Community Agriculture Alliance: Cage-free egg law levels the playing field for local small producers
Community Agriculture Alliance
The new cage-free legislation may not be the lead culprit in rising egg prices (state officials instead blame the outbreak of high-path avian influenza in Colorado) – but the new law helps level the playing field for local egg producers across the Yampa Valley.
As of January 1, 2025, Colorado now requires all egg-laying hens to have a minimum of 1 to 1-½ square feet of usable floor space – depending on vertical access. The sale of eggs from hens raised in cages is also banned, regardless of where the eggs are produced.
Egg producers statewide were already impacted by rising feed costs, higher pullet pricing, and rising labor costs. With the added costs associated with avian influenza and the new cage-free law (including infrastructure investments and reduced production efficiencies), commercial egg producers have been forced to raise egg prices (as reported in The Steamboat Pilot last week).
For local producers like Colby and Michelle Townsend of Hayden Fresh Farm, these new cage-free laws really don’t change their practices. Most small producers have been raising chickens and eggs in humane, cage-free environments, ensuring pasture availability, even before the new law went into effect. Local producers Hayden Fresh Farm, Lazy B Ranch, Stanko Ranch, and the Farm at Home Ranch sell chicken and duck eggs at the local food market, Yampa Valley Foods, operated by the Community Agriculture Alliance. Some also sell eggs wholesale to local restaurants and retailers, and direct to consumers.
“For years we have been competing on price against large caged operations that were able to much more efficiently and cost effectively produce eggs without regard to animal welfare,” explained Colby. “Now that Colorado has adopted more humane animal husbandry practices, all producers must ensure more space per bird and a cage-free environment. These rules will make it harder for commercial egg operations to be aggressive on pricing and allow smaller producers to be competitive.”
While the cage-free rules apply equally across the board, compared to commercially raised eggs, farm fresh eggs offer unique advantages and value. Per Colorado law, an egg’s sell-by data can be no more than 30 days after its pack date, and farmers have up to 30 days from when an egg is laid to pack it. That means a supermarket egg could be up to 60 days old by the time you eat it. Conversely, at Hayden Fresh Farm, eggs are collected daily and typically washed, packed and delivered within two to three days.
“When you compare egg quality between commercial producers and local farmers, it comes down to freshness,” adds Colby. “Once an egg is laid, nutritional value immediately begins to degrade. The longer an egg is out, the less nutritional value it preserves.”
While consumers still face sticker shock when it comes to egg prices, the price of locally produced eggs is now more closely aligned to pricing for supermarket eggs while offering the added value of freshness and higher nutrition.

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism
Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.