Corndel Closure - APPPA - American Pastured Poultry Producers
Transcription
Corndel Closure - APPPA - American Pastured Poultry Producers
ISSUE 79 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Newsletter January/February 2014 this issue Breeding Pastured Broilers President’s Corner Embracing Competition Pastured Poultry at TN Tech Scholarship Awards Guide to Email Cold Calls Processing Pains Community Corner Act Now: PA Poultry Workshop Hens on pasture at Tennessee Tech University. Photo courtesy of Dennis Fennewald P.1 P.2 P.3 P.10 P.12 P.14 P.16 P.18 P.22 Corndel Closure: Tim Shell Provides His Thoughts on Breeding Pastured Broilers —Mike Badger Have you ever heard of the Corndel Cross broiler? I know many of you have. The broiler was developed by Tim Shell, one of the original members of APPPA. His intent was to develop a broiler breed that was 100% pastured-based, and if you read the Raising Poultry on Pasture book from APPPA you’ll encounter the Corndel breeding program and lots of enthusiasm about it. Articles are also found around the web, including apppa.org. That enthusiasm often leads newcomers to knock on APPPA’s door and ask these two questions, “Where is Timothy Shell, and where can I find the Corndel?” The answer seekers often have a heightened sense of disgust for the Cornish Cross, which is the current pastured poultry rock star. They read Tim’s articles and are enthralled with the possibility of cutting the Cornish Cross out of the pastured poultry industry for a replacement breed that’s pastured, vibrant, and simply non-industry. breeding program and research. If you can’t find a Corndel Cross broiler for sale these days, there are two plausible reasons. The breed just didn’t perform as well as needed to gain adoption. In other words, it failed in the market place. Or nobody exhibited the same passion as Tim, which caused the breed to languish with his family’s departure to China in 2003. The second possibility still gives the enthusiastic crowd their hope. But hope does not beget success. And while I may condense and only slightly sensationalize the types of inquiries I get on this subject, consider that the Corndel Cross has not been available for nearly ten years. Yet, Tim and his chicken have achieved cult status. After all, there are people considering developing entire websites to collecting Corndel information. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. On the contrary, I think that enthusiasm is awesome; it’s that enthusiasm that prompted this article. The enthusiasm, however, often prevents people from seeing the obvious conclusion to Tim’s Corndel American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (Continued on page 4) Issue # 79 Once again the long term is being overlooked for immediate gain. The new year has begun with very severe weather throughout North America. Record low temperatures and snow now seem to be the norm. Global weather is clearly changing. I have recently read that the greenhouse gas situation is apparently far worse than what anyone had ever thought. It seems very clear that globally most are going for the quick grab as opposed to thinking about the long haul. This of course flies in the face of sustainable farming, which I personally feel is the underpinning of APPPA. The whole GM situation is a serious threat to global agriculture and food supply. The initial concepts seemed fairly reasonable, the goal supposedly being to feed the masses. Sadly this original concept seems to have been taken over by simple greed. PO Box 85 Hughesville, PA 17737 grit@apppa.org | www.apppa.org | (888) 662-7772 The APPPA Grit newsletter is published six times a year. The American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) is a nonprofit educational and networking organization dedicated to encouraging the production, processing, and marketing of poultry raised on pasture. Staff Mike Badger, Director/Grit Editor Board of Directors Tom Wadson, President, 2009-2014 Vice President, Vacant Greg Gunthorp, Treasurer, 2009-2014 Jennie Watkins, Secretary, 2009-2014 Will Harris, 2013-2015 Jeff Mattocks, 2013-2015 Brenda Ostrom, 2009-2014 David Schafer, 2013-2015 Val Vetter and Deb Aaron, 2010-2014 Joel Salatin, board member at-large I was pleasantly surprised by the comments of Jim Gerritsen of Wood Prairie farm in Maine. He came up with a very simple comparison on how the GM pollution can be described and how it is currently handled. It refers to someone painting a house purple, next to a white house. Basically the purple spray drift covers the neighboring white house. The owner of the purple house then sues the guy in the white house for stealing his purple paint! This has to be the ultimate distortion. Pretty sad really. All of this can become depressing on a cold dreary winter's day! YES, the glass is indeed half full. Looking around our farm in the scenic Lukes Pond Valley (Eli Reiff please laugh) in supposedly sunny Bermuda, the entire place is saturated with rain. Bad news? It is in the high 60s. It could be snow! Clearly challenging for field work, thus we have been able to complete the harvest of our latest broiler flock. We target a 3-4 lb. dressed weight. Once again we nailed it. I am forever thankful for my great team! We now need to harvest about 300 spent layers. We harvest these by gutting, removing the beaks and toenails and then make them into a fresh natural dog food. The mix includes fresh veg, fruit, cracked eggs, and various natural additives. I have always believed that everything on this farm is saleable. It is critical that we turn our trash into cash. The quality of this diet has shown excellent results. Fortunately, this product is showing huge benefits in dogs previously fed commercial food. The benefits are both physical and mental. The interesting thing is that the stools come out white and are gone in 24 hours. A lot of work, but a great rainy day project. In recent months APPPA and The Fertrell company have conducted a series of laboratory tests on various breeds of broilers on different feeds on separate farms. A lot of tests on a lot of things. We now get to try and make sense of a lot of numbers. A quick look at all of these numbers does not reveal any glaring conclusions. American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (Continued on page 15) Issue # 79 2 EMBRACING COOPERATIVE COMPETITION —Mike Badger If you had to identify your competition, who would it be? Is it your neighboring pastured poultry producers? Is it Tyson, Perdue, or Bell & Evans? Where I’m at in north central Pennsylvania, there’s a local chicken producer raising free range chicken in a green house. Those chickens are cheap and everywhere, including health food stores. I consider this producer to be the biggest competitor