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Eggheads is the go-to podcast for egg industry professionals who are interested in leadership and innovation in the egg world. Host Greg Schonefeld explores the evolving world of modern egg farming, from the latest in cage-free innovations and organic certifications to navigating the economics of large-scale production. Whether you're an egg producer, supplier, or involved in poultry genetics, this show provides the insights and expert discussions you need to thrive in the industry. Crack open the science, strategies, and stories behind the egg industry’s biggest challenges and opportunities.
Trey Braswell:
Change is inevitable. And so I guess it's just what the Lord's put on my heart, we just need to have a very healthy organization so that we're not resistant to change. We can adapt. We can be successful in whatever comes next.
Greg Schonefeld:
I'm Greg Schonefeld, and this is Eggheads. The type of animal feed you choose and the supplier you work with can be so important for the health and productivity of your flock, and no one knows that more than today's guest.
Trey Braswell:
I'm the fourth generation in the family business.
Greg Schonefeld:
That's Trey Braswell, the president and CEO of Braswell Family Farms in Nashville, North Carolina, one of the largest specialty egg and organic feed producers on the East Coast. But their business went through quite a few iterations before they got there.
Trey Braswell:
I think it was 1942 when we say is the first generation of our family business, and that was making cornmeal for human consumption.
Greg Schonefeld:
But as the family grew, feeding people wasn't bringing in enough money, so the Braswell's diversified their customer base.
Trey Braswell:
There were a lot of individual small family farms, and so they were buying feed for the horses or mules, cows, pigs, chickens.
Greg Schonefeld:
As the livestock industry in the area grew, the Braswell operation grew along with it. And in the '60s, the family began to dabble in raising animals of their own, initially hogs.
Trey Braswell:
Ronald and Gene came back to the mill about 1:00 AM one morning. They'd been out feeding hogs or rounding up hogs off a muddy wooden lot, and they said there's got to be a better way to make money.
Greg Schonefeld:
And that better way was eggs.
Trey Braswell:
That was natural because we were making feed, and then we started raising pullets so we could go to a egg customer and sell them the pullets, sell them the feed for their pullets and their layers.
Greg Schonefeld:
Through the '70s, '80s, and '90s, the business continued to evolve. And today, Trey walks us through that evolution, including linking up with the Eggland's Best brand, his own journey to leading the business, and how he continues to build on his family legacy, especially his dad's.
Trey Braswell:
So my dad worked in production, and then my dad went out and built some chicken houses that had a contract with Braswell Milling. And those chicken houses are the foundation for our company-owned farm that we have today. So my dad took it from that contract. We were raising pullets. We were producing feed. We were doing some contract egg production into the final stages of vertical integration to where we got into the egg processing.
And in the '90s, there was a good bit of consolidation in the industry of offline plants and markets as the industry moved to what we call an inline farm.
Greg Schonefeld:
I've actually heard that term a lot, and I've never actually dug into what that means, but it's basically the live production flows straight into the processing?
Trey Braswell:
That's right.
Greg Schonefeld:
Yeah, okay.
Trey Braswell:
In the egg business, the commodity business, you've got to try to figure out how to be more competitive. And eggs are a penny business, so somebody at some point got comfortable enough with, as we as an industry learn more about bird health and the factors that we could improve that, people got more comfortable putting more birds on one farm and then eventually putting a processing plant and cutting out some trucking, where possible. And that works in certain situations like conventional production. But we do all types. We do conventional production, organic, cage-free, free-range.
Greg Schonefeld:
As you said, you really started with the feed first and then integrated into the eggs. Would you consider yourself primarily a feed business or an egg business or is it pretty fifty-fifty together today?
Trey Braswell:
Yeah, I mean, I would say that our primary source of revenue is eggs. I mean, we are an egg producer, marketer. And we still produce feed for outside customers, but the percentage of outside sales continues to grow smaller as most producers are integrated, and we need more and more of our capacity for our own production. But quality has always been very important to us, and I think that's why we still do have outside customers, and we can keep those at a price point that's of value to us and to them.
