Organic Insights Magazine - Summer 2022

Organic Insights / Summer 2022 / 13

madaleine's eggs

Madeleine Scott, the face and name behind certified organic Madelaine’s Eggs, has never seen market conditions as tough as they are now, with sales of her eggs declining by 30% over the last 6 months. “In 20 years of operation, I’ve not seen it this bad,” she says. “[In the current economic climate].. “I don’t know exactly what it was that I was allergic to, but I haven’t had any problems since going organic.” Since converting, Madelaine has remained

consumers are opting for lower cost, and this is coupled with increases in all my inputs – the cost of feed, farm fuel, labour – it’s biting into already tight margins.” Currently stocking 4,000 hens, Madelaine supplies around 18,000 eggs a week to greengrocers, butchers and speciality stores around Melbourne and Victoria, and direct to select cafes and restaurants. Madelaine started her business at the tender age of 8 on the family farm ‘Hollyburton’ at Clarkefield in the foothills of the Macedon Ranges. The business has grown and sustained her through to the age of 28 (and 3 children later) and she now employs 5 staff to assist with various jobs around the farm, from raising baby chicks, tending the hens, to packing and delivery. “My parents were organically minded and never used chemicals, so I guess it was in-built in me,” says Madelaine. “I started off as a conventional producer for 2 years and I was actually allergic to the eggs,” she says.

committed to maintaining organic as the premium sustainable product in the egg industry. While she has seen some organic operators exit the market in recent times, this is not an option that Madelaine would entertain. “I couldn’t personally sell an egg that wasn’t certified organic,” she says. “I couldn’t in my conscience sell anything that wasn’t healthy, chemical-free and fresh.” With invested employees that rely on her, and fixed ongoing costs, for the moment Madelaine is just holding on. “We will need to be more creative in our approach, to look at our costs and hope that things will swing around.” What makes Organic Eggs different? According to Madelaine, “a lot of people – retailers and consumers – don’t understand what makes certified organic eggs different.”

/ Continued on page 14