to the local pastured producers because he’s locking up some prime markets with an average chicken (better than CAFO, inferior to pastured). There is also a strong pastured poultry industry in the area, and while we all compete with similar products, we’re not really much competition for one another. Not everyone would agree with that statement. And I know there’s the same difference of opinion among many of you. Some of you view the pressure of other producers as a serious threat to your business. You’re inclined to protect your “product and production secrets” for fear of losing your competitive edge. I find two inherent problems with this thinking. One, your neighboring producers probably already know your secrets or can find them out easily, if desired. The other problem is that most of the producers in my area fall somewhere around 1,000 birds a year with an outlier or two approaching several thousand birds (green house guy not included). Now let’s do some math. Americans eat approximately 80 pounds of chicken each year. The population of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania (where I live) is approximately 117,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That means county residents eat 9.4 million pounds of chicken annually. Based on a four pound carcass, we need 2.3 million chickens to satisfy the demand. The numbers obviously increase if I were to include adjacent counties. All the producers in a 50 mile radius of me could not supply the demand for my home county, let alone the counties where my “competition” resides. Given this perspective, it’s easy to see that my neighbors are not competition. In reality, the biggest local producer in the area is not a real threat to me. We all have an incredible opportunity to supply chicken of a variety of types ranging from unremarkable cheap CAFO chicken to super-niche organic, non-soy, pastured. I would submit to you that most of what we fear as competition is actually a marketing void. There is a reason that businesses employ marketers and hire marketing agencies. Marketing creates demand for a product regardless of whether or not the product is considered the “best.” Best products don’t inherently (Continued on page 17) American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 3 (Continued from page 1) At any rate, I wanted to track Tim down and get his perspective on the Corndel Cross. I also asked him if he’d mind providing some advice for those who may want to pick up his work. Some of you may be inspired by Tim’s advice while others may get a ruffled feather or too. However, there is something for everyone, including breeding, flock management, challenge feeding, and business philosophy. A couple of things are clear. Tim is still passionate about farming and poultry. His reputation as an expert producer and critical thinker shine through. If you want an honest pep talk about raising pastured poultry and about breeding, this is a worthwhile read. Tim’s responses to my questions were verbose, and as a result, I didn’t need to ask him many questions. I’ve edited his responses to fit space and topic, and added a few headings to help organize the topics. Mike Badger: Your work resonates with people; however, as best as I can tell, no one has really perpetuated your breed. Do you have any notes or information that you would feel comfortable passing on to me for publication? Tim Shell: Our Pastured Peepers project started as a response to Joel Salatin asking for a source of chicks from pastured breeding stock. My family knew Joel quite well. We had known and collaborated with Joel in pastured poultry production since 1990 and greatly enjoyed implementing his models of grazing and poultry on our Mother’s farm in Bath County, VA, an hour’s drive from Polyface. Initially we used an egg mobile just like Joel but found that the perfect cleanliness required for the eggs for high hatching rates required roll out nests so that the egg was removed from the bird immediately upon laying. The best hatching rates come from not washing the eggs at all, so as to not wash the bloom off of the egg. These nests were nearly impossible to keep level on hills where we farmed; so we parked the shelter and learned to rotate the birds around it. This then allowed for permanent water and electrical systems and commercial feed bins. We took the best of pastured poultry and commercial poultry and combined them. We were running about 2,000 broiler breeder hens our last year and produced about 60,000 chicks that year. The biggest surprise/let down for us all was that our chicks were not that much better, if any better, than commercial chicks. Joel’s initial thought was that as his pastured eggs were so much better than super market eggs, chicks from his eggs would be better than industry chicks. So we jumped in on that assumption and ran it for four seasons, selling most of the chicks to Joel in the beginning. In time, I was able to actually purchase a dozen industry broiler eggs and crack them out and show them to Joel. They were just as good as his. His response was, “How do they do that?” In other words, without pasture in the diet, how can they get a good egg from confinement flocks? Actually, it isn’t that difficult with a balanced ration with proper micro-nutrients even American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 4 with zero forage consumption. It turns out that to get a profitable hatching rate, industry breeder flocks have to have much higher nutrient levels in their rations than commercial table egg flocks require. The hatching rate of table eggs would be very poor and therefore unprofitable not only because of nutrient levels but also because of age. Hatching eggs are always fresh and no older than 9 days. We were comparing the wrong thing; no one in the hatching industry sets old table eggs. In the beginning we thought we’d have chicks that would far out perform those of the industry and sales would be easy, but in the end, after putting several hundred thousand chicks through the hands of pastured growers over four years, the consensus was they were industry equivalent but no more. In the enthusiasm of the early days, everyone wanted to believe they were better, but we proved it over time in real economics with real flocks. Mike Badger: The biggest questions I get are in regards to the breeding and the feeding schedules. If I understand my research correctly, you're crossing a Delaware rooster and a Cornish hen, but then what happens after that? Do you cross it back? Tim Shell: Anyone can go to a commercial broiler breeder website such as Cobb and download the production manuals with all the charts and feed recommendations related to the following free of charge. Restricted feed program: The first thing to