Greg Schonefeld:
Are those outside customers egg producers or are they other lines of agriculture?
Trey Braswell:
It's multiple. It's some egg producers, some broiler breeders, and then some grandparent stock genetics that are producing genetic stock for egg production, and then swine. We have a good swine, a hog customer that has operations in North Carolina and the Midwest, but we're just feeding North Carolina.
Greg Schonefeld:
It's pretty amazing that y'all have kept that business around for, I mean, pushing 100 years really, it sounds like, and I was wondering what it takes to do that. But it sounds like maybe today it takes really integrating it with your egg operation to mostly sustain it, but you're able to do some other things on the side.
Trey Braswell:
Yeah, there's areas of the country where a feed mill can stand on its own because of there's so much livestock, say like in Pennsylvania or in certain parts of the Midwest. But for us, I think the integration is what has, one, allowed us to be successful in the egg business because we can control all points of production. But two, really the quality and the service that we provide. We treat our customers at least as good as we treat ourselves as a customer, and that's what's allowed us to keep some outside business. So I think all those things together, and mainly God's grace is what's gotten us to this point.
Greg Schonefeld:
And I understand, I mean, I think I've heard feed can be maybe 65% of the cost of producing eggs and-
Trey Braswell:
Yeah, feed is the greatest cost, the largest single cost. And interestingly enough, some people are willing to, and I'm not saying that's right or wrong, but some people are willing to farm that out and just say, feed is feed. And there would've been a point in my life where I would've thought that too, but we place a heavy emphasis on quality throughout the process of making that feed.
And it finally came back around where I saw the value and how much emphasis we place on quality and service because we've had two customers that I know of in 15 years or so leave us chasing a lower price. One of them came back because it wasn't worth the savings. What they got in the quality of their feed, which translates into production in their animals and the service, was way more valuable than what it actually cost them.
Greg Schonefeld:
Yeah. And one thing I'm taking away from that is, I mean, you can look at it maybe two different ways. You could say, hey, feed's my biggest cost. I want to cut it. Or you could say, feed's my biggest cost. I want to get the most value and the most bang out of that.
Trey Braswell:
That's right.
Greg Schonefeld:
Out of every dollar that I'm putting into that.
Trey Braswell:
That's right.
Greg Schonefeld:
So the next thing I want to talk about is Eggland's Best because that does seem like a real pivotal move your family made at one point in your history. What is Eggland's Best and how does it work?
Trey Braswell:
Sure. I mean, Eggland's Best is the number one egg brand in the country, and Eggland's Best is a nutritionally enhanced egg. We, as in Eggland's Best, we're one of, I believe, it's nine franchisees. It's not quite a traditional franchise model. The franchisees have equity in the corporation.
And it came, there was two Japanese gentlemen that developed a patented feed formula with certain ingredients that resulted in an egg with lower saturated fat, lower cholesterol, higher in vitamin A, E and D and other things. And so they brought that to the States in the late '80s. And in the late '80s, eggs were very much a commodity and even had a bad reputation because of the misunderstanding about cholesterol in eggs.
And it had a hard start, didn't get going. And there was a group that just said, "We're just going to keep with it. We think it's going to work." And so we stuck with it, and dad with foresight and endurance was able to increase our franchise geography. And by the mid '90s, Eggland's Best as a brand started to take off. And now essentially it's in 98% of outlets that eggs can be bought in. The number one specialty egg brand, and we produce organic, cage-free, free-range, pasture-raised. So it's been a real success, and by the grace of God, that's been what has really been our main focus as a company is on the specialty eggs.
Greg Schonefeld:
What made your family first decide to become a franchisee of Eggland's Best?
Trey Braswell:
That's a good question. My dad would say that, because my granddad died in '91, my dad would say that was his parting gift for my dad, that Ronald and Gene made a decision to take a chance and purchase that. I think they were forward-thinking and probably a little bit desperate. Commodity eggs was feast or famine then, and prior to that and for years after that, and I feel like it was more famine than feast.
And I think they said, look, we need to try. We need to try it or eventually we won't be in business because egg production started to move to the Midwest to be closer to the grain as we figured out as an industry how to control the environment and barns better. So I think they saw that, hey, we've got to do something different, add value, do something that's more specialty.
