Market Farming

[Aaron Silverman <cgrowers AT pond.net>]

We raise about 2,000 pastured broilers, and 3 acres of mixed produce & 
cut flowers. Chickens are run on an acre of the market area from May 
through the middle of June, then moved to pasture for the rest of the 
season. The section the birds are run on is seeded with a cover crop 
tailored for grazing. 

We have experimented with several mixes, including straight white clover, 
oats/annual rye/field peas, oats/cereal rye/annual rye, and a mix of all 
the above. Cover crops must be chosen that are palatable to the birds, 
and can withstand (or even enhanced by) mowing. Pure clover had the best 
results for the chickens, requiring no mowing and producing lots of 
succulent growth. However, for a short-season cover crop, clover is just 
too expensive at $80-$90 per 50lb bag. Peas & oats had great growth, and 
performed well in the beginning of the season, but was difficult to keep 
at grazing height. We thought the birds would eat the succulent peas, but 
merely tromped on them instead. 

We've now settled on mixes of grains & annual rye, for several reasons. 
This type of mix can be either grazed by other animals early in the 
spring to maintain grazing height, or mowed. Either treatment may 
stimulate the grains to "tiller"out, enhancing root growth & additional 
leaf growth. Cereal rye has some alleleopathic effects on weed seeds, 
diminishing their ability to germinate. This type of mix may also be 
established much later in the season, an important aspect in a climate 
that often sees little precipitation during the growing season until well 
into October when light levels are much diminished.

After the birds are phased onto the pasture, the ground is mowed and 
disked. A portion of the section may be planted with winter 
squash/pumpkins with little additional fertility (depending on overall 
fertility levels). The remaining ground is cultivated through July & 
early August, treating it as a bare fallow. Beds are formed and 
overwintering coles (b-sprouts, kale, etc) and garlic are planted in the 
remaining area. Recent research has suggested that microbial activity is 
enhanced with cover crops allowed to go to a slightly more carbonaceous 
phase than normally grown. A small section of chicken ground is allowed 
to go to seed after the birds are removed each year, disked and rolled 
later in the fall than the fallowed ground. This has been sufficient to 
reseed the strip, often with a lusher and thicker stand than the rest of 
the field. As we bring more ground into cultivation, a larger section may 
be allowed to reseed each year.

Although the chickens do provide nitrogen, phosphorus, & calcium, they 
are only a part of our overall fertility program. Birds are generally 
rotated to sections that have seen multiple croppings for the past 2 
years (every section sees birds a minimum of once every 3 years).

Aaron

Creative Growers
Aaron Silverman
88741 Torrence Rd.
Noti, Or. 97461
cgrowers AT pond.net
Quality Produce & Pastured Poultry