comprehend is that broiler parent stock are just as capable of gaining weight as fast as their offspring will. If permitted to do so, they become so overweight that they cannot reproduce naturally. The female’s abdomen grows compacted with fat, limiting egg production and leading to prolapse of the rectum at Joel eventually went back to other suppliers. Then we were left with only the novelty of having a pastured breeder flock to differentiate our product and we ourselves were losing interest, having never been interested in hyping something up to get it sold. Soon afterward, we moved to China from 2003 to 2010, and we have been in Mongolia since 2010. It was a relief to be out of the business because we felt the chicks would sell themselves if they were so much better; but they weren’t and didn’t. We had a high customer turnover rate as well, which indicated that many growers were just as happy with bigger suppliers after the first year. (Continued on page 6) There are decades of strong science behind what the commercial poultry industry does and generally a lot of ignorance and enthusiasm on the part of pastured growers. I think it’s good to work at getting as fully informed as possible, and the industry has a lot to offer. They’ve been at it a long time. So, we [the Shell family] just lay the facts out for others to benefit from whenever questions arise. We are still interested in the whole poultry business and waiting for the right time to get something going over here. American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 5 first egg, which is usually fatal. The males cannot mount the hens or, if they do, they seriously damage the hens. Therefore broiler breeders are kept on a restricted feed program which keeps them healthy and gaining weight on a schedule that compares very much to any normal commercial egg laying breed. The birds on restricted feed look and act like a normal chicken, and can even fly if their wings aren’t clipped! The diet does not harm them in the least. Of course the birds have the same appetite as before, so they consume their daily ration in about 20 minutes and sincerely believe they are starving to death the rest of the day. This in turn causes them to scavenge vigorously and turn to cannibalism if they become nutrient deprived. On pasture they will consume more forage due to this hunger. This restricted feed program is standard industry practice and must be practiced by any pastured broiler breeder stock program. It should be noted American Pastured Poultry Producers Association here that we used the Fertrell Company to develop special pastured broiler breeder feed supplements and credit those balanced rations with much of our success in being able to match industry production and hatching standards on a pastured program while remaining disease free. Lighting: Contrary to popular opinion that it is somehow cruel to force birds to lay eggs with artificial lighting, light is a comfort factor for the birds and controls their laying cycle. Chickens originate from the jungles where day length is normally longer. If lighting were a stress factor it would decrease production when in fact it does the opposite. Regardless, it is mandatory with broiler breeders which only profitably lay a maximum of 150 eggs per cycle, and that’s only with optimum management of feed and lighting. The lighting program is used in close cooperation with the feeding program to induce egg production. Generally, lighting commences by creating 14 to 15 hour days (with 40% of the lighting in the AM and Issue # 79 6 60% PM) and increases to a maximum of a 17 hour day in 30 minute or one hour increments. As long as day length is not decreasing there is no signal to the bird to decrease egg production. Day length is increased 2 weeks prior to first egg, at which time feed is increased to bring the birds to peak production. If lighting is not increased, there is no stimuli to initiate reproductive development, and the birds continue gaining weight rather than maturing sexually. Alternate breeds: The Corndel Cross was an experiment closely following the line breeding principles taught by Mr. Jim Lents, author of The Basis of Line Breeding, and was designed to limit the genetic potential for pastured broiler weight gain to a 9 to 11 week finish as opposed to a 7 or 8 week finish. A Delaware male was crossed with industry standard Cornish Rock females which gave a 14 to 16 week maturity. These males were crossed again back to the Cornish Rock females to shorten the finish even more. One of the key concepts of line breeding is intense culling pressure. Only the top 5% or so are used in subsequent matings. In the beginning, very few candidates will match the ideal type desired. We progressed in 4 years with two complete generations per year for a total of seven or eight generations. Line breeding, as per Lents, requires 14 generations to achieve a pure blood type after which most of the traits have been stabilized and culling percentages drop to 15% or less. Our final disbursement of stock was to Tom Delehantey (of Pollo Real Farm) in New Mexico who kept the breed going for a few years, but no longer has them to my knowledge. At the time of that disbursement the birds were still lacking in some important points of uniformity of body conformation. Tom worked hard on that trait for several years. supply. Otherwise, smart folks like Tom Delehanty would still be breeding them today. Tim Shell: The take home lesson from our years of work with the broiler breeders was this: The easiest way for us as pastured broiler producers to increase the hardiness of our pastured flocks is to challenge feed commercially available chicks rather than breed for new ones. Contrary to popular practice, the birds won’t die if the feed trough is not full 24/7, although they of course may imagine they are dying! After seeing broiler breeder stock grow to maturity in 24 weeks on restricted feed, we realized we can control the growth of pastured broilers with great accuracy to any target maturity date simply by challenge feeding. Anyone with any common sense can see that pastured broilers are not living in optimum health; they are gluttonous to the extreme, which we consider a disgrace at best and quite dangerous at worst for health in the human population. They are sick and weak and stressed due to their huge appetites. Just backing the feed off a little can change their viability greatly. There is not that much increase in feed consumption between growing a bird in nine weeks as opposed to seven, except that there are two weeks extra labor, but there are benefits that balance that. The birds will be more active, they will get up and move around more instead of just sitting there all day, they will forage more, and their