United Egg Producers Certified

Hickman’s Family Farms, Arizona

Ever since I was a little girl, I've always been active on our farm. I started working in the hen house with my mother at the age of four. I remember walking behind my mom in the hen house and gathering the eggs she was missing on purpose. In fact, all of my siblings have played a major role in our family business − ever since they were old enough to walk.

My name is Sharman Hickman and I'm an egg farmer in Arizona. I help run Hickman's Family Farms with my brothers Glenn, Clint and Billy. We are a family-owned farm that's been in operation since 1944.

Our farm started when my grandparents, Bill and Gertie Hickman, began selling eggs to local vendors and restaurants from the hens in their backyard. Business grew and the family saved enough money to purchase one refrigerated panel truck to deliver eggs to coffee shops in Glendale and the Carnation Restaurant in Phoenix.

The lessons my siblings and I learned on the egg farm growing up extended beyond how to collect the eggs that got left behind — we also learned social responsibility and that's why we joined United Egg Producers. We knew from the start that the UEP Certified program was the best thing for our hens. Without strong, healthy hens, we wouldn't have any eggs.

Our family puts our name on our eggs and that means a lot to us. We take pride in supplying one of nature's perfect products to the public. Everything that goes into that egg has been thought about from the hen all the way to the consumer.

Going Green
We also utilize stringent methods of conservation and recycling to remain as environmentally-friendly ("green") as possible. Our wash water is recycled and reused, and manure is dried, ground, and turned into high quality fertilizer. By the time we are through at even our largest facilities, we actually discard into dumpsters less waste than the average apartment building does in a day.

To learn more about Hickman's Family Farms, please visit www.hickmanseggs.com