In the busy area of Bedford, MA, tucked away off Hartwell road, the least likely place you might expect to find a working farm, sits Chip-In Farm. Just beyond the Farm Store is a bio secure building housing over 3000-layer hens that provide fresh eggs to stock the cooler shelves for Bedford residents and beyond. What does it take to get those eggs from the barn to the cooler? There are no robots on this farm, just hardworking hands, that repeat the same meticulous process 365 days a year since 1944. (Our Story)
If you stop by Chip-In Farm to shop at the farm store or meet up with Farmer Sandy to participate in one of her Farmer’s Helpers programs and you don’t see Farmer Neil, don’t think for a second, he has taken the day off. With eggs to collect, by hand, three times a day, 7:00AM, 11:00AM, and 4:00PM every day, all year long, days off are not always an option. It’s not just collecting eggs. Farmer Neil scans the flock for signs of all healthy birds. He turns on the automatic feeders and takes note of how much was eaten since the last collection. He checks that everyone has access to fresh water and a clean space to roam. When he is certain the flock is all set until the next collection, he places the baskets full of eggs onto the back of his pick-up truck and takes them to their next stop.
The basement of their home, serves as a washing, candling, and grading room. Employees arrive to unload the baskets of eggs and start washing by hand. Farmer Sandy has stationed four Farmer’s Helpers on milk crates in the grading room. As gentle hands remove the washed eggs from wire baskets and place them on the conveyor belt, Farmer Neil places a smiley face on one egg as it begins its journey. He instructs the kids to follow the egg with the smiley face. First to be candled. Bright lights illuminate the egg and trained eyes watch for cracks, blood spots, or air bubbles. Those that make the grade move on, those that don’t, it’s off to the compost. Smiley face egg makes the grade, and the Farmer’s Helpers cheer as it continues its journey.
An automatic take away bar grabs two eggs at a time. Each egg gets a weight. Jumbo, extra-large, large, medium, or pullet, the scale tells the destiny of each egg. Smiley face egg lands at the medium grade pile. The four Farmer’s Helpers burst with excitement as they see Farmer Neil’s smiley face egg looking up at them, the same excitement Farmer Neil experienced when his dad used to prop him up on the milk crate.
Eggs have been washed, candled, graded, and are now ready to box. By hand, eggs are placed into cartons according to their size. Farmer’s Helpers eagerly place pullet eggs into boxes. Once in cartons, the eggs are loaded back onto the truck and moved to the farm store where more hands unload from the truck and stock the cooler shelves.
There the eggs wait, but not for very long, for the next set of hands to take them home. The customer base is wide. People have learned they can’t live without Chip-In Farm eggs for breakfast, lunch, dinner or their favorite recipe. The next time you grab your eggs from the cooler, remember you’re part of the meticulous process that’s been happening at Chip-In Farm 365 days a year since 1944.
Kristi Atherton
Farmer’s Helpers at Chip-In Farm
