Pastured Poultry - Introduction
A Heifer Project International Case Study Booklet

ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
PO Box 3657
Fayetteville, AR 72702
Phone: (800) 346-9140
FAX: (479) 442-9842
www.attra.ncat.org

Heifer Project International
1015 Louisiana Street
PO Box 8058
Little Rock, AR 72203
Phone: (800) 422-0474
E-mail: info@heifer.org
http://www.heifer.org/
In This Section
  A niche market you can tap
  Advantages of a pastured poultry system
  Major activities of the project
  Future & collaborative work
Farmer trainees place chickens in killing cones on processing day.
A niche market you can tap

Pastured poultry is a niche market in which some consumers are willing to pay more for what many of them consider to be tastier, healthier and more humanely grown chicken. The poultry industry in the U.S. was pasture based until the 1950s when confinement housing became the norm. Small, independent producers have been replaced by highly integrated companies.

Today there are many consumers interested in "natural" poultry products. Consumers have different interpretations of the term "natural" but it usually includes flocks of chickens that roam on grassy pasture and eat only non-medicated feeds that do not contain unappealing by-products. Some consumers want certified organic products or gourmet products, believing that pastured poultry delivers better nutrition and taste.

Some are motivated by nostalgia and look for that Sunday fried chicken they enjoyed on Grandma's farm. Some consumers are interested in range poultry for welfare or aesthetic reasons, or because they think it is an environmentally sound way to produce poultry. Other distinctions made by consumers and retailers have to do more with processing than production. Some consumers are attracted to the concept of on-farm processing, while others demand government inspected processing. Some consumers also make marketing distinctions. For example, they may prefer to buy direct from the farmer to support local food production and strengthen rural communities.

Heifer Project International (HPI), a non-profit development corporation dedicated to community development through sustainable livestock production, seeks ways to help farmers find profitable, low-capital production and marketing enterprises. In April 1996, HPI was funded by the USDA's Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program for the 3-year project, "Integration of Pastured Poultry Production into the Farming Systems of Limited Resource Farmers."

The HPI project helped limited resource farmers in the South boost incomes and diversify their operations by growing, processing and marketing chickens on their farms. The project employed the methods of Joel Salatin of Virginia, author of Pastured Poultry Profits: Net $25,000 in 6 Months on 20 Acres.
Advantages of a pastured poultry system

In the Salatin pastured poultry model, chickens are raised in floorless field pens moved daily to fresh pasture. Seventy-five to 90 broilers are kept in each 10' x 12' x 2' pen.

The chickens receive exercise and fresh air while foraging for plants and insects, and their manure adds fertility to the pasture. They are fed a supplemental feed concentrate, usually without routine medications such as antibiotics. Feed costs are reduced by keeping birds on pasture.

Production is usually seasonal-participants order day-old chicks from early April to October from hatcheries. Chicks are brooded and moved onto pasture at about 2- 3 weeks - when they are feathered out and when weather permits.

Processing & marketing
Birds are usually slaughtered on-farm at about 8 weeks of age and customers come directly to the farm to pick up their chicken. Although marketing is usually word-of-mouth, producers put significant effort into planning sales, reminding customers of pick-up dates, and having the birds ready on time.

Although pastured poultry is a high-labor enterprise, especially for small-scale start-ups, the participants and their customers were happy with the final product and believe pastured poultry enterprises help build community. Participants often teamed up with each other or other pastured poultry producers in the area - sharing brooding and processing facilities, marketing together, and buying inputs together.

Pastured poultry
• Is a sustainable livestock production system that integrates well with other farm enterprises and can help keep more family farmers on their land.
• Has the potential to provide jobs in rural areas and aid in community development through added income and youth involvement.
Materials & equipment
Limited resource farmers need value-added agricultural enterprises that will allow them to start small and gradually build an operation as needed, without incurring substantial debt.

One field pen has about $100-150 worth of lumber, chicken wire, screws, and tin. Other materials include waterer and feeders. Processing equipment can be expensive. There are also feed costs and the costs of buying chicks. The reason that producers are interested in range poultry production is generally economic-they want to earn money.

Indirect benefits
Profits may not be high initially. There are other indirect reasons for raising pastured poultry, such as improving pasture fertility, increasing farm diversity, family work ethics, community involvement and improving lifestyles. Farmers may simply want to raise chickens for home use, family and friends. As experience and production increase, profits increase as well.
Major Activities of the Project

HPI discussed the project with its affiliated farmer groups and identified interested producers.

