THE DAY WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR

            Here in the northern hemisphere, December 21 is the shortest day of the year.  It might be the most important day of the year here on the farm.

             While you and I may not notice subtle increases and decreases in day length, I assure you that the chickens do.  They respond profoundly to a couple of minutes.  Daylight regulates everything in a chicken, which is why the industry puts them under artificial light.  That way, every day the laying hen produces is longer than the day that preceded it.  She never rests and never relaxes.

             Our laying hens are on natural light.  They slow down in production during the fall declining day length until December 21.  I can assure you that by next Monday, their production will perk up.  Just a few minutes is all it takes.  Few things on the farm are as dramatic as a laying hen's response to day length.

             As a result, we live for December 21.  That is the day the egg production decline stops and it starts to accelerate.  It signals the beginning of profitability.  While a lot of winter is left, of course--the lion's share of it--this day is the tipping point.

             Most years, we're short of eggs from about early October until Christmas.  This year, with restaurants all but shuttered (the U.S. has lost 110,000 restaurants), we've never run out and that's made lots of happy retail customers.  Historically, about half our eggs went to restaurants.

             The question will be what things look like in about 3 months.  Will we have to give away a few thousand dozen or will markets open back up?  Time will tell, but in this great seasonal flow we call integrity farming, we're highly cognizant of all the implications surrounding a day like December 21.

             One of the ultimate gifts during this season is the gift of longer days, perkier chickens, and more eggs.  It's the first harbinger of spring and an emotional assurance that regardless of politics, pandemics, and prejudice, the earth is still revolving around the sun and it's still tilted on its axis.  And the chickens don't care a lick about all those other things; all they care about is getting a longer day to better express their chicken-ness.  Ah, the simple pleasures.

             Have you ever preserved spring eggs to carry you through the winter, and if so, how did you do it?