11/03/2015
We regret to announce that we will no longer be selling Golden Yolk Eggs, please read on for a full explanation.
About 5 years ago, Miriam and I moved onto the family dairy farm, to help out the folks and try to get a start into farming on our own. At the time, we were expecting one of the other siblings to take over the dairy farm, so we needed to try to get something started for ourselves, so when the time came, we could leave the farm and hopefully have a farm venture to continue elsewhere. Well, life usually doesn't go as planned and life took different directions for all of us. Miriam and I ended up having the opportunity to take on the dairy farm. It is a huge honor to be able to carry on the tradition of dairy farming here. Miriam will be the fifth generation of the Leisso family to farm on this land.
Over the last few years, with all of your support and encouragement we have taken our little hen operation into a full fledged farm enterprise. We have shown that it is possible to raise hens in a way we can be proud of and produce top quality eggs. All of your support has truly meant the world to us.
It is with a very heavy heart that we are announcing that we will not be continuing the pasture raised hen operation. We know this will be a big disappointment for many of you, particularly to Miriam and I. This has been the most difficult decision we have faced and we have been deliberating on it for quite some time. The work required to continue would have been to the detriment to our family. With us moving into a leading role in the diary farm and raising two young girls, the extra work required was just to much, it has pushed us to our limits. We need to put the future development of the dairy farm, home, and the needs of our growing family first. The work itself was not too much, but when combined with the rigors of a multifaceted dairy, it was just to much.
This is not to say that someone with different circumstances and less difficult terrain could not make it work. This is a profitable venture and we did make a viable business out of it. The dairy farm did help the operation get started, but after a while, the chickens paid for all of their expenses, paid us wages for our time, and a small profit to use to continue to improve the operation. But our decision was not an economic one, it was based on what kind of lifestyle to we want to lead. We are proud of what we have been able to accomplish, but deeply lament our inability to continue.
We are committed to helping the local food movement, and are pleased to say we have found a couple to carry on our mission. They are a young couple from Minnesota, a former loyal egg customer of ours, now farming on their family farm. They bought all of our young pullets and nest boxes and will be ramping up their mobile coop egg operation. We will be offering as much support and advice to help them pick up where we left off. I will post their farm name and places you can buy their eggs from in the future as they come up to speed.
In my opinion, there is no better life than a farm life, and we are excited for the possibilities that this organic dairy offers. We moved into the old farm house here, and look forward to a complete remodeling and modernizing of the house (a little insulation would be nice :) Our two beautiful girls are growing fast and we want to enjoy them as much as we can, while we can.
Our egg operation is over as of today, allowing us to call it quits before the difficult winter season sets in. Again, all your support has meant so much to us on this journey, and I hope you all can understand our situation. There are others, now, who can use your support.
