Eggheads

The egg carton says pasture-raised, but that might not mean what you think it means. Patrick Samuels left a Special Forces career to fix that — starting with 300 chickens and a kitchen sink, and building toward a million birds in mobile coops across the Midwest.

In this episode, Greg sits down with Patrick to talk about what regenerative egg farming actually looks like, why the industry’s certifications might not be entirely accurate, and how Sunnyside is proving that doing it right doesn’t have to cost more.

🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jexU5-Qo_E0?is=BqH4iXcb-4DddkqV

Travis Bybee spent 25 years in banking, all while quietly building toward the life he actually wanted. He bought his first piece of land right out of college and spent the next two decades accumulating 1,400 acres, farming until dark after every shift, with one goal in mind: becoming a full-time farmer. The missing piece turned out to be eggs.

In this episode, Greg sits down with Travis to talk about how a chance meeting as a banker—not a farmer—sparked the idea for a layer operation unlike anything his neighbors had seen, and how he used everything he learned financing other people’s farms to build his own.

Here’s what we discuss with Travis:

• How Travis used 25 years of ag lending to design a better barn than the farmers he was financing
• Why eggs were the final puzzle piece that made full-time farming financially viable
• The year of research, 40 to 50 barn visits, and hundreds of YouTube videos before breaking ground
• Why he GC’d the entire construction himself — and how stressful that actually was
• What drew farmers from eight different states to pull into his driveway during construction
• The open house that drew over 1,000 people before a single bird arrived
• What a day in the life looks like running two 50,000-bird barns alongside a cattle and hay operation
• Faith, family, and farm — and what it means to build a life around all three

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In rural America, grain bins are so ubiquitous that you might not even notice them on the landscape. But if you were to stop on your drive home and take a closer look at one, there's a good chance you'd see the name 'Sukup' written on the side.

Steve Sukup is the Chairman of Sukup Manufacturing. Back in 1963, the company started off making grain stirrers, but they've since expanded their offerings to become one of the world's largest manufacturers of grain storage, drying, and handling equipment.

Steve joins us to explain why grain bins are such an integral part of American animal agriculture — including the egg industry, and how a commitment to innovation, along with a willingness to take risks, has led to incredible success.

Burnbrae Farms first got into egg farming in the 1940's, when Joe Hudson, who was just 13 years old at the time, brought home 50 chickens to establish a backyard flock. Today, Joe's daughter, Margaret Hudson, serves as President and CEO of Burnbrae, which has long-since outgrown the backyard, and become the largest egg producer in Canada.

Margaret joins us to discuss how her and her family kept building on what Joe started, including turning a low value egg byproduct into a national brand, funding research behind one of Canada's early omega-3 products and even helping major retailers rethink how they manage the egg category.

It doesn't matter how hard-working you are as a farmer, if you don't have the right genetics in your flock, it's going to be difficult to have success in the egg game. But as the industry evolves, and the needs of consumers change, deciding which birds are the right fit for your farm has become much more complex.

Neal Martin is the General Manager of US distribution at Hendrix Genetics. He joins us today for a bit of a history lesson of how the poultry genetics business has evolved — and consolidated — over the years, the incredibly complicated logistics of getting hens to layers when they need them, and all of the different attributes you can get chickens to express through selective breeding.

Over the last few decades automation has completely changed the way eggs are processed. And with robots now assuming many of the jobs handled previously by humans, producers can now process eggs faster, and with a higher degree of accuracy than ever before.

Bill Bretschneider is a product manager for MOBA, a company based in Barneveld in the Netherlands, and one of the world's biggest suppliers of egg grading, breaking, and sorting equipment. Today, Bill walks us through the innovation milestones of the past few decades, including the rollout of AI crack detection, and explains what more needs to happen before we see truly autonomous facilities.