muscle will have more tone, (not necessarily tough if prepared correctly). There will be lower mortality and performance under weather extremes. The birds will be capable of performing in other production models that require them to range farther. They will be happier and healthier. All that is required is a little practice in limiting the feed intake of the birds. One can simply add only enough feed twice a day so that the trough is empty six hours after feeding. This gives a six hour period twice a day when the bird’s digestive system can rest and work more efficiently. Mike Badger: You've confirmed much of what I suspected about the experiment being good/ educational, but not outperforming the industry American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 7 There is no need in our opinion to develop whole new breeds once this information is understood. But most broiler growers are unaware of the dynamics of maintaining optimum performance and proper body condition of animals designed for rapid weight gain, having never dealt with breeding stock. And being human as we are, this level of attention to details is more than most producers will care for, so in the end, a breed that is not capable of growing out in less than 9 weeks will have a place in the chick markets for pastured broilers. But it would be a shame if that were simply because growers were without the knowledge of other options. Mike Badger: Tim answered a very important question before I had a chance to ask it. What would your approach be like today? Tim Shell: If I were starting back into pastured broiler production today, I would use standard industry chicks from a quality supplier and limit feed them (on rations balanced by Jeff Mattocks of Fertrell) to grow out in nine weeks. I would also use the stationary netting model we developed that allows them to range more and render the extra two weeks of labor irrelevant because there is no daily moving of cages, just daily move of feeders and weekly moving of netting. It also allows for automated watering and feeding if desired. which in my view would give everyone a better deal-the birds while they live, those who grow them, and those that eat them afterwards. Mike Badger: Your work with the Corndel has developed quite a following with most people ending up at the same point: how can I get more information on his breed? Tim Shell: If there are those who still wish to develop their own slow maturing breeds, it should be stated clearly that it is very doable in a short time (14 generations in 7 years) by following proper line breeding rules and starting with industry stock females and an alternative male. Cobb, has been forced to develop this very breed type for its chick markets in India due to customer preferences for more muscle tone in their meat and feather colors other than plain white. The truth about line breeding is that it is, in fact, cloning animals I fed the birds in portable feeders which were out in the paddock, and slid them along to a new spot once a day. They were just half pvc pipe on pvc runners. But this spread the manure around the paddock evenly, created no hot spots, forced the birds to range, kept 50% of the droppings in the field, extended the life of the bedding, and caused the grass to respond with even, lush growth. The birds would maximize their forage intake to satisfy their hunger twice a day and still have the same conformation of breast the customer is accustomed to with slightly more tone to the muscle. I am only suggesting slight changes to key variables in the overall program of pastured broiler production, American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 8 genetically speaking. It just takes 14 generations instead of one and modern farmers don’t want to wait that long. All that the genetic engineering industry wants to do with cloning can be done by any common farmer with the proper knowledge, commitment and patience. Every farmer has his prize chicken or cow that he wishes he had a hundred of, and by line breeding he can have as many as he wants for as long as he wants. With proper culling there is no limit to the duration of the program. It is truly amazing how ignorant the American agricultural community has become of the true secrets of livestock breeding. Most agriculture schools, sadly enough, still ridicule line breeding. Mike Badger: Basically, a core take away from your previous research is that it still basically comes down to management. Good management can make an industry bird work. For those who poorly manage the Cornish Cross (i.e., health and mortality problems), it's doubtful they will have the management skills required to breed their own broiler. Tim Shell: Much credit for my work goes to Jim Lents of Anxiety 4th Herfords for mentoring me in these breeding secrets, to Shelly Wenger of Westdale Hatchery for hatching and shipping my chicks and teaching me about hatching eggs and chick quality, to Jeff Mattocks of Fertrell for teaching me the intricacies of ration balancing first hand, and to Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms, Inc. for providing the initial market guarantee for our chick sales and the encouragement to get our program launched. It has truly been a pleasure to know and follow these men in their work. Most of all, I am blessed immeasurably by my Heavenly Father, the inventor of the chicken, in all that He is teaching me about His marvelous poultry in this process and am glad to freely share with others what He has freely given to me. After farming for 30 years in three countries, I can’t stop admiring and enjoying these amazing, incredible birds that help feed our world today. Three cheers for APPPA! Tim Shell: Yes, it's all about management by staying aware of daily details and promptly adjusting that which is out of order. I forced myself to spend 20 min/day/bird group sitting on my upturned feed bucket observing the flock. Anything that is out of order will make itself evident. Then I refused to allow myself to eat, relax or do anything until those adjustments were completed. Those are the most critical and necessary moments of the day without which my entire operation could not have prospered. That time is just sitting and observing, not feeding or water or anything else. People who throw in the feed and rush back to their other life can never make it work. You have to be devoted to observation with poultry in order to catch their stress points and correct them before they affect their performance. I'm also a strong believer in creating dual environments. The outdoor and indoor, and let the birds choose where they want to spend their time. Mike Badger: Some final thoughts from Tim... American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 9 Pastured Poultry