12—Lancaster Farming. *
Saturday. August 10.1901
Image Of Egg
Industry Varies
The Image of the poultry and
egg industry can be compared to
the tale of the three blind men
each feeling a pint of an ele
phant. says Dr. L. A, Wilhelm
president of Poultry and Egg
National Board. The industry
impression is quite different to
the three categories of people
most concerned with eggs the
consumer, the retailer and the
producer.
Mrs. Average Consumer, a 26-
year-old housewife with two plus
children who thinks “breakfast”
when she thinks eggs, realizes
eggs are nutritious and good for
people of all ages but buys only
1% dozen shell eggs each week
She fries 75 percent of the shell
eggs and uses 4 or 5 eggs a week
“in cooking" She does not re
late eggs with economy and uses
about the same number regard
less of price She has two big
complaints. She’d like a see
through carton and an end to oc
casional broken eggs.
The retailer also has mixed
feelings about eggs He realizes
they have excellent turnover and
can be a profit and traffic build
ei. But this same retailer com
plains about lack of service from
the distributor and unimagina
tive packaging
To the retailer, eggs are at
various times a headache, a sta
ple item, a profit builder and a
source of frustration, particular
ly in his attempts to promote
sales through distributor sup
plied point-of-purchase materials
Most of the “bad image” of
the egg industry, according to
Dr. Wilhelm, exists in the minds
of industry members the dis
tributors and producers.
They do most of the worrying
about cholesterol, salmonella
and residues, consumer prob
lems which exist but not on the
scale the industry believes In
dustry members are also overly
concerned because egg consump
tion has declined since the all
time high of 1941-1947. Wilhelm
contends this was to be expected
when wartime rationing of red
meat stopped.
The industry sees an iron-clad
relationship between price and
consumption that doesn’t exist
and doesn’t realize the real rea
son why many smaller produc
ers are going out of business
“Bigness is no guarantee to
success,” he says “Many egg pro
ducers go into bankruptcy be
cause they he to themselves
about the cost of production and
seldom include all production
costs in their total cost.” He
further cites as the worst offense
to the image of the industry, the
“poor mouthing” carried on by
active members of the industry
He’d like to hear.
’ "This is a wonderful business'
I produce the most necessarj
product in the world food
And I produce the most com
plete and nutritious of foods
EGGS' This wonderful business
puts bread (and cake) on my ta
ble, pays the taxes, has enabled
me to accumulate probably more
01 this world’s goods than I am
entitled to, permitted a wondei
ful family life, friends, and busi
ness and puts money in the
church collection plate Thank
God for the egg and the egg in
dustry'”
DID YOU KNOW—Pennsylva
nia has the second most exten
sive state flood control progiam
in the Nation This program of
alleviating flood damages and of
providing flood protection facili
ties is carried out by the Divi
sion of Flood Control, Depart
ment of Forests and Waters
(Dept of Forests & Waters)
WHO
CA E
—when you have
trouble with your
flock?
—when disease strikes
unexpectedly?
Uf[ PAPE
HE uHIiE
And Well Go Out Of Our Way To ProveM
Our Service Men are well
trained. They keep up to
date with business trends,
new developments, new
ideas. Their advice and
counsel are yours for the
asking. Without obligation,
of course.
CONTACT
\ \\ il r/ / /
POULTRY FEEDS
your Miller & Bushong
Representative
or col! us direct at
Lancaster 392-2145 (Area Code 717}
—when feed efficiency
drops, or egg quality
tumbles?
—when you can’t make
the profit to which
you are entitled as
an agribusinessman?
If You'll Tell Us about your
situation, and what you
hope to achieve, we'll show
you just how much Miller &
Bushong cares!
MILLER &
BUSHONG, Inc.
Rohrerstown,
SERVICE ANYWHERE "
' I J
7)7-392-2145
Fa.