There were 0% specialty eggs in grocery stores at that point in time. And honestly, for the first five to seven years, Eggland's Best as a brand went bankrupt, and the farmers thought that they should stick with it and continued to invest in it and eventually it took off.
Greg Schonefeld:
So that gives us the background on Braswell Family Farms and how they evolved from a feed wholesaler to a major player in specialty eggs. But I wanted to get a bit more of Trey's personal history and how he came to lead the company.
Trey Braswell:
I was around it when I was younger and then started working in the business in the summertimes in high school. Really, it was when we started to build our complex where our plant is now, so I got to be there from the beginning, the ground up on that. So that was really neat.
And then I went to NC State, got a business degree, took some ag econ and poultry science classes and thought I wanted to come back at some point. I knew it was a good opportunity. I wasn't in a hurry. I've been around it my whole life. I felt like I needed some breathing room.
But ultimately my dad's health, he had a lot of health issues with migraines and heart disease later in life. So his health got into a place after I graduated college, which led me to make the decision to come on back and start working with him. And I just felt such a responsibility and gratitude to my family and the people that we've had here. I mean, we've had employees that have been with us 40, 50, I think we've got one now that's been with us 60 years.
Greg Schonefeld:
Wow.
Trey Braswell:
Four generations then. And ultimately, probably about 2011, 2012 I really took over leadership. And then in 2017, dad would say he officially passed the baton. And thankfully, we had that opportunity to transition because he passed away in the fall. And I know there's a lot of family businesses that transition happens in an emergency when someone passes away. So we were very fortunate to have already gone through that, even if it was hard to have already gone through that before he passed away.
Greg Schonefeld:
So I'm picturing, so your dad comes in at 18 working for over 40 years. I mean, the amount of experience he saw during that time, the evolution he saw during that time. And then you still very young, fresh out of school, and of course grew up around it, but I imagine that was a pretty big challenge to take that on at that time.
Trey Braswell:
Oh, yeah. No, it was. It was a challenge to try to learn it and figure it out. It was a challenge to, him and I didn't always get along and for just various reasons, and I was here every day. But then we'd butt heads because we weren't on the same page. I mean, I know that character is built in the trials, and so the Lord was building character in me and probably him, and I'm thankful for it because it matured me a lot and refined me and taught me a lot.
Greg Schonefeld:
What's been your approach then, I guess, to get up that curve since 2008?
Trey Braswell:
Seeking out people around me and mentors and getting in and learning and asking questions, asking questions of other people from other companies at industry meetings. I went back and got my MBA on the weekends just to learn more general business tools and understanding of what I didn't know. Always believe in there's more that I can now and then that I'm certainly not the smartest person in the room.
And then really I would say one of the biggest things that I do and have done and will continue to do is to learn how to better recruit and interview because my goal is to hire people smarter than me that are the right fit. So knowing what our culture is, what our culture I want and what our vision is and then going out and finding the right leaders that are smarter than me, more qualified than me, and building a great leadership team, which we have now, and that can take that vision and execute.
Greg Schonefeld:
So it sounds like really building the leadership team is a big part of what you see as your legacy, at least at this point in time.
Trey Braswell:
I think if you look around and you're the smartest person in the room, you're a bad leader because all you've done is hire people that help you feel good about yourself versus hiring people that are smarter than you. Because I can look around and I'm not. I am the dumbest person in the room, other than I was smart enough to hire them. But to me, it's, at least in my situation here, if the Lord's given me a vision and he has said, hey, you build a team and get out of the way a little bit.
Because I think someone told me, or I heard somebody talking, the best leader is the kind of leader that when they retire, nobody notices. But what he means by that is nothing falls apart, nothing breaks. Everything wasn't running on their back. They did a good job building a team and developing a team that when they retired and walked out the door, everything was already running smooth.
Greg Schonefeld:
I can actually relate to you from my own experience. We started running on something called EOS maybe four years ago. I don't know if you're doing something similar.
