It was a passing line in Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ recent Wall Street Journal op-ed but one that really set off the left. How dare she encourage some self-reliance? How could she be so out-of-touch with the average American who’s struggling with the price of eggs—this is her solution?!—they scoffed. The suggestion that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would help make it easier for American families to raise backyard chickens was tucked into a paragraph detailing just one part of a five-point plan, which was discussing how the federal government would remove unnecessary regulatory burdens on egg producers where possible.
Of course, this alone is not an answer to the price of eggs, which got out of control under the Biden administration. There are more upfront and long-term costs to raising backyard chickens than one may realize, and for many people local ordinances prohibit it, while for urban-living folks it’s an impossibility. But between the pandemic and now sky-high prices, raising a small flock has become a priority for more Americans.
A recent Frontdoor.com analysis of Google search terms related to top DIY projects found chicken coops came in at No. 1. There are even companies that offer chicken rental services complete with everything families need to have farm fresh eggs on the breakfast table every day. Clearly, there is a great opportunity for USDA to help make backyard chicken keeping a possibility for more families, but it would help if Rollins explained exactly how the agency plans to do this.
The Ag secretary has been evasive in media hits and USDA did not respond to multiple requests for comment. But Kailee Tkacz Buller, the USDA’s chief of staff, did tell Roll Call the agency wants to “encourage consumers who have homegrown eggs in their backyard, we want to relinquish regulatory burdens on them, and we really want to work with Congress to potentially come up with a fix on Prop 12 as it relates to states like California who do have much higher eggs than other folks in the nation due to their their state policies.”
During war-time periods in American history, families were encouraged to plant victory gardens to ensure more food supplies could be exported to our allies.
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Amateur gardeners were provided with instruction pamphlets on how, when and where to sow, and were offered suggestions as to the best crops to plant, along with tips on preventing disease and insect infestations.
The endeavor was so well received that the government turned its attention to distributing canning and drying manuals to help people preserve their surplus crops. (History.com)
While it’s certainly not an apples-to-apples comparison, it would be nice to see USDA make a similar effort to equip families with the knowledge and tools they need to get started and preserve their supply, while also continuing with current programs that help poultry owners raise healthy flocks.
Having backyard chickens isn't a panacea for the supply issues, but as Jeff outlined last week, if Americans are able to keep a small flock, there are a lot of great reasons beyond the eggs to do so. It's nice to see Rollins promote it, now it's time to see her explain it.