When Raechel Van Buskirk served up some creatively-flavored deviled eggs at her dive bar in Omaha, Nebraska, she had no idea that it would change her life. And what started as a way to drum up some business on Sunday mornings, would eventually lead to a chain of restaurants, national distribution and even an appearance on Shark Tank.

Today, Raechel walks us through the whirlwind rise of her company, Deviled Egg Co., including the struggle of keeping a business going through Covid, the nerve-wracking preparation for her Shark Tank appearance, and how she's navigated the volatility in egg prices.

In an industry where it would be easy to treat an egg as just an egg, one brand has built its entire identity on finding the next big thing.

Jasen Urena is the Executive Vice President of NestFresh, a company that's been an early adopter of cage-free, free-range, pasture-raised, non-GMO, and regenerative organic egg production, and recently became the first company in the US to put a humanely hatched egg on grocery store shelves.

Today, Jasen walks us through their history of innovation, how NestFresh has built long-term partnerships with over 300 independent family farms, and what it actually takes to be a first mover in the egg industry.

Egg prices are sitting near all-time lows, and that's not because of weak demand, but because supply has outpaced it. Emily Metz, President and CEO of the American Egg Board, joins Greg to talk about how her organization is working to close that gap.

Emily walks us through the AEB's strategy for getting people to consume more eggs, from changing their reputation as only a breakfast food, to getting more eggs into school lunches, and opening up export markets abroad.

In-ovo sexing has the potential to end the practice of male chick culling — and the technology seems to have finally caught up to the ambition.

Greg hosted a panel on the topic at the Peak Conference, featuring Nancy Roulston, Senior Director of Corporate Policy and Animal Science at the ASPCA; Juliana Machado, Geneticist and Data Scientist at Hendrix Genetics; Casey Downey from Innovate Animal Ag; and Dr. Larry Sadler, Senior Vice President of the United Egg Producers.

The panel digs into the current state of the technology, the real costs of adoption, and the coordination challenge of getting hatcheries, producers, retailers, and consumers all moving in the same direction.

In early 2025 HPAI outbreaks had egg prices sitting at record highs; just one year later they're hitting inflation-adjusted historic lows. And while that may be great for consumers looking for a cheap source of protein, it has a lot of US producers feeling the squeeze.

Joining us to discuss the issue is Brian Moscogiuri. Formerly of Urner Barry, and Eggs Unlimited, Brian recently launched a new venture called KHM Trading, a commercial wholesale broker of shell eggs and egg products.

Brian understands the dynamics of the US egg market better than anyone, and today he discusses the factors contributing to the dip in prices, what the industry's doing to try and drum up new demand, and when producers might start to see some relief.

In 1985, Bernd Meerpohl watched his father take a risk in purchasing a struggling farm equipment company. That company was called Big Dutchman, and today it operates in 174 countries and generates around €1.5 billion in annual sales.

Bernd took over as CEO in 1992, and maintained the unwavering commitment to salesmanship, innovation, and emerging markets that's made Big Dutchman into the global behemoth they are today.

Today, Bernd walks us through the pivotal moments that shaped the company's growth, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the rise of alternative laying systems in the US, and shares his candid views on the role that data collection and AI systems will play in the future of animal agriculture.

From the time you start to suspect you might have an HPAI outbreak on your farm, to getting lab confirmation, can take between 1 and 5 days. And while producers wait for those results to come back, they're forced to make extremely tough decisions — cancelling deliveries, isolating employees, culling entire flocks — based on incomplete information.

Erik Tyrrell-Knott is the President and Chief Business Officer of Alveo, a company that's built a handheld HPAI testing device that delivers a trustworthy result in 45 minutes. And while their tests won't replace the current lab testing we use today, their aim is to give veterinarians and producers the data they need to act with speed and confidence.

Today, Erik walks us through how the test works, why it represents such an important leap forward in the fight against HPAI, and how it could one day make "partial depopulation" possible.

Most people would figure that lighting a hen house is a question of screwing in some bulbs and turning them on. But as it turns out, the type of lighting you use can have a profound effect on birds, shaping their behavior, improving welfare, and driving production results.

