see sunlight,” Tanner said. “Before we had the chickens, I didn’t really know the difference between caged versus pasture-raised, but you can really tell the difference. You can definitely see that these birds are a lot happier roaming the pastures. You can just feel their vibe, and there is definitely a difference in the taste of the eggs.” 

Tanner said his hens are turned out at sunrise every morning and darkness determines when they return to the chicken house to roost at night. 

 “We want them to be outside as much as possible, because it’s just a healthier bird,” he said. “In the evening, we basically let nature do its thing and the birds migrate back towards their home.” 

The Paces’ poultry operation includes a 50- by 530-foot-long egg house, which is enough space for all of the birds. One farm worker helps out Monday through Friday, and the Paces take care of the hens over the weekends.  

During the day, the birds have outside access in a 55-acre field that is enclosed on the side and top with a 4-foot tall woven-wire fence. A flock of 20,000 chickens is the stuff of dreams for a raccoon or fox, but Tanner said the fence deters most predators and when an animal makes a hole in the fence, it is quickly repaired. 

“We also have barbed wire over the top, for anything that tries to climb over,” Pace said. “Some of our most problematic predators are actually chicken hawks and black vultures that do aerial attacks.” 

Pace said the fenced area is divided into eight paddocks, and two of them are in use at a time. This allows him to rotate the hens to two new paddocks every 21 days, preventing them from overgrazing an area, giving the grass time to recover.  

“By the time that 84 days has rolled around, there’s a lot of growth of grass and weeds they can forage on,” Tanner explained. 

Apart from the available grass, insects and other treats the hens find while foraging during the day, they are also provided with a corn and soybean meal ration to ensure they have sufficient protein in their diets. 

Hen health 

Tanner said they receive pullets at around 15 to 17 weeks of age—when they are about to start laying eggs. The hens live out their lives until they are 80 weeks, or about 2 years old. At that stage their productivity lowers, and they move onto the next phase of the poultry industry.  

Vital Farms provides grower support for producers like the Paces. If a poultry farmer has a question or concern about his flock, the grower support team is there to step in and resolve problems with animal health, welfare, nutrition, or anything else that arises. 

“They’ve been awesome teachers,” Tanner said. “I didn’t know very much about chickens, but they have taught us a lot.”  

The last few years, the poultry industry has faced many challenges with highly pathogenic avian influenza spreading throughout the United States. Tanner said all poultry operations have increased biosecurity in response to the virus that is extremely contagious and often spread by migratory birds. 

“In dealing with livestock, the well-being of that animal is dependent upon us, but sometimes it’s out of our hands.” he said. “Diseases that are out of our control are the biggest challenge. We keep a pretty bio-secure barn, and it is just workers that go in. It’s just not worth bringing other people in.” 

Tanner noted a case of avian flu that was detected about 80 air miles from his farm. Missouri went into a red status, he said, meaning it is recommended that poultry caretakers confine birds inside egg houses and do not give them outside access.  

“Fortunately, none of Vital Farms 425 farms have had a positive case of high path AI this season,” Tanner explained. “I think the last case was in 2022, and only five farms were impacted.”  

Consumer connections 

Eggs that come from Vital Farms are Certified-Humane, which is a third-party animal welfare organization that verifies pasture-raised egg practices. Tanner said the farm is audited by the organization once a year to ensure the care of the hens meets the standards of the pasture-raised label. 

Whole Foods, a grocery store, also audits Pace Valley View Farms to ensure sustainability and ethical principles—such as all-day access to pasture and shade cover to accommodate at least 50% of the flock—are met. 

 “It gives you a sense of pride, because you know you’re doing the right thing,” Tanner said. “It requires a little bit more work, but what you gain from it far outweighs the work. I hope my children and maybe my grandchildren will be able to continue doing the same practices.”  

Pasture-raised egg companies like Vital Farms are not just providing more natural products, they are building trust and offering transparency to consumers that purchase their eggs. Through the use of marketing tools, consumers can learn more about the origins of their food and how it is produced. 

“When you purchase a carton of eggs, there is a code on it,” Tanner explained. “The consumer can go to the Vital Farms website and punch that in and see a video of the birds that laid the eggs they’re going to be consuming. It’s an awesome tool.” 

Producers like the Paces see green pastures in the future for the pasture-raised egg industry. They took a leap of faith in committing to becoming contract poultry growers, but so far it has been a unique and profitable learning experience for the family. 

“In my opinion, pasture-raised eggs are just getting started,” Tanner said. “There’s a lot of steam behind it, with ethics, sustainability, humane treatment and then the overall happiness of the birds. Nobody wants to see a bird in a cage. When those doors open in the mornings, those birds just run out of that building, just happy as can be. I think it’s going to be here to stay.” 

To learn more about Vital Farms, visit www.vitalfarms.com. To view the hens at Pace Valley View Farms, visit www.vitalfarms.com/farm/pvvf/. 

Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].