The myriad choices of chicken and egg products can mystify consumers as they compare labels and prices.
Some production labels—like free-range, pasture-raised, organic and cage-free—fetch a premium price, according to the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.
Last year Barbara and Dewey Haines of Hidden Springs Family Farm in Fluvanna County raised their first 90 broilers and 94 egg-laying birds in an on-pasture system.
“Barbara went on the neighborhood app advertising extra eggs, and two or three people asked if they’re free-range,” Dewey recalled. “We had to explain to them what ‘free-range’ really means. Chickens ‘getting to go…..
