Selling eggs at a farmers market comes down to three things: your state's egg rules, keeping the eggs cold, and labeled cartons. States set most of the rules for small flocks: some license egg sellers, some require candling and grading, some say whether you can reuse cartons, and the market itself may ask for proof. Federal rules add two that apply at almost any stall. Shell eggs held for sale are kept refrigerated at 45°F or below, which at a market means a cooler with ice packs or a powered fridge, and a thermometer inside it. And every carton carries FDA's safe handling instructions, boxed, with the heading in bold. Price by the dozen, offer half dozens if your customers ask, and bring what your past Saturdays say you'll sell, since eggs that ride home warm don't go back on sale. In the example below, a Wisconsin farm adds eggs to its market table.
The short version
- Check your state's egg rules: licensing, candling and grading, carton reuse.
- Keep eggs at 45°F or below at the stall: a cooler with ice packs and a thermometer.
- Every carton: the safe handling instructions in a box, with the heading in bold.
- Add your farm's name and address and the pack date; your state may require more.
- Price by the dozen; half dozens if customers want them.
- Bring what past Saturdays say you'll sell.
- TaroStack keeps each week's eggs as a lot, counts the cooler with no signal and records every sale. More below.
What the stall needs
| Need | What it means at a market |
|---|---|
| State egg rules | Licensing, candling, grading, carton rules, by state |
| Cold | 45°F or below: cooler, ice packs, a thermometer you check |
| Cartons | Safe handling instructions, boxed; your name and address; pack date |
| Price | By the dozen, maybe half dozens |
| Records | Dozens brought, sold, and taken home |
The license side is in egg business license, the cartons in how to package eggs for sale, and pricing in how to price eggs.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Safe handling | Shell egg cartons carry the safe handling instructions, the heading in bold, in a hairline box, unless the eggs were processed to destroy Salmonella (21 CFR 101.17(h)) |
| Cold | Shell eggs held for retail stored and displayed at an ambient temperature no higher than 45°F (21 CFR 115.50(b)) |
Your state's agriculture department sets the rest for small flocks. This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: eggs on a Saturday market table
Honey Creek Farm, a made-up vegetable and berry farm near Baraboo, Wisconsin, added 120 laying hens this spring and started bringing eggs to a Saturday market alongside its berries and vegetables:
| Product | Price | Cost a unit, with card fees | Bring | Expect to sell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown eggs, dozen | $6.00 | $3.10 | 40 | 34 |
| Brown eggs, half dozen | $3.50 | $1.75 | 12 | 10 |
| Berries, pint | $5.00 | $1.80 | 30 | 25 |
The eggs ride in a cooler with frozen gel packs and a thermometer that reads 38°F at setup and 43°F by noon on a warm day, so a second cooler of packs goes in at eleven. September's four Saturdays sold 34, 38, 29 and 36 dozen. The cartons are new, printed with the farm's name and address, the pack date and the boxed safe handling instructions. Dozens that come home go to the farm's own stand fridge the same afternoon. The stand's own setup is in how to start a farm stand.
Get the planner
Download the market egg planner. Two sheets: a market day, where you type each product's price, cost, how many you'll bring and how many you expect to sell, with the day's sales, what's left after costs and the sell-through filled in; and a season log of what each Saturday sold. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The planner covers the market. Eggs also go to the stand fridge and a café, they're collected every day, and the oldest cartons need to go first wherever they're sold.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each week's eggs as a lot and every sale against it.
Each week a lot. A week's collection can be recorded as a lot with its pack date, so the oldest cartons go first, first-expired-first-out.
Counts with no signal. The market cooler can be counted on a phone with no signal, and the count sends itself later.
Sites. The farm, the stand and the market table can each be a site, with what moves between them shown in transit.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which week's eggs are oldest | Dates on the cartons | Lots with pack dates |
| What's left in the market cooler | A guess | A count on a phone, offline |
| Eggs moved from the farm to the stand | Not recorded | A transfer between sites |
Lots and counts are on every plan, from $49 a month; more than one site is on Standard, at $99 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.