No egg price cut in deepest Wales

While most producers are left reeling from the latest round of packer price cuts, for one BFREPA member no such worries exist.

With a dearth of packers in the western reaches of Wales, it is not the obvious location to establish a free range egg enterprise. But that is exactly what association treasurer Mary Pipkin, along with husband Graham, did seven years ago. It was a move that eventually led to her forging a fruitful relationship with independent packer Lampeter Eggs.

Fancying a complete lifestyle change Mary gave up her career as a clinical research scientist and her and Graham sold their executive home in Buckinghamshire, sinking their life savings into a rundown 37 acre farm on the side of a hill in Llanwrda, Carmarthenshire.

Mary said she wasn’t just drawn to Wales because of lower land prices but it was certainly a consideration.

“We couldn’t afford to buy land in Buckinghamshire so we looked at various parts of the UK,” said Mary. “But my father came from Wales and I’ve got fond memories of holidaying in the country as a young girl and it seemed a natural move.”

But Mary says her new neighbours did think her choice of agricultural enterprise a little strange.

“There just aren’t any free range farms around here and I think the locals thought we were mad,” recalls Mary, who started off with a secondhand Harlow building housing 3,500 birds. She also broke the golden rule of not having an outlet for her eggs before she started building the shed.

“I know it was a bit of a risk but I felt we had at least to look like we were serious before anyone would be interested in taking our eggs. Besides, with the building and equipment—except for the nests—being secondhand, our capital investment at the time wasn’t huge. If all else had failed we could have had a go at retailing the eggs ourselves.”

Mary did find someone to take her eggs but it was not to last and when her first packer got into financial difficulties she was left being owed a sizable four figure sum of money.

This, said Mary, was a considerable setback for their small business and it was a worrying time with the prospect of no outlet for the eggs from their flock, which had just been expanded to 7,500 in number.

But, situated only 10 miles away, Lampeter Eggs stepped in and agreed to take the eggs.

“They had 56,000 cage hens of their own and had being buying in what free range eggs they needed to supply their retail customers,” said Mary. “They took us on as their first dedicated free range supplier.”

That was back in 2001 and Mary has been supplying the company since. Her contract is based on a fixed price per dozen for all eggs sent to the packer, regardless of size. The price is, however, split into three bands depending on the age of the flock. The lowest price is received up until the birds are 39 weeks when it then steps up to the next payment level. Maximum price is received for eggs after 56 weeks.

Mary was not prepared to divulge her price to the Ranger in fear of it leading to a rush to the hills by disenchanted producers from across the border.

“The only time I know about a price drop is when I read about it in the Ranger,” says Mary. “Mind you, it can work both ways for we haven’t had a price increase either so if the food cost spirals, as it did eighteen months ago, that can make things a little tight.”

But Mary is more than happy with the present arrangement.

“We know exactly where we are and can plan our business without the uncertainty over egg price that seems to trouble most other packer suppliers.”

And Mary, who has been running the unit on her own during weekdays, will soon be getting a little more help when later this month Graham retires from his job as a medical writer that has kept him in London from Monday to Friday.

“The best thing about it will be no longer having to save up all the two-handed jobs for the weekend!” she says.