Egg farmers scramble to comply with new law

As 2014 comes to an end, many farmers who sell eggs in California are working to comply with new regulations that go into effect Jan. 1 and could possibly lead to an egg shortage or price increase.

Farmers who are not compliant by Jan. 1 will not be able to market their eggs in the state.

“We have to be ready by the first because we could get a random inspection at any time,” said Luie Nevarez of Eben-Haezer Happy Hens Poultry Ranch on Dye Road.

The new regulations stem from California Proposition 2, which prohibits the confinement of specific farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to run around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs. For egg farmers, that means caged chickens must be able to fully extend their wings without touching the side of an enclosure or other egg-laying hens.

The 2008 proposition was followed in 2010 by Assembly Bill 1437, which requires compliance by out-of-state farmers who sell shell eggs in California.

To comply is costing lots of money, time and labor, said Nevarez.

At Eben-Haezer, a family-run poultry ranch founded in 1957, third-generation Nevarez said they are basically doubling the size of each cage and converting more of their buildings to free range. The farm has about 45,000 chickens, he said.

The Ramona poultry ranch is already compliant with its free range eggs and pasture-raised organic eggs, as the producing chickens are not caged and can roam. However, Nevarez noted, they stick close together.

“If you take a look out there, we give them all that room to run around in the fields and they’re all huddled together in the middle, hanging out with each other,” he said. “Rarely ever find a chicken by itself.”

The new law likely will lead to less egg production as farmers have to allow more space for each chicken and that could lead to an egg shortage, say some analysts.

“This new law will reduce our bird size to about half. Every building that does have caged birds will have half the caged birds by Jan. 1,” Nevarez said.

According to Nevarez, the ranch cycles birds every two years by selling the old birds.

“This year we’re ordering half as many birds as we normally do,” he noted.

As to how reduced flocks will affect profits, Nevarez said, “Right now we’re not really sure. We’re kind of just waiting to see because it might drive egg prices up, so we might get a little more for the eggs. But we’re not really sure about anything right now. We’re just waiting to see what happens.”

Although Proposition 2 was passed by voters in 2008, Nevarez said it has taken seven years for the state to figure out how to implement the law.

“We just got the suggested rules at the beginning of the year. Everybody’s kind of scrambling,” he said.

Unfortunately, Nevarez added, a lot of voters were not educated on what Proposition 2 actually meant.

“When you’re voting on something, make sure you know what you’re voting for,” he said.

Nevarez said they are hearing complaints from a lot of farmers regarding the new regulations.

“It’s a lot of extra work for something that’s not going to do much for the birds,” he said.

Several other states have legally challenged the new regulations because out-of-state egg farmers who sell in California have to comply.

Nevarez said there were two phases to the law — the other went into effect July 2013 and requires salmonella testing of the birds.

“We give the chickens a special vaccination for it (salmonella), which we have to by law,” he said.

Nevarez pointed out the SEFS (Shell Egg Food Safety) stamps that all their cartons must have to show they followed the new standards.

Among those also involved in the farm’s operation are Nevarez’s parents, Bernice and Luis Nevarez, his grandfather and farm founder, Eb Hogervorst, and his girlfriend, Chloe Sheehan.