A third-generation farmer explains how his family’s operation has increased its sales of ducklings and managed to sell duck eggs for human consumption.
EVEN KING
Metzer Farms was started in 1972 by Olinday Metzer when he began using ducks to control the snails in his sheep pastures. He later began selling ducklings to local feed stores and duck eggs to the local Asian market. His son, John Metzer, came back to the farm in 1978 to turn his father’s hobby into a business that produced and sold ducklings. The farm grew progressively as new products were added: more breeds of ducks and geese, fresh duck eggs, salted duck eggs, blown eggs and day-old guinea fowl. The third generation, Marc Metzer, joined Metzer Farms in 2014 and is president of its brand, Olinday Farms.
In 2018, Marc Metzer started the fresh duck egg brand, Olinday Farms, named after his grandfather Olin. The company is marketing duck eggs as the all-day egg because of its versatility in plated dishes throughout the day, thus the name Olinday Farms.