Market Farming

[Marcie Rosenzweig <fullcircle AT jps.net>]

Since there are so many bird keepers on this list, I thought you'd be
interested.  Visit the ATTRA site when you get a chance, it's worth the
time.

M-


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>From: "Anne Fantico" <annef AT ncatark.uark.edu>
>To: sanet-mg AT ces.ncsu.edu, PasturePoultry AT onelist.com
>Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 12:48:24 -0600
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>Subject: pastured poultry press release
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> PRESS RELEASE
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2/8/00
>PASTURED POULTRY EXPANSION IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
>
>
>   A free report describing the experiences of 35 Southern farm
>   families who participated in a project to produce and market
>   pastured poultry is available from Appropriate Technology Transfer
>   for Rural Areas (ATTRA).
>
>   Titled "Pastured Poultry," the 40-page report focuses on events
>   from 1996-99 of the project, "Integration of Pastured Poultry
>   Production Into The Farming Systems of Limited Resource Farmers."
>   The report is chock full of information useful to farmers
>   considering pastured poultry as an enterprise.  Included are
>   firsthand accounts of participating farmers and data on the
>   intricacies of pen-building, brooding, feeding, processing,
>   marketing, legal matters, economics, and a host of other topics.
>
>   The project was conducted by Heifer Project International (HPI),
>   along with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT),
>   which manages ATTRA.  It was funded by the USDA Sustainable
>   Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.
>
>The Salatin model
>
>  "The project employed the methods of Joel Salatin, author of
>   Pastured Poultry Profits:
>   Net $25,000 in 6 Months on 20 Acres," says Anne Fanatico of NCAT,
>   outreach coordinator for the project.  "Features of pastured
>   poultry include keeping the chickens in field pens that are moved
>   daily to fresh pasture and feeding non-medicated feed.  Farmers
>   capture profits by adding value through on-farm slaughter and
>   direct marketing to local customers."
>
>   Over the course of the project, HPI and other project cooperators
>   provided about 40 hands-on training sessions throughout the South.
>   Several landgrant universities (Southern, Kentucky State, South
>   Carolina State, Florida A&M, and Fort Valley State) were involved
>   through demonstration sites or Extension agents who helped provide
>   technical support to pastured poultry producers in their areas.
>
>   An important development of the project was formation of the
>   American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA).  With a
>   current membership of 400 people,  APPPA publishes a quarterly
>   newsletter called Grit! and serves as a networking tool for
>   producers.
>
>   "Limited resource farmers need agricultural enterprises that will
>   allow them to start small and gradually build the operation as
>   needed, without incurring substantial debt," Fanatico says.
>   "Pastured poultry increases pasture fertility through manure
>   deposition and integrates well with cattle or sheep production.
>   However, pastured poultry is a high-labor enterprise, profits may
>   not be high initially for small-scale start-ups, and beginners have
>   a lot to learn about brooding, production on pasture, and
>   processing."
>
>   Marketing the birds was not a problem for the producers.  According
>   to Kentucky farmers Albert and Sheila Baker, "This year we plan on
>   growing at least 200 chickens.  Most people, once they tasted our
>   chicken, placed orders for more."
>
>   Don Wilkinson of South Carolina says, "The project has been almost
>   fun the whole way along-one of the few agricultural enterprises
>   I've tried that I can say that of."
>
>New project
>
>   As an outgrowth of the project, HPI and NCAT have launched another
>   SARE project to address bottlenecks for expanding range poultry
>   businesses.
>
>  "Many producers are happy to stay at a small-scale level of pastured
>  poultry production but others involved in the project see great
>  potential for commercializing range poultry production on a larger
>  scale to reach more consumers and generate more profits," Fanatico
>  says.
>
>   She explains that a lack of access to government-inspected
>   processing facilities is a major bottleneck for the range poultry
>   industry.  Since the plants owned by large integrated poultry
>   companies do not serve independent producers, some producers
>   establish their own processing plants.  Government-inspected mobile
>   processing units (MPUs) are an option that HPI will examine to help
>   spread the risk of investment and serve cooperative groups of
>   farmers.  HPI plans to develop MPU prototypes in Kentucky, Alabama,
>   and Mississippi.
>
>   Another bottleneck is a lack of business training for many farmers.
>    When a substantial investment is needed, business planning,
>   feasibility work and marketing plans become crucial.
>
>   According to Luke Elliott, an Arkansas pastured poultry producer
>   and owner of a small USDA-inspected processing plant, "It can be
>   easy to market your first 1000-1500 birds directly off the farm.
>   People actually seek you out and come to the farm.  Beyond that, it
>   is important to develop a marketing plan, to work with other
>   producers, and to make certain of the legality of your situation."
>
>   Under the new project titled "Enhancing Feasibility for Range
>   Poultry Expansion," NCAT is partnering with HPI to develop a
>   feasibility toolbox to address these needs-the toolbox will be
>   available to farmers in the future.
>
>   As a kick-off for assessing the needs of producers and associates
>   interested in expanding range poultry production, NCAT has prepared
>   a survey about such topics as the needs for feasibility, obtaining
>   reliable poultry stock and feed/nutritional needs.
>
>   People wishing to participate in the survey or obtain a free copy
>   of "Pastured Poultry," please call ATTRA from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
>   p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday
>   (Central Time Zone)  at 800-346-9140.
>
>   To join the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association, send
>   $20 to APPPA, c/o Diane Kaufman, 5207 70th St., Chippewa Falls, WI
>   54729 (telephone: 715-723-2293, email: APPPA_Grit AT yahoo.com).
>
>   For more information about HPI and NCAT, visit the websites:
>   www.heifer.org or www.ncat.org.  Based at Little Rock, AR, HPI is
>   an international non-profit corporation dedicated to community
>   development through sustainable livestock production.  NCAT, with
>   offices in Fayetteville, AR, is a national nonprofit organization
>   focusing on sustainable agriculture and rural community
>   development.  NCAT's ATTRA program, a sustainable agriculture
>   information center, has a website at www.attra.org.
>
>   People interested in pastured poultry are also invited to contact
>   Anne Fanatico at NCAT/ATTRA; P.O. Box 3657; Fayetteville, AR
>   72701, 800-346-9140 or Steve Muntz at HPI, 110 North Maysville St.,
>   Suite 100, Mt. Sterling, KY  40353, 800-359-9581.  ATTRA also
>   provides a general publication on sustainable chicken production.
>
>
>
>
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Marcie A. Rosenzweig
Full Circle Organic Farm
Auburn, CA