Program Information

Today's commercial egg industry grew out of the backyard chicken flocks of the 1800s. These flocks provided food for families. Professor Brad explains that the average hen lays between 250-300 eggs a year, and discusses the different grades of egg.

ABCs of Agriculture informs about Virginia's farming community and how it affects you. ABCs of Agriculture are produced by the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) - an educational program which encourages and enhances agricultural literacy in Grades K-5 and 6-8.

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the ABC’s of Agriculture! Today, we'll be talking about the letter “E” which stands for eggs…

Today's commercial egg industry grew out of the backyard chicken flocks of the 1800’s. These flocks provided families with their eggs and an occasional Sunday dinner. Today you can head out anytime to the store and buy fresh eggs.

Today’s egg-producing hens can lay between 250 and 300 eggs a year. Once these eggs are laid they are gathered and washed. Commercially-produced eggs are graded and sized before they get packaged for shipping.
Grade AA eggs are best for frying and poaching, but Grade A eggs are acceptable as well. Grade A eggs actually peel easier than Grade AA.

In Virginia, in the year 2000, the egg industry produced over 66 million dollars in cash receipts and there were more than 824 million eggs produced! The state ranks 28th in the United States for egg production…

Now, perhaps you've heard the saying, “It’s so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk,” on a really hot summer day… well that's an eggs-ageration. Actually an egg must be heated from 144 to 158 degrees before it turns from a liquid to a solid.

The incredible, edible egg. For the ABC’s of Agriculture, I’m Professor Brad! See you next time!

Virginia Standards