A Dutch farmer has an innovative approach for the direct, farmer-to-consumer sale of fresh eggs.
During a bicycle tour near his home in The Netherlands, WATT sales director Frans Willem van Beemen came across, and took photos of, an on-farm vending machine with free-range eggs.
For 10 fresh eggs (large size), consumers pay only 1. The farm has 14,000 Lohmann Brown free-range layers. Most of the eggs are sold to supermarkets in Germany, but a small portion is sold through the vending machine to locals and passersby.
"This is already a big success for the farmer. The machine, which contains 60 boxes with 10 eggs each, is open Monday to Saturday," said van Beemen.
The area includes a variety of agricultural industry, including apple and cherry orchards, but also pig and poultry farms.
"During my race cycle tour through the area, I saw a fresh egg vending machine in front of a layer farm. In my opinion this is unique, so I took pictures," he said.
The farm, which is owned by Gert-Jan and Anita Lagerweij, uses production systems by Jansen Poultry Equipment and egg packing equipment by Moba.