Do you have questions about Ohio Natural Eggs? We have answers! Below are our most frequently asked questions. If you still would like to learn more about our farm, please reach out to us.
Who owns the farm?
Daniel and Sandra Lausecker – a brother and sister partnership. We are third-generation egg farmers, who were raised here in West Mansfield, Ohio. We intend to be both innovative and responsible in how we develop and operate the farm.
What is unique about this farm space?
We chose this land because it is zoned for agriculture and it has a large amount of forest space – which we intend to maintain for our flocks to use for foraging, dust bathing, protection from weather, and so they can practice other natural hen behaviors.
FAQ
What does free-range organic mean?
Free-range organic means our hens will be fed organic feed and must have access to the outdoors. We also will comply with our animal welfare certification (American Humane Certified); our birds will be given a minimum of 21.8 square feet per bird of outdoor space.
Cage-free housing features important enrichments for our hens like perches, nest boxes, scratch pads and constant access to nutritious, organic feed and fresh water and allows the birds to freely move about the entire house.
What is cage-free housing?
Questions?
When will the farm begin operations?
We are early in the process, and no firm timeline is in place. We are committed to providing the community with regular updates as the project progresses.
How many hens will be on the farm?
There will be about 80,000 hens in total.
How many hen houses will there be?
We anticipate no more than 3 hen houses.
How much traffic will the farm create?
We project perhaps one feed truck visiting the farm each week and three trucks per week collecting eggs from the farm.
How will you prevent flies and odors?
Our farm is committed to being a good neighbor. We will adhere to a strict pest management program - which is also in compliance with the National Organic Program, under USDA, and American Humane Certified requirements for certification. Also because the manure is kept very dry, through the use of air blowers and a manure belt system within the barns, flies and odors are greatly reduced.
What standards does the farm follow?
We firmly intend to follow several standards-based certification programs, as well as meeting or exceeding compliance expectations of all local, state and federal regulatory programs for egg safety and environmental responsibility.
Why do you have to wait for free-range?
Free-range organic egg production requires that we meet many detailed standards. To be certified as free-range organic, the land on which the farm sits must “convert” to be free from toxins and pesticides – this is a three-year process and one year has passed, with two years remaining.
Why can’t the hens forage the ground now?
Right now, the farm’s ground is not considered to be free from toxins and pesticides, because it has not been farmed under organic standards in the past. Therefore, the hens cannot forage the land as it is today and be considered to be raised under organic standards.
The three-year time period (two years remaining) allows for the land to convert from conventional to organic. This is required for the hens who forage and feed on it to be certified as producing eggs under organic standards.
Why aren’t you building all three houses now?
Our farm will initially operate with two hen houses that will raise hens to organic standards, with cage-free housing, organic feed and outdoor access via the covered winter garden.
The third house will operate exclusively as a free-range organic house, which means it cannot be populated until the land at the farm where they would feed and forage completes the conversion process (two years remaining). This will assure our hens have full access to the outdoor yards.