Support Branch River Farming Collective's Egg Co-op

We are the newly formed *Branch River Farming Collective*!

We are a grassroots group of about 10 neighbors (so far) in the Milton, Milton Mills, Wakefield, Brookfield, NH / Acton, Maine region who are committed to fostering collaborative, neighborly, non-commercial regenerative agriculture!

We want to strengthen connections between people, animals, and the land, "hatching" the kind of resilience that is called for in these trying times!

Our first project is to establish a community-driven EGG cooperative based on sustainable agriculture and responsible poultry management practices.

What will this look like? We are creating a community laying flock of about 50 hens, with egg production starting in Spring 2026, located on the pastures along Applebee Road at Branch Hill Farm in Milton Mills, NH. It's like the concept of a "Community Garden", except for Animal-based Agriculture, which land at Branch Hill Farm has a greater need for. With the addition of this flock, managed using the best-known regenerative pasture management practices, the grassland ecosystem in Branch Hill Farm's pastures stands to gain a significant boost in fertility, health, diversity, and resilience to climate extremes. Further, we'll be presenting and educating on our project at various Branch Hill Farm events to serve their educational mission. So, this project is a WIN-WIN-WIN for the birds, for the humans, and for the land!

How will the Community Laying Flock work? Care, chores, and ongoing maintenance costs will be shared amongst participants and their families via a clear membership structure. We're planning on inviting at least 15 households to participate in 2026. Eggs produced by the hens will be shared amongst participants in the cooperative, and in the case of surplus, shared in the community.

Importantly, the eggs are not for sale! This project is partly about creating a new pathway for producing and sharing food abundance that avoids centering money as the mode of exchange between Producer and Eater. Producing and sharing food collectively encourages a totally different kind of relationship between both producer and consumer, and between the eater and the eaten. We hope it will generate the kinds of relationships between us all that generate far more gratitude, love, care, and resourcefulness than what the purchase of a dozen eggs at the grocery store checkout line looks like today.

So what is this fundraiser for specifically? We are aiming to raise $4,000 by August 15th for the INFRASTRUCTURE costs associated with this project: The coop, initial chicks, electric fencing, brooder supplies, and a winter-appropriate shelter.

We are already well in progress with this work, having been meeting since March. We have established ourselves, the Branch River Farming Collaborative, with the State of NH and IRS as an informal non-profit group. We have received a donation of a used "chickshaw" (mobile coop) from a generous local farmer, have plans to build a second one, have purchased 50 chicks who will be arriving in late August, and will be holding a summer party to celebrate our progress so far. We are a small group voluntarily giving our energy and resources to "hatch" this project, but we are requesting some crowd-sourced financial support to assist with the aforementioned infrastructure costs to get this project off the ground.

Please reach out to us with any questions! If you prefer to send a check, they can be written out to Branch River Farming Collective and sent to PO Box 76 Milton Mills, NH 03852.

In gratitude,

Jen, Blue, Don, Karen, John, Georgia, Cara, Jonathan, Debbie, and the rest of the BRFC visionaries, present and future!