Words By Jenny Jefferies | @jennyljefferies

Chocolate eggs are currently in abundance in the shops ready for us all to celebrate Easter. However, you may find a limited supply of the chicken version due to British poultry farmers struggling with the cost of living as well as not being given a fair and just price from the supermarkets.

The increase in energy, feed and labour prices inflict difficult decisions upon the farmer to the point where, so far, causes farmers to lose nearly £10 per hen, according to ADAS.

As with so much mainstream media, misinformation is rife, and the reason for reduced egg supply in the UK is not due to Avian Flu as Robert Gooch, The Chief Executive of The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) told me “The supply issues over the winter is a result of many months of crisis in the sector, despite the statements from retailers saying more money is coming. For many these prices rises were nowhere near enough, and far too late. The latest figures show a continuing slide in houses free range hens showing confidence is not returning to the sector.

“In our view it is contract reform that is needed. Producers need contracts which reflect the cost of production and they need that to rise and fall in line with costs. We are working with Government and across industry to try and put this in place but we are not there yet.

“Bird flu continues to be a huge threat, although the number of cases are well down month on month, which is encouraging. The housing order is staying in place for now, which is the right thing to do for hen welfare.

“Housing orders affecting free range egg producers are put in place to protect hens from outbreaks of avian influenza, which is deadly to the birds. They are discretionary - for example, there is currently no housing order in Scotland but there is in England - and they stay in place for as long as is necessary. The EU proposal to remove the 16-week limit during which eggs from housed hens can be marketed as free range would be a common sense move and something that British farmers would like to see DEFRA align with. Housing orders protect the health and welfare of hens and shouldn’t affect the marketing of the product.”

To celebrate the humble egg, if you can get your hands on any, please enjoy this straightforward and delicious recipe for ‘Pique Macho’ by Richard Heady of Heady’s Farm in Buckinghamshire as found in my debut book For The Love Of The Land: A Cookbook To Celebrate British Farmers And Their Food published by Meze Publishing.

“My family have shared farm life with me, so now I try and share it with the world...I believe that it is so important that we know where our food has come from.” Richard continues, “This is not your average farmer’s dish, but the name translates roughly as food of the strong, so I think it fits farm life pretty well. We stumbled across it in Bolivia; in my terrible Spanish I managed to ask for a taste and we have been hooked ever since!”

You can follow Richard @headys_farm