Market Farming

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <london AT metalab.unc.edu>]

Lawrence F. London, Jr.  Venaura Farm
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden InterGarden
metalab.unc.edu/permaculture PermaSphere
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm AGINFO
lflondon AT mindspring.com  london AT metalab.unc.edu


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 12:48:24 -0600
From: Anne Fantico <annef AT ncatark.uark.edu>
To: sanet-mg AT ces.ncsu.edu, PasturePoultry AT onelist.com
Subject: pastured poultry press release

 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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