Jackie and Dawn Hunter

Hamptonville, North Carolina

A third-generation farmer, Jackie Hunter has always been involved in farming with his family. Since he was a little boy, he helped his mom and dad take care of their dairy farm, and today he cares for hens in three cage-free egg houses. He and his wife, Dawn, also raise goats and grow soybeans in Hamptonville, North Carolina. Jackie and Dawn have been poultry farmers for nearly 18 years.

“We feel blessed that we are North Carolina egg farmers. We play a small part in helping to feed our country. People are becoming more aware of where their food comes from and they appreciate when it’s local.”

What measures are being taken on your farm to protect and preserve the environment and the health of your hens?

We are careful coming in and out of the hen houses because biosecurity and keeping our flock healthy is extremely important to us. We watch the feed and water consumption closely because that can be one of the first indicators if the hens aren’t feeling well. When it comes to taking care of the environment, we’ve added grass waterways to improve water quality on and around our farm, and we’re in the process of building a catch pond to provide a water source for our hens.

What does it mean to be a North Carolina egg farmer and work within your community and with your family?

Jackie worked with his grandpa and parents on their dairy – that was before the egg houses – for many years growing up. He enjoyed working with them every day. Now, we both work together to keep our farm going – Jackie takes care of the day-to-day operations and Dawn handles the paperwork. We hope our grandkids will carry on the farm one day. In our community, we are proud to be egg farmers. When we see someone at the grocery store purchasing eggs, we thank them for helping to support farmers.