Trey Braswell:
Yeah, we're in our third year, and that's been just incredible.
Greg Schonefeld:
So that's been really big because I was really in a moment where I just felt like I was doing the same stuff, just couldn't get myself freed for the next thing and just couldn't break through the ceiling, I guess. And that really-
Trey Braswell:
Couldn't get any traction, right?
Greg Schonefeld:
Yeah, there you go. There you go. And so that helped. And yeah, hiring that team, and it's been a process. I mean, there's been some people that haven't worked out along that road, but when you get the people who do, and then like you said, they're smarter in their area and bringing stuff to the meetings and those kind of things, it makes all the difference in the world.
Trey Braswell:
And one of the hardest things to do, I think, is to work on organizational health because it means hard conversations and building respect and trust in a team. There were people that have been with us for a while that did not work out and they, some of them self-elected off the bus and some of them had to be given a pass off the bus and some of them went to different seats. But I just said, hey, we're going to put a spotlight on organizational health, our culture, and we're just going to leave that spotlight there. We're not going to sweep it under the rug, and so that's paid off.
Greg Schonefeld:
I also find it interesting. I mean, when I talk to a lot of farmers, you might talk about, man, cage-free transition is the biggest thing of my generation or the biggest thing on my mind. Or even if you look back at your history, maybe your dad and granddad, man, we got to get out of the commodity game into something else. And then for you, it doesn't sound like you're honing in on something egg-specific. You're talking about building your team.
Trey Braswell:
Well, I mean, I think it's my focus. I think that all those things are true. Cage-free transition, animal rights activists, free-range, but change is inevitable. And so I guess it's just what the Lords put on my heart, we just need to have a very healthy organization so that we're not resistant to change, we can adapt, we can be successful in whatever comes next. I mean, avian flu, all these things, you have to figure out how to get through them, but you got to have a healthy culture and a strong team to do that.
Greg Schonefeld:
Trey is clearly passionate about leadership, and he's worked hard to build a team that allows each member to play to their own strengths. And for him, that sort of collaborative philosophy is something we could use a little bit more of in the egg world.
Trey Braswell:
There's a lot of production, and egg production just over the last 10, 15 years has blown up in the Midwest, Ohio, Iowa, Dakotas, Indiana, all those things. So they've got lower production costs and we've got more people down as far as customers goes, and so it's just a good synergy. When there's too much of a commodity, things aren't good for any producer.
So we just got good partnerships. We produce most all of our specialty eggs. Those are typically smaller volumes, higher cost of production, and we partner with producers on the commodity eggs, and so it's just a real good partnership and thankful for that. I mean, we're very relationship-focused, so that's been good to have these partnerships over time.
Greg Schonefeld:
How I'm understanding that is there's egg producers who are pretty focused on the production of eggs and maybe the cost-efficient production of eggs. You do have egg production, but a lot of your focus is on these retail relationships. Is that one of the strengths of your operation is your retail relationships?
Trey Braswell:
Yeah. I mean, I think obviously it's multifaceted, but we know that we are going to produce specialty eggs so those can be a higher cost of production, but we're still trying to do that as cost effectively and competitively and efficiently. But we focus on healthy relationships and win-win and developing those because we think that's very important.
But, you're right. There are some people that are just, they're farmers, and I don't say that in a negative way at all. They want to produce, and they want to produce as cost-effective as possible, and they don't want to have to talk to a customer. You know what I mean?
Greg Schonefeld:
Yeah.
Trey Braswell:
And there's nothing wrong with that at all. And so I think it's just, going back to Scripture, it says all parts of the body are needed. Everybody's got a different gift and everyone is needed, so.
Greg Schonefeld:
Maybe one last thing sort of on this note is a lot of farmers do more so want to fly under the radar. And in fact, we've had a couple guests on that felt that way, but they came on anyway, and I'm really appreciative of that. But you've taken advantage of, I mean, not only coming on here, but going on other podcasts. What's your thinking behind that? What kind of value do you see there?
