The Sweet Smell of Egg Ranch Success
By Regina Elling
The ranch is on Highway 78 between Ramona and Julian, and is probably better known by the small building that sits along the road. Open daily, fresh eggs can be purchased by the dozen or in flats of 20 or 30 at the little shop. From nearby ranch owners to visitors from all over the county, many people simply love the idea of stopping in to buy their eggs fresh from the chickens.
While no one is complaining about the eggs, it’s the other product the birds produce—namely, the chicken manure and its accompanying smell—that sometimes garners complaints.
The ranch has just invested “a large amount of money in a small piece of equipment” that should have pleasing results for its Ramona neighbors, said Demler.
He is a third generation poultry farmer. His father, Kevin Demler, owns Pine Hill Egg Ranch, and learned much of the trade through his own father. Pine Hill has been producing and selling eggs since 1974 and is the fifth largest egg ranch in California.
“We have about 1.3 million chickens, producing an average of 15,000 cases of eggs per week,” Demler says. “On a really good day, we produce one million eggs.”
Naturally, the chickens have large appetites, and a correspondingly large amount of manure.
The chicken manure, or poop, doesn’t hang around the farm long.
“We try to keep the manure here as little amount of time as possible,” said Demler. “We hardly have any stored here at all. Most of it leaves immediately.”
That translates into roughly 20 truckloads of chicken waste a week, or 400 tons leaving the ranch as quickly as it can be loaded. All of the product becomes fertilizer for cropland.
“Our new process involves a small 4-foot by 4-foot piece of equipment that turns the manure and helps with the decomposition process. By turning it more, it dries quicker and is easier to haul. We can now haul the fertilizer away in a few weeks rather than a few months,” he said.
Egg and poultry ranches, by the way, are exempt from county regulations, and are not obligated to try to eliminate odors.
“Even though we are legally exempt from odor complaints, we always strive to be good neighbors through bettering our farm practices,” said Demler. “We want to be a good part of Ramona, and be here for years to come.”
With the sizeable investment Demler has made into the new equipment, it all translates into good news for nearby residents and guests. Now, a drive in the backcountry can bring both fresh air and fresh eggs.