THREE YEARS AGO, Wilcox Farms, a family-run busi- ness that had raised cows, chickens and crops in rural Washington since 1909, was in big trouble. Competition, market fluc- tuations and a spate of other modern problems had pushed the farm to the brink of closure. “It was bad—real bad,” recalls Barrie Wilcox, 71, whose grandfather started the farm at the turn of the century. “On one Tuesday, we were told the bank would close us down the next Sunday.” Today, Wilcox Farms is healthier than ever. The company, now run by fourth- generation family members, is one of the leading egg producers in the Pacific Northwest (and a supplier for Costco warehouses in the region). Oddly, it’s operated more like the Wilcox Farms
The Wilcox family sees a promising
future in organic eggs. Pictured here
are, from left to right, Jim, Brent
(standing), Barrie and Susan Wilcox.
CHICKEN: MEDIA BAKERY
of early years: Feed comes from the farm itself
or from a few local suppliers, chickens can
run free, products are sold locally, and as
much as possible is recycled—including tons
of chicken manure for fertilizer.
The Wilcox Farms story is one of sustainability. Costco worked closely with the
company to develop an organic egg program to supply Pacific Northwest warehouses, and is applying the same business
model to nine other egg producers in
regions throughout the country (see “It’s all
in the family” on page 25). The goal,
explains Teresa Noonan, a Costco buyer
who oversees the program, is to ensure a
local, sustainable supply of high-quality
organic eggs to meet a growing demand
among Costco members.
But the story has much broader implications. If these sustainable production
methods work for these farmers and their
eggs, what about for other farm-raised
foods? And can similar sustainable programs be established for limited commodities such as nuts, vanilla, coffee and fish,
which come from developing corners of the
world? Costco and other companies are
looking for the answers to these questions as
they face the challenges of shrinking global
resources and growing demand.
A new business model
Costco started working with the 10
chicken farms about three years ago as it
AUGUST 2011 ;e Costco Connection 23
sought reliable supplies to meet a
growing demand for organic eggs,
which are sold under the Kirkland
Signature™ label. Most of the farms
had long histories of producing
conventional eggs. Organic eggs
represented a new business opportunity—but also brought new
challenges.
ROSS MULHAUSEN
Reliable sources of organic
feed were needed for the chickens. Accommodations had to be
made to allow the birds to roam
and forage outside their roosts—
one of the stipulations for organic
certification. Also, the producers
had to meet a long list of other
regulations for their farms to be
certified as organic.
Some of the farms had
chicken houses and pasture available for the new operations. At
Another issue concerned packaging. At
Costco, conventional eggs have typically been
shipped in steel racks that hold 240 cartons,
each with 18 eggs. But a better system was
needed to reduce truck trips from the farms
to Costco’s warehouses and make stocking the
eggs easier and safer in the warehouses. The
solution was new, stronger packaging made
from recycled water bottles. Now, 300 cartons, each with 24 eggs, fit on a pallet. The
farmers had to adapt their processing machinery to handle the new packaging.
For the farmers, this has all taken time,
money and new thinking. But they believe
there’s a future in organic eggs—and it’s the
right thing to do.
“From a farmer’s standpoint, our busi-
ness is to look after the consumer and look
after our animals,” says David Lathem,
whose father started L&R Farms in 1957.
“Organic and cage free are an important
part of our industry that’s growing. I feel like
it’s a worthwhile investment because it will
be a growing part of our business in the
future and we need to be involved.”
“People want to know where their food