Trey Braswell:
Yeah. Somebody asked me that question the other day like, "You like the spotlight or something?" They didn't say it like that. And I'm like, "Well, I don't." I'm probably like a typical farmer. And I've learned over time I'm more introverted than I once thought, but if none of us were willing to do something hard or do something that was uncomfortable, is maybe is the right word, then nobody would be out there advocating for us and educating people on our behalf.
And we've seen that, especially in animal agriculture, the lack of information, we know it doesn't mean we're hiding anything, but somebody's out there trying to spin that in to, well, they're hiding versus, here's how we produce your food and here's why it's like this.
And so early on, there were opportunities to get uncomfortable and speak in front of groups, whether it's small or big. I don't like public speaking, but the only way to get better at it is to keep on trying it and keep on getting uncomfortable and eventually hopefully it feels less uncomfortable, and I would say that is the case. We believe that more and more people want to know where their food comes from. They want to be able to trust it. They love to know their farmer. There's no way for them to know that if there's no farmer out there communicating with them and trying to connect.
And I'll tell you, I did a thing with American Egg Board one time, and it culminated in a lunch where we sat down with different foodies and bloggers and things like that for conversations. And they tried to bring in people for each table that would be challenging but not crazy. Well, guess who got the table with the person who ended up walking out? I mean, our guests at our table just fell apart, just could not handle discussion about egg production, how and why we do it. And she pretty much got up, yelled at everybody in the whole room and said, "I just can't believe y'all do this," and walked out.
I mean, you have to take those opportunities to be uncomfortable because somebody's got to be able to stay calm and have a conversation with her, but we know that there's a portion of people that you can't have a conversation with because they don't want to have a conversation.
Greg Schonefeld:
Is what farms come up against in terms of public perception today, potentially one of the bigger challenges of your generation in Braswell Family Farms?
Trey Braswell:
I think it is. And it was probably harder a few years ago before social media. Well, I take that back. There were things that were harder and things that were easier. Social media makes it way easier for somebody to spread garbage, and it makes it way easier for you to tell a story.
So I'm not a social media guy that's going to be on it a lot, but I do see that there's value, and so I know that we need it in our business. And I will put myself out there to provide content, but I'm not going to be the one sitting there watching it and having our strategy and all that. But that is a way that we used to not have to get out there and reach more people and tell a story.
So it's a very much a double-edged sword. But yes, there are industries in agriculture that are consolidating, and it gets harder to be able to tell a intimate small family farm story. There's plenty of us out there that can tell that story and have an intimate dialogue with consumers and customers, and there's more and more opportunity for that in agriculture. So it provides you an avenue that you didn't used to have, which I appreciate.
As much as I'm thankful for where the Lord's brought our company, I don't want to see all these other family businesses going by the wayside. I love some people in our industry, and I like that they have a family business. And some people might say, "Hey, buy people out and this and that." And I'm like, "Well, I'd rather get to interact with them, and there's room for everybody if we're not so greedy."
Greg Schonefeld:
That was Trey Braswell, president and CEO of Braswell Family Farms, a company that started out selling animal feed and has since become a force in the specialty egg market. Over the years, Braswell Family Farms has managed to adapt to shifting economic realities, first moving from human feed into animal feed, then trying to raise hogs, and eventually getting into poultry.
Then it was the instability of the commodity egg business that pushed his grandfather into a partnership with Eggland's Best, and their willingness to take a risk on that upstart egg brand is a big reason for their continued success. That ability to meet the moment clearly lives on with Trey. He assumed leadership of the company under difficult conditions and managed to do something that's tough for any manager, recognize your own limitations and make sure you surround yourself with people who know more than you do.
And having covered animal feed, specialty eggs, leadership styles, only one extremely important question remains. One last question for you, how do you prefer your eggs?
Trey Braswell:
If somebody was just cooking the eggs for me every morning, I'd probably have an incredible omelet or a frittata or casserole. But the typical scrambled in some butter with some cheese is my go to every day.
Greg Schonefeld:
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a colleague or friend. Word of mouth really helps us to grow the show. And to make sure you don't miss an episode, follow us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Until next time, I'm Greg Schonefeld, and we'll talk to you soon.