Dallas Sexton, A Good Egg

1,057 dozen.

That’s how many eggs our kitchen lovingly whisked into quiches, scrambles, and breakfast pockets from Dallas Sexton at Sexton Farms in 2015.

Located in Harvard, ID—just 32 miles from the Co-op—Sexton farms is home to over 100 chickens, 19 ducks, a couple dogs and cats, and between 800-900 blueberry bushes.

Dallas Sexton and Judy Perkins now run the farm that Dallas’ grandfather started in the 1910s. He moved back to Idaho in 1994 after leaving to manage restaurants in California for 30 years. He then left again and moved to Montana, but has been back home, running the farm since 2008.

When Dallas took over Sexton Farms the land was home to chickens, geese, cows, horses, and hogs. The wellbeing of animals was always stressed by Dallas’ father, Floyd. Dallas has said, “Animals are like children. You never let them get the best of you. Be firm, but don’t hurt them. Don’t ever let them suffer.”

His chickens–a mix of Rhode Island Reds, Golden Sexlinks, Barred Rocks, and Black Australorps–roam free on between 3-5 acres of farmland. Dallas says that he likes that they’ve got different personalities—kind of like people. “Some are docile and timid and mellow, others are outgoing. And there’s a pecking order.”

Dallas’ chickens roam free during the day and nest in a hollowed out trailer that they return to every evening at sundown. “Chickens are very intelligent,” he says. “They know who feeds them and they look out for each other. If a hawk or crow is flying over they let the others know.”

Judy says that ducks are extremely intelligent too. She talks of a time this past winter when Dallas was recovering from an illness and one of the ducks followed her around until she realized it was trying to tell her that their water had frozen over.

It’s easy to tell that Dallas and Judy really love and appreciate the animals on their farm. Says Judy, “Neither of us have the heart to butcher the birds, so they die naturally.” Dallas says, quoting a friend, “It’s terrible to kill them when they aren’t sick and didn’t hurt anyone.”

Dallas relates to his birds. “Some days I’m kind of like the old hens—slowing down a bit.” But for now he’ll continue to farm. He’s out on his land from about 8am until sundown, feeding chickens and ducks, collecting their eggs, and taking care of his blueberries.

You can find Dallas’ duck eggs in the Grocery Department coolers and you can look forward to U-Pick blueberries this July and August.

“The Co-op has been very good to me. I enjoy the workers very much.”

We enjoy Dallas, too.