Dear Friends,

LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM. We’re all over the board, discussing ML King’s view on nukes, the Trans Mountain Pipeline, peaches, and backyard chickens.

About them chickens. The crazy-high price of eggs has inspired a wave of interest in backyard layers, including this story by TV 13 featuring Kathy, me and our chickens. (CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW THE STORY.)

As residents of Des Moines, a concern Kathy and I mention in our interview with Roger Riley and on this week’s Forum is that, when it comes to moving forward on local food security, the City of Des Moines is dragging its feet.

To be clear, the rules in Des Moines on urban farming are way better than most cities. We are grateful for that leadership. Also, we’re grateful that the Council embraced a proposal Kathy and I made in 2020 to establish the Food Security Task Force. Out of that came a promising set of recommendations on how to move the City forward toward greater food self-reliance.

But the momentum has ground to a halt. Perhaps public concern over the increasing price of eggs will change that.

Much needs to be done — and now! More community gardens. Edible plantings in public spaces. Dedicated land for urban farmers. Incentives for urban agriculturists.

For today, let’s focus on chickens, with a goal of making Des Moines the Free-Range Egg Capital of America. This requires thinking out of the box, so bear with me while I crunch some numbers. Then tell me what you think.

(Note that this analysis could apply to any city. Also note that there’s not a lot of hard data out there, so I’ve estimated numbers as best as I can.):

CURRENT PRODUCTION.
Population of Des Moines (DM): 212,000 people
Number of vegans/vegetarians: 22,000 people
Adjusted egg-eating population: 190,000 people
Annual egg consumption per DM resident: 24 dozen
Total DM annual egg consumption: 4.5 million dozen
Number of chickens in DM currently: 500 flocks
Average egg production per flock per year: 125 dozen
Current DM backyard egg production per year: 62,500 dozen

Current production only makes a dent in Des Moines’ total egg consumption. We’ll need 4.4 million dozen more eggs per year for egg-food security. Here’s Phase One of how we get there:

NEW BACKYARD FLOCKS.
The City, non-profits, et al, lead an effort to increase backyard flocks to 10,000 by Dec, 2026. The projected additional egg production from that expansion is 1,187,500 dozen per year.

But we’ll still need 3.2 million dozen more eggs, so enter Phase Two of the plan:

URBAN CHICKEN FARMS.
The City dedicates 100 parcels (one acre or more in size) for farms of 500 birds each.
Recruit 100 farmers to raise 500 birds on each farm.
Daily egg production per flock of 500 birds: 35 dozen
Annual egg production from each flock: 12,775 dozen
Total annual production from 100 urban chicken farmers caring for 500 birds each: 1.3 million dozen
This also creates 100-200 new jobs!

But it still leaves us 1.9 million dozen eggs short. Which brings me to Phase Three:

GOLDEN CIRCLE FARM PARTNERS.
(That’s a pretty cool name, yes? Golden circle is usually a money- and business-driven descriptor. Here, it’s farms, fields, and flocks — and an implied reference to the circular structure of an egg wherein lies a golden circle of protein-rich yolk. But I digress.)

The City sets up a non-profit to serve as the broker between residents, businesses, hospitals, schools, and government agencies to connect local and sustainable egg-producing farms with urban consumers. This could get complicated, so the details would have to gel later.

When I said this was out-of-the-box thinking I wasn’t kidding. Take your best shot and tell me where the idea fails. There are all sorts of angles and variations to ponder. Bottom line: If our leaders would muster the political will to make this element of food security a priority, we’d have a plan that would:

— End our reliance on confinement layer operations, which are susceptible to avian flu and a host of other environmental, animal welfare, and public safety problems.

— Guide more Des Moinesians — adults and kids alike — to enjoyment of the many benefits of raising laying hens.

— Create jobs, both at farms in Des Moines and in the greater Des Moines area.

— Create additional economic opportunity through the various products associated with raising chickens: wood to build coops and fences, straw for bedding, hatcheries, grain for feed, veterinary services, etc.

— Divert leaves, table scraps, lawn mowings, and more from the City waste collection stream.

— Provide home owners with a great source of nitrogen for composting.

My recommended action this week: Call your city’s mayor and at least one council member. In cities that don’t allow chickens or that have a weak ordinance, ask them to make it legal and strong. If you’re in Des Moines, ask officials to consider my proposal — or your own proposal, if you’ve got one. Bottom line is we can’t continue to pretend that major food-supply disruptions aren’t barreling toward us. We need to act now, because the window for adaptation will close when the proverbial chicken manure hits the fan.

Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. If you appreciate our blog and program, consider a donation.

Ed Fallon

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LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PODCAST