Education at Tennessee Tech University —Dennis Fennewald, Assistant Profession, Tennessee Tech University Editor’s Note: The Tennessee Tech University Poultry Program was one of the recipients of APPPA’s 2012 scholarship program. We have purchased lots of building material, heat lamps, feeders, waterers, water tanks, nest boxes, electric netting and egg cartons. I want to thank you again for the gift from APPPA and want to send an update on the Poultry Program at TENNESSEE Tech University. First, I would like to give a little background to make it easier to see why this program is a logical step for TENNESSEE agriculture. TENNESSEE Tech currently operates two farms. One farm is two miles from Tech and contains 100 cows, 15 sows, 8 wool sheep (left over from the show days) and 35 Dorper hair sheep. The sheep are guarded by a donkey. The farm also supports itself by producing soybeans and corn. There are several greenhouses operated by the horticulture department. The second farm is located about 20 miles from campus with 450 commercial cows. This is easily one of the largest farms under the control of a university, especially east of the Mississippi. The diversity and size of these enterprises offer Tech students hands-on experience in labs and as employees of the farm. We are always interested in hiring energetic students to work on these farms. In the three semesters I have taught, approximately 100 students (freshman to seniors) have been exposed to poultry. Students have been involved in raising layers, mixing feed, moving electric netting, and collecting eggs. In addition, they have raised chicks using the new GQF incubators and hatchers. Students have built four 10’ x 12’ PVC hoop houses, four 10’ x 12’ cattle panel hoop houses, an 8’ x 16’ eggmobile, and converted a 20’ x 40’ greenhouse into a 40’ x 60’ gutter-connect greenhouse/chicken house. Next spring, we will start a broiler project! There is a small, family-owned processing plant located 30 miles south of Cookeville. This plant has been open for a few months and has been very busy. We plan to raise ~400 broilers to research different methods of production. My goal is to build the number one poultry program in Tennessee and an ongoing pasture poultry enterprise for students to “learn, earn and serve.” Students will learn proper animal husbandry, earn money operating the enterprise, and serve the community by communicating via field days and workshops. This will make them more valuable in their internships, foster an entrepreneurial spirit and expose them to poultry. We used the gift from APPPA to help fund the poultry program. Other donations include a Bright transportation coop, two GQF incubators and a GQF hatcher, three zip-tie domes and chicks (layers). A hoop house at Tennessee Tech University. Photo provided by Dennis Fennewald. American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 10 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 11 APPPA Awards $1,000 for Pastured Poultry Education in 2014 The 2013 APPPA scholarship saw a nearly 400% increase in proposals. The topics were diverse and competitive. Several people proposed technological projects while many sought funds to attend conferences. Still others pitched workshops and other educational efforts. The APPPA scholarship selection team decided to award two $500 scholarships in 2013. Selections were made at the regularly schedule board of directors meeting on December 19, 2013. The awarded funds will support pastured poultry workshops in Idaho and New York. APPPA’s core mission is education and networking, and the winning proposals embodied that mission. Excerpts of both proposals are included for review. These programs will take place in 2014, and, as a condition of receiving the award, each awardee will provide a report to be published in the APPPA Grit. Award #1 APPPA member Katherine Noble, Hailey, Idaho I have a 10-acre, soon-to-become organic farm in south-central Idaho at 5500’ elevation. I have raised Turken broilers and Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red layers for 2 years, and I have belonged to APPPA for 1 year. I have found APPPA to be extremely helpful in reminding me of some of the things I have forgotten about chickens since helping my grandmother many years ago and in extending my understanding of the science and art of raising these delightful birds. I have been very grateful for the blog and have learned a tremendous amount by listening to the conversations. The publications on pricing, feed and processing costs have been extremely helpful to me in trying to establish a market for my birds and eggs at a fair and profitable price. I have more recently been involved in developing a co-op in my area to develop a mobile-processing unit for poultry and purchasing organic feed from local farmers so that we can mix our own for our flocks. We hope to have our co-op and mobile unit up and running in about 18 months, which will save all of us transporting our birds 4hrs to the only state licensed processor in southern Idaho. Since I sell primarily to restaurants and a local organic grocery, I am required to have my birds processed by a state licensed facility. I would like to use the scholarship to give a workshop on mixing feed, general chicken health, best practices, and to help all of the south/central Idaho poultry producers raise healthy, profitable pastured poultry. None of us have raised poultry for very many years, and, as far as I know, I am the only one who belongs to APPPA. All of the new poultry producers I know here are struggling with various aspects of raising and marketing poultry, and I think we would all benefit very much from a one-day workshop. As far as I am aware, no one has held any poultry workshops in Idaho, and our University system does not have a poultry division, so we are basically out here inventing it as we go! American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (Continued on page 13) Issue # 79 12 Award #2 Nancy Glazier,Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Pen Yan, New York I am requesting $500 through the Jondle Memorial Scholarship to conduct a pastured poultry workshop for beginning farms. As Cornell Cooperative Extension’s small farms specialist for a 10-county region, I have the opportunity to work with these farmers who are eager for basic information to get started in an enterprise. Many have small acreage on which they wish to raise animals as a part-time business. Nearby urban and suburban areas provide an ample customer base. The missing piece for these beginners is education. One of my chief tasks as an educator is to provide workshops for those learning about farming. day. This also provides a networking opportunity for beginners to meet and get to know those with