Training sessions
Two major 3-day training sessions were held at the Salatin farm in Swoope, VA - in June 1996 and October 1997. About 40 other hands-on training sessions and field days, held in different locations in the South, trained farmers in all aspects of pastured poultry production. Participants built pens, moved the pens, and butchered chickens; they learned about brooding, feeding, record-keeping, food safety, and marketing. Educators, including local Extension agents, were trained to provide technical support to the farmers.

Materials used at the training sessions included a May 1996 survey of 13 producers who had already adopted the pastured poultry model.

Legal summary
The survey was conducted by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) which administers Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), a national sustainable agriculture information service. The National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information conducted a legal summary of federal and state laws regarding on-farm processing of poultry in all the southern states, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Getting started

Pastured poultry growers form APPPA
As part of the project, the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) was founded to help producers around the country network. APPPA publishes the quarterly newsletter Grit! for exchange of ideas and information - including reviews of legal issues regarding on-farm poultry processing, information on chicken feed, rations, new and used processing equipment, marketing, referrals, and sources of chicks.

APPPA's base of active pastured poultry producers is useful not only of networking among producers but also for consumers looking for high-quality chicken products in their area. APPPA membership is now about 500.
After training, the grantee families each received from HPI about $300 in start-up funds to allow them to build a pen, buy 100 chicks, and a feeder and waterer. HPI provided small-scale processing equipment.
The farmers were also required to keep a book prepared by HPI to record income and expenses for the project, along with production information such as feed type and costs, labor budget, pasture management, problems encountered, and quality of life information.

NCAT compiled the records and used the information for this booklet. Three HPI field representatives provided follow-up support to the farmers.

Several 1890 land-grant universities - Southern University, Kentucky State University, and Tuskegee University - were involved from the beginning of the project, and in the second year, South Carolina State, Florida A & M University, and Fort Valley State University became involved. Some of these universities have pastured poultry demonstration sites and their associated Extension agents offer support to pastured poultry farmers.


On-farm results
On-farm results are encouraging--most farmers are very pleased with the enterprise. "Not only did we make a few dollars, but I am very happy that we can open the freezer and see 40 chickens we can eat, " said a Kentucky producer.

In the HPI tradition, grantee families signed a contract to "pass on the gift" by training another farmer and returning the price of the chicks to HPI.

The project generated substantial publicity in alternative farming magazines and some project participants, including farmers, were invited to give talks at conferences about pastured poultry.
Future & collaborative work

A major indication of the first project is the need for government approved processing facilities especially for those producers interested in commercializing range poultry.

To meet this need, HPI began a second poultry project with support from Southern Region SARE in 1999 called "Enhancing Feasibility for Range Poultry Expansion." There is an increasing demand for range poultry - including regionally produced.

Processing investments
Please see "Appendix 6: Resources Section" of this booklet if you would like to order a copy of HPI's final project report.

In order for producers to access processing facilities, investments are needed to build independent processing plants. Currently, very few facilities exist for custom processing of poultry-integrated processing plants do not serve independent farmers. A way to spread investment risk for limited resource farmers is collaboration with other farmers and associates--a mobile processing unit (MPU) is one of the options.

The project will examine the steps needed for building an approved MPU in three states (Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi), as well as feasibility issues that farmers need to examine when planning a business, such as developing a marketing plan. A "feasibility toolbox" will be created as a resource for farmers. Also examined will be nutritional resources (obtaining feed in bulk, and getting nutritional advice for natural formulations) and obtaining reliable stock.

HPI is very interested in other groups involved in range poultry as well. In a separate SARE-funded project, Southern University (project leader Jim McNitt) will be studying integration of pastured poultry with vegetable production.


Producer life issues
The University of Wisconsin (project leader Steve Stevenson) received a SARE grant in 1997 to examine the economic and quality of life issues for pastured poultry producers, as well as the nutritional qualities of pastured poultry compared to conventional poultry (fat, cholesterol, texture, flavor, microbes, and vitamins) when processed on-farm or in government-inspected plants. They are also carrying out marketing analyses.

The ATTRA Project is operated by the National Center for Appropriate Technology under a grant from the Rural Business - Cooperative Service, US Department of Agriculture. These organizations do not recommend or endorse products, companies, or individuals. ATTRA is located in the Ozark Mountains on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, at PO Box 3657, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 72702. ATTRA staff prefer to receive requests for information about sustainable agriculture via the toll-free number 800-346-9140.
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