Back in the United States, Dave Radlo calls his product “born free brown eggs.”

Fresh from Leeds and Turner, they’ll be turning up in growing numbers next year on plates around Cuba.

Radlo, whose Radlo Farms has chicken barns in both Maine towns, just returned from the island nation of Cuba. He brought back a $400,000 contract for new business.

“After some delays, we are now back in business selling born free brown eggs fresh from New England to Cuba,” he proclaimed from his company’s headquarters in Watertown, Mass.

Radlo initially went to Cuba in the late winter of 2002 and cut a deal that called for sending 10 million eggs from his Maine farms and others. That contract marked the first time since the 1959 Cuban Revolution that an American egg producer and exporter would send its products to the Communist nation.

Then the international issues started to arise, hence Radlo’s noting of “some delays.”

The new deal, he said, was written largely as a result of “the total team effort” of Maine state veterinarian Don Hoenig, Agriculture Commissioner Bob Spear and state Sen. John Nutting, and “strong support” from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Gov. John Baldacci.

Radlo said the sale of his eggs had been previously blocked by Cuban veterinary restrictions. Hoenig cut through the red tape, Radlo said, and worked through the concerns with his counterparts in Cuba.

He said he also managed to overcome unexpected financial problems that resulted when the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control decided to hold, without notice, payments by Cuba to several agricultural companies.

Radlo said he “was blindsided” by the four-week-long hold put on his payments by his own government.

“Due to quick action by national agriculture groups … as well as strong encouragement from Congress and the Senate, payments have been released and business now keeps on going strong,” he said.

Radlo said, “This trade with Cuba is important revenue and cash flow for farmers, farm workers, and our egg industry during tough economic times.”

He said growers and others in the United States should “press forward” on trade issues involving Cuba to benefit all concerned.

He also noted that trade with Cuba has political overtones as well as detractors.

“We deeply respect the concerns of the Cuban community in Miami,” he said, “but we need to keep paying the mortgage and taxes while we feed the world with our high quality and high food-value products.”