Kids Raise Prize-Winning Poultry

Britain's newest "food champion" is a 10-year-old egg farmer

September 8, 2008 at 9:35AM by Anita Crotty | comment

Nevil and Rona Amiss started their organic poultry farm after Britain's foot-and-mouth outbreak devastated their beef operations in 2001. And now, just 7 years later, their 10-year-old daughter Elsa was recognized this week as "Food Champion of the Year" at the Waitrose Made in Britain Food Awards. In addition to £10,000 prize money -- which the adorable farmer says she'll reinvest in her enterprise, after funding a trip to Legoland -- Elsa also won the honor of having her products featured in Waitrose supermarkets.

To a city girl like me, it seems astounding that a pre-teen could run her own organic free-range duck and egg business -- and, admittedly, Elsa does have some help. She manages her younger siblings: Seven-year-old Alfred sorts eggs into cartons; 5-year-old Dora labels them, and 3-year-old twins Harold and Percy collect the eggs. (Mum pitches in, too, but she's quick to point out that the enterprise was Elsa's idea and ongoing project.)

If you know responsible youngsters who want to move beyond the lemonade stand, an egg business is simple enough to work into busy school-days, even in suburbia. Plenty of books offer kid-friendly advice on caring for chickens and other poultry, and a new breed of attractive, modern chicken houses even take some of the drudgery out of a chore that our grandmothers couldn't wait to outgrow. With some models, mucking out the coop can be as easy as cleaning a litter pan.

Photo credit: Exeter Pictures/Daily Telegraph

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tags: kids, england, poultry, chickens, SOLE Food Digest, Backyard Farming, ducks, urban chickens, Waitrose, Made in Britain, food contests

Anita Crotty

Anita Crotty is co-author of Married... with Dinner, an award-winning food blog that chronicles the continuing adventures of "a couple of San Francisco food dorks." Anita and her husband Cameron are both professional writers, amateur cooks, and avid diners.
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