Coloradans are turning to local farms for their eggs. Find out why.
CBS 4 News
By Sarah Horbacewicz
This weekend Colorado grocery shoppers may have seen empty egg shelves at King Soopers with a sign attached crediting a new state law that will require all eggs sold in the state to be cage free.
The law passed almost two years ago, but the regulation starts in January coming alongside nationwide concerns about rising egg costs and the spread of bird flu. Now, it's leading some shoppers to find other ways to get their eggs, including buying straight from the source.
At Skinny P Ranch in Strasburg, business is booming. In just the last few years, farmer Przemek Lott says he's seen his small farm's sales multiply nine times over.
"We just finished expanding this chicken coop," Lott said "We've done our most orders we've ever done in the last couple weeks. I think we pushed out like close to 90 dozen."
There are a few reasons Lott says customers are flocking to farms like his, including frustration at the grocery store.
"People see the shortage, they see the system that's broken, and they want to be able to go directly to the source and find a reliable source," Lott said.
The shortage follows bird flu cases across the country, and most recently, some stores in Colorado have empty shelves as they prepare for HB20-1343 to be enforced. Starting in January, the law will require all eggs sold in the state to be raised cage-free.
"I know it's going to create a pinch in the commercial market. But, I mean, I think it's good. I think it promotes health and well-being of the animal," Lott said, "More people are going to turn to, you know, Facebook Marketplace, looking for farm pages, local farmers, searching up websites just like ours."
Meanwhile, for customers who just want to know more about their food, Lott invites his customers to the farm to see how their eggs get from coop to table.
And while Lott is excited to see more business, if he gets too many orders, he doesn't want to count his eggs before they're laid.
"Those orders might come in a little bit slower, but we're going to get it to you as soon as possible," Lott said.
Skinny P Farms currently sells a dozen eggs for $6, right now on the King Sooper's website they list cage-free eggs ranging between $3.19 and $5.49.
So, whether your eggs are straight from the farm or from the store, next year in Colorado, you can expect them all to be cage-free.
CBS Colorado reached out to King Soopers for comment but did not yet hear back.