How Natasha Cox found her place on the family farm

This is part of a series of profiles of young egg farmers. They are all young leaders taking part in Egg Farmers of Canada’s national young farmer program, an initiative designed to prepare the next generation of industry leaders.

Natasha Cox

Maitland, Nova Scotia

As a child, Natasha Cox would follow her father through the barns on weekends, checking in on the chickens and gathering the eggs. Over time, these small routines became something more lasting, shaping her work as a third generation egg farmer at her family’s farm in Maitland, Nova Scotia.

That connection to the farm was always there, but it deepened over time. “I always had an interest in agriculture,” she says. “I loved taking care of the animals and knew I wanted a career that involved working with them.”

While earning her degree in agricultural business with a minor in animal science from Dalhousie University, she would often return home on weekends to help on the farm—an experience that gradually solidified her decision to come back full-time. “I realized I could use my degree to understand the business side, while still doing what I love,” she says.

Today, she lives and works on the farm alongside a close-knit family team. Her father and brother oversee the overall operation, while a cousin manages administration and another runs the hatchery. Natasha manages one of the egg barns and works in the hatchery several mornings a week, giving her a hands-on role across multiple parts of the business.

She also witnesses the magic of each stage of the hens’ life cycle. “Being able to raise them from day-old chicks to laying hens and knowing we’re producing fresh, high-quality eggs for people here in the Atlantic provinces is something I take a lot of pride in,” she says.

That full-cycle perspective is central to how the farm operates. In addition to producing eggs, they raise pullets and care for breeder flocks. The operation also hatches broiler chicks for meat production, working with farmers across Atlantic Canada who send eggs to be hatched and receive chicks in return.

Supporting it all is an on-site feed mill, allowing the family to produce and tailor feed to each stage of a hen’s development. “It gives us better quality control,” Natasha explains. “We know exactly what the birds are getting, and we can adjust as their needs change.”

Like many multi-generational farms, Cox Bros. Poultry Farm has evolved alongside the industry. Originally established in the 1940s by Natasha’s grandfather and great-uncle as a mixed livestock operation, the farm gradually shifted egg production and formally incorporated in the 1950s. Today, that evolution continues.

In recent years, the family have retooled some barns into enriched colony housing systems and introduced energy-efficient upgrades, including LED lighting, advanced ventilation and solar panels that feed energy back into the grid.

“We’re always looking at ways to improve,” she says. “Whether it’s animal welfare, efficiency or sustainability, there’s always something new to learn.”

In 2024-2025, Natasha participated in Egg Farmers of Canada’s women in the egg industry program, an experience she describes as both empowering and practical. “You’re connecting with other women in the industry, sharing ideas and seeing how different farms operate,” she says.

It also led her to become involved in the national young farmer program representing Egg Farmers of Nova Scotia, where she’s continuing to build connections across the country and learn from others in the industry. “Everyone has the same goal, but they do things a little differently,” she says. “Being able to see that and bring those ideas back home is really valuable.”

While much of her current duties are hands-on, she’s already thinking about the future and how to take on more responsibility in the farm’s management and long-term direction, including one day stepping into an ownership role.

“I love the lifestyle,” she says. “You wake up every morning, go into a barn of happy, healthy chickens and produce nutritious food that people rely on every day.”

If there was only one thing she wishes more Canadians understood, it’s how close that work really is to home.

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