Ready to Roll

We’re going to need a bigger basket.

On April 10, the South Lawn at the White House will be alive with gingham, bow ties and bonnets as children roll and hunt for the signature hard-boiled and colorfully dyed eggs at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Braswell Family Farms, a commercial egg producer based in Nash County, will soon load and drive 30,000 eggs to Washington, D.C., to take part in the 145-year tradition started by President Rutherford B. Hayes. Here’s hoping those kids bring big baskets. It’s the second consecutive year Braswell Family Farms has supplied the eggs for the annual tradition.

“It’s fitting that Braswell Family Farms is contributing a second year to the White House Easter Egg Roll,” says Aaron Kiess, Braswell Distinguished Professor and NC State Extension specialist in NC State’s Prestage Department of Poultry Science. “Their company is so generous and charitable. In fact, every egg company that operates within our state supports charities and events within the state, and most of the time they go unnoticed. They do it to help those who are in need. It’s an amazing industry.”  

North Carolina produces 4 billion eggs annually, so it’s no surprise that the state’s eggs ship up and down the East Coast to delight children this time of year. Eggs are part of the $3.9 billion a year that NC’s poultry production brings to the agricultural economy each year. NC State’s Prestage Department of Poultry Science is at the forefront of producing the next generation of poultry production leaders–poultry science graduates have a 95% job placement rate and are making an impact on the industry.  

If you didn’t win the White House Easter Egg Roll lottery, you can still enjoy North Carolina eggs closer to home this Easter. NC State’s friends at the North Carolina Egg Association created a fun, comprehensive list of egg-centric crafts and recipes your whole family will enjoy. 

Happy hunting. May your baskets be overflowing and your eggs boiled just right.

This post was originally published in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News.