Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-05-20
Marketing Eggs in Georgia

Is it not remarkable tina. some of
our people should be complaining
= ABOUT the overproduction Of eggs in
a state that is still importing them
every day by the carload? Surely,
there is something wrong with the
way in which we are handling the
egg crop. The trouble lies in the
fact that we have not learned how
IS market them acceptably. In spite
/. or the great progress which has TAX
en- place in this industry during the
past two years, we are far from be-
ing on a quantity basis of produc-
ton. In other words, there are only
few isolated sections where there
is any surplus of eggs available at
this time. In these localities, eggs
are being derived from a great va
triety of chickens. They are not
uaIIorm in size or color or quality.
They are not being gathered every
day, properly assorted and graded,
and, therefore, they do not reach
the market in the best condition. On
this account, they are sold at low
er price than might otherwise be OBJ
tanned. Most Of the people who are
complaining about a market for eggs
,only have a few dozen to SELL Not
much can be done to help these folks
until they get on a different basis
of production. However, the work
done along this line is bearing some
fruit, and there is a silver lining
beginning to show through the
cloud which temporarily obscures
the horizon. How can we dispel this
: et6ud and place egg production on
4 more satisfactory and profitable
basis in Georgia? BY giving more
70 oil
ing suggestions offered by Professor
w. C. Mccoy, the poultry specialist
of the Georgia State College of Agri-
culture.
Eggs, eggs, and then some more
eggs, and it seems that the whole
state of Georgia Is covered with
'eggs. But not so, good, fresh, Sc
lected eggs are still not quite as plen-
tiful as some people think. Of
course, it is true that the markets
have a large number of eggs on
hand, but when one stops to examine
these eggs, all classes of eggs, dirty,
small, ill-shaped, ETC., are found.
Most of these eggs are farm eggs,
coming from flocks that have no at
tention. no feeding, no houses, and,
in spite of all this, the hens have
y laid, and the nests have been found
containing eggs from one to fifteen
days old. Yes, these are fresh eggs,
freshly found, but not freshly laid.
This type of eggs is the one that
hurts the market and causes many
people to say there is nothing in the
poultry business
When talking about eggs, there
are two things to remember, if you
expect to make money out of them.
The egg game is big one, and it is
a business that has rules and princi-
pies that must be followed. To dis
regard these rules is as detrimental
to success as lending money with
out charging interest.
Oftentimes, people have approach
ed the writer and said, Where can
/ find a market fer my eggs"' l
asked if he had a few thousand doz-
en- to sell, and he replied: mo, l
have only about ten Dozen" AT once
i thought the problem very simple,
for disposing of ten dozen eggs was
only few seconds work, but when
he said, II cannot sell at market
price, I must have 60 cents per dozen
for them, or else / cannot make
money out of chickens" Surely,
eggs are not worth SO cents per doz-
en- through the year when comparedI
ITO other food products, and anyone
having to receive so cents per doz-
en- through the year in order to
break even or make a small profit
is surely in the wrong game. No,
l should say he is right, but he has
failed in the essentials of poultry
keeping, namely, good feeds at a
cheap price, constructive breeding,
and selection for high egg produc-
ton.
When you find that eggs are too
cheap, reflect back and see what
your cost of production was. It
may be that you could not have
made money il you had received
one dollar per dozen for them be-
cause of the high cost of production.
Remember. that the more you cut
the cost of producing eggs by feed
ing good, cheap feeds by construc-
tive breeding and by proper methods
of culling, the more you will make
on eggs whether they be high or low.
The person who is ever complaining
about the selling price usually does
not worry or complain about the
cost of feeds, nor does he worry
about the average number of eggs
each hen produces, He feels that
he is in the business, and it is up
to the world to give him the price
OF his eggs and then little more
for profit. Remember, that every
= time you sell an egg, you are in
direct competition with every poul-
try producer in Georgia and every
other state in the union. Someone
caa produce them cheaply, and it Is
sa,uh to you to find out how it is done
and do it.
IL everyone could just take pure.
bred chickens and make a handsome
profit of from 81 to SO per bird per
tyear without giving any serious
thought to the cost of production.
then eggs would be so numerous that
they could be bought for several
cents per dozen. Individual efforts,
knowledge of the principles OF poul-
try raising, high egg production. con-
structiVe feelings, are some OF the
things that must be considered be-
fore success will come.
NE1EEn En0RH