Back when inflation and food prices were peaking, hobby farming became a more sustainable way to lower the cost of food. Local hobby farmer, Ramona Stevens, has been raising her own chickens and selling eggs for the last seven years. Stevens sat down with The Cascade and shared some of her insights and experiences working on a hobby farm.
Stevens and her family comprise one of three families who jointly operate Fred’s Family Farm. The farm is owned by her father-in-law and named in his honour. Stevens grows vegetables and raises chickens, selling produce and eggs to the community. “I’m not really making enough to live on,” said Stevens. “My husband works full time at his own job, so that’s how we’re able to make ends meet.” As the name suggests, this type of farming is not meant to be a primary source of income like a commercial farm, but it can bring in extra money.
Stevens said that she was first inspired by her sister-in-law, who also raises chickens, before deciding to go into hobby farming herself. Stevens began with a dozen chickens, and her coop has grown since then. She attributes the success of her egg business to the support of her friends and word of mouth. “My friends [said] these eggs taste better than in the store, and I was sold out every week.” Stevens now owns 43 chickens and sells around fifteen dozen eggs a week.
Stevens’ main customers are family and friends, but she also has a stand at the end of the driveway where she sells surplus eggs. Stevens said that she operates on an honor system where customers can pay for the eggs and the money is kept in a lock box.
“I have two separate coops,” said Stevens, “because they’re different ages and chickens have a pecking order. If you just introduce new ones, they tend to fight.” As chickens age, their ability to lay eggs decreases. Every two to three years she needs to buy younger chickens because egg production will go down by 70 per cent. She usually auctions off the older chickens and buys new ones to replace them.
During the pandemic, Stevens struggled to decide if she should sell eggs or not, as feed prices increased by 20 per cent. However, she said that having the egg stand at the end of the driveway worked well because the honor system that she set up functioned on limited human contact.
Working on the hobby farm and growing her own food has helped Stevens save around forty dollars a week — the equivalent of two meals. By growing her own produce, she is confident that her food is organic, stating that she only uses “organic and non GMO seeds and seedlings.”
Stevens said that researching, volunteering, and asking farmers who raise livestock and grow produce is one of the best ways to determine if hobby farming is something they wish to pursue.
In the future, Stevens’ goal is to be more self-sustaining and to grow more of their own food so that they are “less reliant on grocery stores.”
Rachel is working towards a BA with a concentration in English and Theatre. She has been employed at The Cascade since Fall 2021 as a Staff Writer and a Jr. News Editor. Currently, she is the sectional News Editor and enjoys meeting and interviewing people as well as taking long walks in nature. Rachel also likes to stay up to date on the latest trends and informs students through her fashion column entitled Campus Fashion.