experience. Speakers will include regional pastured poultry producers: Bob Ott, Hermann Weber, Fred Forsburg, Marla Parsons, and myself. Location will be at the Riga Town Hall, Monroe County, a fairly central location. Stay tuned for details of the 2014 scholarship. The best means of learning is to hear first-hand from experienced farmers. With a combination of marketing and production education, participants can learn the basics of pastured poultry production in one American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 13 Concise Guide to Email Cold Calls —Mike Badger If you want to grow your business, you need to reach new customers. I’ve never been very good at cold calls, but I have been successful using email to get new business. Ask for the sale. Communicating via email presents a special challenge in that it requires writing skills—basics such as punctuation, reasonable spelling accuracy, and comprehension. In addition, it’s harder to write a short, concise message than it is to ramble on, but brief wins the day with email prospecting. Ever. Personal emails do not have multiple recipients. Obvious broadcast emails are easy to ignore. If you understand these basic contexts, you have the understanding to succeed with email prospecting. It’s important to note that this guide may be presented in the context of email, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t apply to a postcard, a phone call, or a chance personal encounter with an interesting prospect at a conference. Here’s six easy-to-implement email prospecting tips to ensure you engage your prospect rather than put them off. Build a list of targeted, relevant prospects If you want to sell chicken to chefs, CSA’s, and direct -to-consumer, you need a message for each group. Write a concise message with contact information Remember, you’re sending an unsolicited email to someone you hope to do business with. Be respectful of their time, make your pitch, and thank the person. Provide links to detailed information and a telephone number. If you hit a person with a serious need to buy what you’re offering, they’re just as likely to call you. Create a personalized template Personalize the email by including something specific about that person, if relevant. The template portion is the offer you’re making, and is typically more boiler plate information. That’s why you’re bothering the person in the first place. Tell the recipient what you want them to do. Never, ever, cc/bcc recipients In an APPPA context, I’ve used this type of prospecting to recruit workshop attendees. In my business, I’ve used this approach to build a mobile processing business. When Christie and I wanted to sell chicken to restaurants, this approach found chefs willing to buy from us and increased our seasonal production by over 500%. Here’s a sample email we used to recruit chefs. Some of the information has been <removed>: Hi, <name>! I was browsing <a website> and came across <you>. I think it is fabulous that you use locally grown and raised veggies and meats as much as possible! Although I realize that you have pastured poultry suppliers already, I wanted to reach out and offer you one more resource, should you find yourself in need. Many thanks for all that you do to promote locally grown and raised products! It’s a short message that was sent directly from my wife, Christie, to chefs she selected. It demonstrates our offer and our familiarity with the chef; we ask for the sale. The email signature includes additional contact information, which isn’t shown. Nobody bought chicken based on the email alone. They responded and Christie closed the deal on the phone. But at that point, the contact is no longer a cold call but a well-qualified lead. Happy prospecting. American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 14 (Continued from page 2) We have a very talented Board with great insight. We are looking forward to great conclusions. Your Board is very excited about our upcoming diversified poultry pre track and annual general meeting at PASA. Pease try and attend if you can. The APPPA general meeting is on the Thursday evening. local agriculture. Log on to tunein.com. Go to North America, and Bermuda then comes up. It is on radio station FM 89. I would like to think it will improve your day. As we go into this new year, I wish all our members a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2014. Your APPPA Board continues to work hard for YOU! All the best to each and every one of you. Sincerely, Tom Wadson. I notice the increased availability of no corn, no soy layer rations. We are using them now. Many are hoping for a similar broiler ration. The results seem very good so far. We are very encouraged by consumer comments, most of which are heard at our farm store. The fact that we are much closer to non GM is very satisfying. We used to feed organic feed, but I must say the pricing simply made it impossible to continue from an economic standpoint. The fact that they always seemed to be loaded with mycotoxins was a huge worry. I am now seeing a huge improvement in flock performance, 30%! Bear in mind that we have to add about $175 in freight per ton of feed. Another annoying thing is that quite often it appears that a lot of poultry products seem to be dumped on our offshore market. Worse than that is the fact that these products are marketed here as fresh. Every bird that comes into Bermuda is at least partially frozen as the container temperature settings are 32 degrees at the highest. Better not say too much as then the purveyors will then cut me off! As I look back on almost 40 years of farming, there have certainly been many changes and current economic conditions seem to add to a demand for cheap food. I say "You get what you pay for!” I also say that if this business was easy, everyone would be doing it. I happen to do a weekly radio broadcast on a local radio station. I do this at 8:45 am eastern time on Friday mornings. It is live streamed on the internet. It is usually fairly amusing and sums up the week in American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Editor’s Note. The analysis Tom references is currently being compiled and written up. I expect to publish it in March. Jeff will have isoflavone analysis of three broiler breeds reared on three farms using two feed formulations (soy and non-soy rations). APPPA sponsored nutritional analysis of six broiler carcasses from the feeding trial. We’ll publish omega 3/6 analysis, in addition to vitamins A, B, D, E and cholesterol for both feed groups. Think you can predict the results? Now would be a bad time to let your membership expire.