Released July 15, 2008

LINCOLNVILLE, Kan.--Blueberries. Blackberries. Strawberries. You know about all of these, but what is a cackleberry? Here’s a clue: It doesn’t grow on trees, but it might be found in a nest. Yes, a cackleberry is another name for an egg. In today’s Kansas Profile, we meet a farm family with an enterprise based on cackleberries – as in those laid by chickens.

Julie and Val Klenda farm near the central Kansas town of Lincolnville. They are natives of the area, having grown up on farms nearby. Val was farming when they were married. Julie and Val went on to have six children. Val now works for a neighboring feedlot in addition to his farming operation, and Julie works for Cooperative Grain and Supply at Hillsboro.

When they were first on the farm, Julie had a few chickens on the place just to have eggs for their own use. Her mom had raised chickens for years and sold the eggs to supplement their grocery money.

One year Julie’s dad suggested that she might try raising more chickens, just as his wife had done. So they got a license from the Kansas Department of Agriculture, moved a 20 by 40 foot chicken house over to Val and Julie’s place, and started in the business.

Julie bought 500 chicks, raised them for eggs, and started selling them to neighbors and local grocery stores. One day she picked up a used egg carton which had the word “cackleberry’ on it to describe the eggs. She thought that was a catchy way to describe eggs so she adopted the name. Using the initials from Julie and Val, her business is now known as J and V Cackleberry Farm.

Having raised chickens in my life, I think cackleberry is a fitting name. If you think about how the shape of an egg resembles a berry and if you’ve ever heard a hen cackle after laying an egg or being disturbed, it seems very appropriate.

Today, the J and V Cackleberry Farm produces more than 27,000 dozen eggs in a single year. The market for their eggs is primarily regional. Julie sells to grocery stores, restaurants, convenience stores, schools, and individual customers in the region.

Val and Julie raise their own corn, milo and alfalfa and mix the feed themselves. The eggs are hand-gathered, cleaned, and packed into cartons. The chickens are not caged layers. The hens have wooden box nests with straw. They are turned out during the day and come in to roost at night.

Julie says of her business, “It’s fun, and it’s something I can do at home on my own time.” To gather, sort, clean, candle and package that many eggs does require a lot of work. At the time of her peak production, Julie was getting 1,200 eggs every day.

Julie says, “One of the good things about being on the farm is that there’s always something to do, either work or fun – but it’s usually work! My kids’ teachers always say that my kids are good workers.”

The result of her work is locally grown, high quality products. Julie says, “One day I was in the store in Herington and I noticed a customer looking around. I said, ‘Can I help you?’” Without knowing who Julie was, the lady said, “I’m looking for some of those cackleberry eggs. I sure don’t want the warehouse kind.”

That’s a sign of the high quality and customer loyalty that has developed for J and V Cackleberry Farm. It’s also a hallmark of life in rural Kansas, as found on Julie and Val’s farm near the rural town of Lincolnville, population 226 people. Now, that’s rural.

We commend Julie and Val Klenda and their family for making a difference by building this home-grown enterprise on the farm.

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http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/story/KSProfileJulieandValKlenda071508.aspx

Contact: Ron Wilson, 785-532-7690, rwilson@ksu.edu