HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Patrick Samuels and his family moved out to Christian County in the summer of 2023 after he left the military with plans to create a homestead and keep a few chickens. The idea grew, resulting in partnerships with multiple family farms and the success of Sunnyside Egg Co. within two years.

“In 2023 I had zero farming experience…by the end of next year, we will be the largest and fastest growing regenerative egg company in the country,” he told Christian County Now. Spread out on his multiple acres of farmland in Hopkinsville, 300 chickens roam a massive pasture and produce thousands of eggs on his regenerative farm.

Growing Sunnyside Egg Co. in Hopkinsville

After leaving the military, Samuels briefly worked for a large egg manufacturer and was shocked at the conditions of a “cage free” facility which contained thousands of chickens crammed in a commercial barn for their entire lives. “Free range is even worse,” said Samuels, “They have 100,000 birds on this same amount of land that we have and call it ‘free range’, and the chickens never go outside.”

In stark contrast, his farm contains a mobile chicken coop that the birds roost in overnight which houses an automatic feeder and nesting boxes. Each morning, his family makes their way out to the coop and unleash the chickens onto the pasture, where they spend the entire day roaming in the sun or stomping through the snow before roosting again at night.

This group of clucking companions is full of personality, following Samuels and the farm dogs around the field, pecking at toes, and forming cliques to explore favorite spots in the pasture. He described them saying, “They are mischievous for sure…it’s a pretty good life for a chicken.”

The mobile coop allows for regenerative farming, with the chicken droppings passing through the bottom of the coop and fertilizing the patch of land they are nestled on. The coop is strategically moved throughout the field, providing rich fertilizer to the land.

Thousands of eggs a week sold in store, recruiting farmers

On his land, Samuels yields around 150 dozen eggs per week, with the entire company and partner farms producing over 30,000 eggs a week. Eggs are collected, packaged, and sent to local grocery stores, displayed in the produce section right next to other big brands. Sunnyside Egg Co. recently expanded beyond just mom and pop shops and can now be found in 40 stores across Kentucky and Tennessee including the Food Lion in Hopkinsville.

Since the company was established, his farm is actually now one of the smallest that is contributing eggs, with six other locally owned farms in and around the state using the same regenerative, pasture raised model with thousands of chickens. The entire company is comprised of around 6,000 egg laying hens at the moment, and he expects that rise to 65,000 within the year as they recruit more farms.

While this is not where he pictured his life heading during his time spent in the Army, he is proud of the product they produce and their ability to support and grow other local farms alongside his family. At a young age, his kids are already part of the operation by helping harvest eggs and care for the chickens along with his wife Victoria.

As a completely self-trained homesteader and business owner, Samuels encourages anyone who is looking to start the farm life to start small and focus on a single trade and expand upon in to prevent getting overwhelmed. Learn more about their partner farms and where to find their eggs on the Sunnyside Egg Co. website.

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