—MB DOTSON FARM AND FEED Distributors of Fertrell Poultry Nutri-Balancer and the complete line of Fertrell Products. Fertrell Also Available : Certified Organic Hay Dotson Farm and Feed 2929 N. 9th Street Rd. Lafayette, IN 47904 Ph 765-742-5111 cell 765-404-9826 Fax 765-429-5601 Issue # 79 15 Processing Pains and Opportunities —Mike Badger Processing, like predation and regulations is a universal pain point for small-scale pastured poultry producers. We all cope with the pain as best we can and implement systems that work for our aptitude, attitude, and scale. Failure to sufficiently solve the processing problem will put you out of business. At the end of the 2013 growing season, Jesse from Appenzell Farm started a conversation on the Producer Plus list by saying, “I've been frustrated with how much work and man hours go into processing per chicken on my farm,” and “the topic of how to increase efficiency with processing has been on my mind.” Here’s some of the responses to Jesse’s common question. My own personal reaction is that people need to practice and efficiency takes repetition and volume. 1. Proper layout, which means a compact footprint 2. Match equipment to scale: crates = chickens per day/8, scalder = plucker capacity, kill station = 2x scalder capacity 3. Rotary kill station 4. Rotary scalder 5. Evisceration shackles 6. 30-second evisceration—requires practice Terrell Spencer from Arkansas recommends inspected processing. Spence’s reply highlights the opportunities available with scaling up. “I pay a processor to process for me. USDA. Cost is 3.00/ whole bird and 5.00/cut-up. This particular processor started doing poultry this year because I had built up to a volume that he was willing to take a risk on (300400/wk).” Happy Processing. Drawing on Lean manufacturing principles, Toni Rowe, of Pennsylvania, recommends: “Draw a diagram of your process first (called a "Spaghetti Diagram" because of the spaghetti lines showing the path of the product/operator) - look for waste, eliminate waste, setup appropriate sized buffers, and re-evaluate.” Greg Gunthorp, offers this advice. “I think one of the best analogies to look at slaughter and processing is the weak link in chains. You have to be able to identify the spots in your process that determine final output and then identify the requirements that lead up to that end result. I think if we research this topic we'll find a very steep L shaped cost curve. A person has to be really careful that "premiums" for pastured poultry aren't ate up in small scale processing and distribution. It's a very scale driven business. It's a very capital, management, and labor intensive business.” David Schafer of Featherman Equipment provides his perspective. “Studying the most successful operations I could find, I have come up with six key points, five of which are found in all of them.” American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 16 (Continued from page 3) win in the marketplace. If the best products gained the most market share, then there wouldn’t be a conventional chicken industry and Microsoft wouldn’t be the dominant PC operating system (it’d be Linux). I recently exchanged some emails with iconic pastured broiler breeder Tim Shell who said that learning and mastering production practices is a relatively simple thing that anyone can do. Sales and marketing was much harder, and basically, the marketers often stood a better chance of succeeding at their pastured poultry businesses. Tim’s perspective perfectly framed the competition concerns I hear so much about. Instead of standing off against our neighbors, we should be collaborating to improve. After all, we can all benefit from iterative production efficiencies, which in turn will make our existing sales more profitable. American Pastured Poultry Producers Association That presents an interesting question. If you could give your neighbor a production tip that helped improve the neighbor’s carcass size, would you do it? That question embodies the mission of APPPA. Our Producer Plus members discuss ways to be more efficient producers all the time. The APPPA Grit constantly publishes practical production, marketing, and business insights gleaned from producers across the world; shared for the benefit of all. If you believe the APPPA community is valuable, then you should turn the same favor onto your neighboring producers and learn to collaborate more and fear less. Making what we do more profitable through collaboration with our peers doesn’t put us at competitive odds. Instead, that cooperative competition builds our businesses and our industry. Good luck this year! Issue # 79 17 contact Matt Buvala at mbuvala@centurytel.net or (715) 495-7927. Producer Marketplace To place an ad, email editor@apppa.org or call (888) 662-7772. Move to Wisconsin 5 acre farm just west of Milwaukee with: 3800 SF home built in 2003, 40x60 block outbuilding with 20 foot clear inside, 40'x90' hoop house w/ water and electric, 2 acres of woods. $700,000.00. Established market for new grower/farmer wannabe. pbrhino@gmail.com or 262-524-8263. Experience wanted Newcomer to pastured poultry wants to intern some in chicken/waterfowl operation to gain practical experience in western Pennsylvania to eastern Ohio. Call 412-628-8096. Wooden Chicken Crates Brand new wooden chicken and turkey crates. Solid floor to protect pullet feet. Chicken crates for $42. Call Mike at (570) 584-2309 or email info@millsidefarm.com. Pennsylvania. Plucker and Scalder Too large for my space! Had to replace. Ashley SP 30 plucker auto door opener. Retail $6,900.00 Thermostat controlled Pickwick scalder and older model dunker included. Asking $4,200 for all. 208.512.2268 nadine_kam@bellsouth.net. Mobile Processing Unit For more information, pictures, and price, call 208.512.2268 or email nadine_kam@bellsouth.net. Electric Netting Fence Cart Patent pending electric netting fence cart used for retrieval, deploying and storage of electric fence netting. Can be either used by hand or with an ATV or utility vehicle. $479.00 each plus shipping. Made in Pepin, Wisconsin. Details at buvalafarm.com or Pastured Poultry Pens Patent pending design developed by Absolute Pastured Poultry's years of experience. Contact us at absolutepp@email.com. Details at www.pasturepens.com or call us at (570) 788-1044. Rebar Portable Shelter — Churt Design Manual Now available on disc by Tom Delehanty. Mail $39 to Pollo Real, PO Box 1429, Socorro, NM 87801. Email organic@q.com. Gibson Ridge Egg Washer Sink-top unit scrubs eggs with hot water and brush at a rate of 28 eggs per minute. Suitable for a 3,000 layer flock. Made in U.S.A. of as much U.S. materials as possible. $1,875 plus shipping. Gibsonridgefarms.com or (740) 698-3330 (Ohio). Processing Equipment Rentals Locate or list processing equipment rentals at the Featherman website: featherman.net or call (660) 684-6035 for more