Max Obers is the CEO of HATO Lighting, a Netherlands-based company with over 50 years of history in agricultural lighting. Today, Max walks us through the science of how chickens perceive light differently than humans, how HATO puts that knowledge to work on farms across the world, and where the technology is headed next.

There are so many different types of egg-farmers: traditional caged operations, cage-free, free-range organic...the list goes on. But one organization strives to represent all of their interests, and advocate on their behalf at the highest levels of government.

Chad Gregory is the President and CEO of the United Egg Producers (UEP), an organization that represents over 90% of US egg farmers. The UEP provides a forum where producers big and small can debate important topics, and shape the policies that ultimately impact how they do business.

Chad came on the show just a few days after the State of the Union address, and for the second year running, President Trump referenced the egg industry directly. Today, we get into what the President said, the UEP's ongoing efforts to get an HPAI vaccine approved, and how they've responded to ongoing pressure from animal rights groups.

Bruce Dooyema's career in poultry began in the 7th grade, when his parents bought him a dozen chickens to raise in the backyard. Now, as Director of Strategic projects at Versova, he's responsible for around 40 million of them. And as if that wasn't enough responsibility, Bruce serves as President of the International Egg Foundation, where he helps establish layer operations in countries struggling with food insecurity.

Today, Bruce walks us through what goes into managing 40 million birds, especially in a time where even the best laid plans can be entirely upended by HPAI. He also discusses his work with the the IEF, and the incredible impact they're having across the developing world.

There are so many different ways to introduce contaminants during the egg production process: improperly used chemicals, dirty equipment, poor handling techniques, the list goes on. And it's the job of today's guests to develop and enforce the protocols that prevent all that from happening, which would be a tough enough gig for one facility, let alone 15.

Kim Rice is the VP of Food Safety and Quality at Rose Acre Farms, the second largest egg producer in the US. She joins us today to talk about mitigating all of the different avenues for biological or chemical contamination, what makes the egg business unique in terms of food safety, and the several layers of bureaucracy she needs to navigate on a day-to-day basis.

Finding the right ventilation solution can be make or break for your layer operation. And especially now with the emergence of cage-free farming, making sure air is circulating evenly can be key in ensuring your chickens remain healthy and productive.

Craig Morley is in charge of sales at Aerotech, and Ross Demerly is their applications and sales engineering manager. Together they have a combined 60-plus years of experience working in agricultural ventilation, and they've been involved in some major innovations, including the rollout of the EC motor. Now, as part of a larger company called Grain and Protein Technologies Climate Control and Air Treatment, Aerotech continues to innovate alongside some big global players in the field.

Today, Craig and Ross walk us through how ventilation tech has evolved throughout their careers, how the business has changed during that time, and the ways they continue to formulate solutions for the issues facing farmers.

Sometimes people have this idea that farmers shouldn't use immigrant workers at all, and that there are enough people looking for work domestically to staff their operations. Today, we're getting into why that's often just simply not the case.

Kyle Farmer is the founder of Farmer Law PC where he's an attorney specializing in immigration law. He works with producers, and operators throughout the agricultural industry to help them navigate the complexities of the legal system, and find solutions for their labor needs.

Today, Kyle walks us through why access to foreign labor is often a necessity for farmers, delves into the ins and outs of different immigration programs, and explains how politics play into all of this.

The last few decades have seen an incredible amount of change in the egg industry. That's especially true of egg grading, where we've gone from machines that can process 200 cases per hour, to systems that can do 800. And where advances in vision automation mean we no longer need people on the line manually inspecting eggs for dirt or cracks.

Craig England was formerly the President of Sanovo Technology USA and also served as the President of MOBA USA, two of the world's foremost egg processing technology companies. Today, he walks us through the timeline of how automation transformed the breaking and grading process, and the profound impact that had on the broader industry.