United Egg Producers Certified

Wilcox Family Farms, Washington

Hello and welcome to our farm. My name is Barrie Wilcox. My brother Jim and I are the third generation of our family to run Wilcox Family Farms. Let me tell you a bit about the colorful history of Wilcox Family Farm, which was established in 1909 by my grandparents Judson and Elizabeth Wilcox.

My grandfather, Judson, was raised on a farm in Eastern Canada, near Toronto. As a young man, he decided that the farm was not large enough to support his entire family, so he headed to the Northwest and then to Alaska to try his hand at gold panning. Try as he might, he wasn’t able to strike it rich, so he and his wife moved back to Washington where they opened a hat shop in Seattle, in what is now Pioneer Square.

Being raised in the country, Judson could not seem to adapt himself to city life. He asked around and found a small farm in Roy, Washington, where he could work for his room and board. After a week, he was hooked and traded his home and business in Seattle for the 240 acre spread that is now Wilcox Farms − all without consulting his wife, Elizabeth.

Judson, Elizabeth and their two children boarded a train to Roy and then hired a wagon to drive their household goods to the farm. They lived in the green house, which is still located on the property. It is the only original building still standing and currently used as a guest house. The farm was covered in timber, and the only viable farming land was a small swamp area near a lake. The family milked a few cows and raised chickens and vegetables, which were peddled to the local logging camps.

After 10 years, Judson decided to enroll in a class on poultry raising at Washington State University Extension in Puyallup. He and Elizabeth took turns going to class. During those days, raising chickens was a very labor intensive profession. Heating was provided by a wood stove that had to be stoked throughout the night. From their first flock of 1,000 birds, half died the first night.

In 1931, Judson’s son, Truman, decided to stay on the farm and joined into a partnership. Finally, more than 30 years after it was established, the farm began making a profit in 1940.

Years later, Truman married Mildred Wilcox and in the years that followed, they had four children, me, my brother Jim and our sisters Suzanne and Holly.

In 1965, following my graduation from UPS and three years in the U.S. Air Force, I joined the farm as poultry manager.

In 1977, the farm expanded and opened Edelweiss Farms in Aurora, Oregon. Edelweiss is a leader in the egg industry in reducing water and air pollution and in energy conservation. Edelweiss produces and processes about 2 million eggs per week from about half a million hens.

Nearly 45 years later, our farm in Roy has grown to 1,800 acres. Along with our laying hens, the farm is home to several hundred thousand pullets, a shell egg processing plant and a liquid egg processing plant. The feed division handles approximately 55 train cars per month, and Wilcox products are distributed in Wilcox trucks from the California border to the North Slope of Alaska.

Wilcox Family Farms has a commitment to sustainable farming to preserve the beauty and quality of the land today and into the future. We have partnerships with the Nisqually Tribe, Salmon Safe and the Nisqually River Counsel, and we have made great strides in our Organic and Free-range eggs.

Wilcox Family Farms has a commitment to sustainable farming to preserve the beauty and quality of the land today and into the future. We have partnerships with the Nisqually Tribe, Salmon Safe and the Nisqually River Counsel, and we have made great strides in our Organic and Free-range eggs.

To learn more about Wilcox Family Farms, please visit www.wilcoxfarms.com