Jan. 30—Peterson’s Upland Farm, a family-run egg farm in Wahiawa, says it will be closing after 114 years in business.
In social media posts over the weekend, the farm announced it would wind down its poultry operations and egg sales over the next few months, with no firm closure date yet.
“In the coming months, we will be winding down our poultry operation and egg sales,” said the company in its post. “We are grateful to the community for your support. We want to thank our loyal customers, many of whom we have known for generations. Our family would also like to thank our dedicated employees who have worked alongside our family over the years in helping us provide farm fresh, quality eggs.”
There will be new farm hours during the transition, the post said, which will be updated on its website and Facebook page.
“The Peterson Ohana would like to express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity to serve you,” continued the post. “As always, we encourage you to support other local farms!”
The company also posted a message to its website titled “A Hui Hou,” saying it would wind down its eggs sales “as we transition to
retirement.”
Eggs are expected to be available through February, the message said, while supplies of the farm’s manure, T-shirts, mugs and tote bags should be available beyond February.
The public reacted with sadness and surprise, and posted numerous messages thanking the business for its quality eggs and sharing fond memories of visiting the farm run by several generations of the Peterson family.
“I remember going as a little girl with my grandma,” said Cheryl Ann Quichocho, who is retired and now lives in Washington state. “When we go, we would drive all over the island to deliver eggs.”
Quichocho, who grew up in Wahiawa, still returns to Peterson’s Upland Farm on return visits to Oahu.
She is not sure, however, whether she will be able to make it back before the farm closes for good.
Quichocho laments the loss not just for the fresh, l
ocal eggs at reasonable prices, but the friendly interactions and talk-story sessions with the family and workers running the farm.
“It was the people,” she said. “The family is always there to greet you, and the workers, they remember you and already know what to get ready when I walk up to the window.”
She says Peterson’s Upland Farm also “put Wahiawa on the map.”
In 2015, when Quichocho learned that thieves had broken in and stolen a truck plus specialized chicken cages just before Easter, she launched a GoFundMe campaign to help.
“I just didn’t want to see them go down,” she said,
recalling that the campaign quickly raised $7,000. “The eggs are excellent.”
The local eggs are sought by families who would drive from as far as Waikiki and Kaimuki, as well as chefs across the island.
Sharon Peterson Cheape, current manager of Peterson’s Upland Farm, is the third generation of the family to run the business.
When the business celebrated its centennial in 2010, the farm had more than 9,000 egg layers in a large henhouse on stilts, and eight full- and part-time staff.
Her grandfather James Peterson established the farm in Wahiawa in 1910 and started out selling eggs, milk and cream to customers in Wahiawa but focused on egg production in the 1940s.
While Hawaii was once home to more than 200 egg farms in the 1970s, according to a state report, the number has dwindled to far fewer today.
On Oahu, only a handful of local egg producers remain: the OK Poultry Farm in Waimanalo; Maili Moa in Waianae, which sells Shaka Moa eggs; Mikilua Poultry Farm, which sells Ka Lei Eggs and Hawaiian Maid eggs; and Villa Rosa, which sells Waialua Fresh eggs.
Times have been tough for local farms and businesses as they struggle
with the higher costs of
production, including the costs of maintenance and equipment, an ongoing labor shortage and high interest rates, among other challenges.
Poultry farms on the mainland also have been grappling with devastating losses due to the contagious avian influenza, or avian flu, which can wipe out an entire flock of egg-laying hens.
An outbreak of avian flu is devastating numerous farms in California, including Sonoma County, where officials have declared a state of emergency.
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