information. Rehoboth MINIBARN D.I.Y. Plans for a 4-bird barn-shaped chicken tractor. Features retracting wheels and open bottom for easy grass pasturing and lawn fertilization, easy access nest boxes. Detailed step-by-step manual complete with materials list with sku #s from a national home store. Preview and Order as immediate download online at: www.rehobothinnovations.com or call 804244-1044 to order hard copy. Price: $18 for download $25 for hardcopy Calendar of Events February 5-8, 2014: Join APPPA at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference in State College, Pennsylvania. For details visit http://pasafarming.org or call (814) 349-9840. February 27-March 1, 2014: Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Organic American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 18 (Continued from page 18) Farming Conference in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Visit www.mosesorganic.org or call (715) 778-5775. May 17, 2014: Pastured Poultry Workshop in Attica, New York. Speakers to be announced. Contact Hermann Weber for registration and more information at (585) 591-0795. Industry News Registration opens for country’s largest organic farming conference SPRING VALLEY, WI–Registration is open now for the 25th MOSES Organic Farming Conference, which takes place February 27 through March 1 at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This is the 25th anniversary of the MOSES Conference, which is put on by the Midwest Organic American Pastured Poultry Producers Association and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES). MOSES is marking the occasion with contests, awards, historical exhibits and an anniversary celebration on Friday evening during the conference. Registration is available online at mosesorganic.org/ conference, by mail, or through the mobile app. See the MOSES website (mosesorganic.org) or call (715) 778-5775 for more information. West Virginia Dept. of Ag Considering Changes to On-Farm Processing Limits According to the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition, small-scale pastured poultry producers in West Virginia are able to process up to 1,000 birds under the exemptions provided by the federal Food Safety Inspection Services (FSIS) poultry processing regulation. The state’s poultry inspection program does not recognize the FSIS 20,000 bird exemption. Farms producing more than 1,000 birds must use an (Continued on page 20) Issue # 79 19 (Industry News continued from page 19) inspected processor; however, the state has no inspected processors. In 2013, the West Virginia Department of Agriculture proposed a rule change that would make it legal for state poultry producers to process up to 20,000 birds on-farm in accordance with the FSIS P.L. 90-492 processing exemptions. If approved by the legislature, West Virginia producers could take advantage of the increased limits as early as 2014. Source: West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition, (304) 4604869, www.wvhub.org . Consumers Reports Concludes 97% of Purchased Chicken Breast Contaminated Consumer Reports analyzed 316 chicken breasts from samples purchased throughout the United States. The study tested for salmonella, campylobacter, staphylococcus, E. coli and enterococcus, and klebsiella. Of the samples, 252 were conventionally raised, 40 were labeled with no antibiotics, and 24 were organic. The major brands tested include Perdue, Pilgrim’s, Sanderson Farms, and Tyson. The report shows no difference between the production method (conventional, antibiotic free, or organic) or the brand. Key findings include: 97% of the sampled breasts contained bacteria deemed harmful More than half the samples contained fecal matter (enterococcus and E. coli) Contamination by bacteria: Enterococcus: 79.8%, E. coli: 65.2%, Campylobacter: 43%, klebsiella pneumonia: 13.6%, salmonella: 10.8%, staphylococcus: 9.2% Multidrug-resistant bacterium was found in 49.7% of the samples and 11.5% percent tested positive for more than two multi-drug bacterium The report highlights the opposing views on responsibility for bacteria by indicating that consumers should expect their chicken to have bacteria, and that safe handling and cooking is the best way to protect your health from those bacteria. Then speaking in the context of the Foster Farms recall, a Center for Disease Control (CDC) representative says that blaming the sickened people for unsafe handling “doesn’t ring true.” The CDC attributes contaminated chicken with more deaths than any other commodity based on a study from 1998 to 2008. Nevertheless the study concludes that personal responsibility and diligence to ensure proper handling on the part of the consumer is the primary prevention method. In addition, Consumer Reports recommends that consumers should select chicken raised without unnecessary antibiotics because “that’s good for your health and preserves the effectiveness of antibiotics.” The full report can be found in the December 2013 issue of Consumer Reports or online at consumerreports.org. Study Finds Salmonella and Campylobacter in Processing Waste A study by University of Georgia (Trimble et al, 2013 Poultry Science 92:3060-3066) studied the prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter in the soil and compost as a result of on-farm chicken processing. Samples were collected from the soil (42 samples), compost (39 samples), and waste water (46 samples) across four pastured poultry farms. The primary objective of the research was to collect data as a stepping stone to further research. The further research, according to the study’s authors, is to improve the processing waste disposal on small farms in order to control pathogens. The four farms have not been identified by the study but produce approximately 1,000 broilers a year. The samples from each farm were composited for analysis to form a total of three compost samples, three soil samples, and two wastewater samples. No control samples were taken to measure the bacteria level of compost or soil. American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 20 The study acknowledges that Salmonella and Campylobacter can survive in a compost pile including vegetable based compost. However, the authors do not discuss the composting methods used by each farm. Results from the abstract: Salmonella prevalence and concentration (mean log10 MPN per sample weight or volume) in soil [60%, 0.97 (95% CI: 0.66 to 1.27)], compost [64%, 0.95 (95% CI: 0.66 to 1.24)], and wastewater [48%, 1.29 (95% CI: 0.87 to 1.71)] were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Although Campylobacter prevalence was not significantly different by sample type (64.3, 64.3, and 45.7% in soil, compost, and PWW, respectively), the concentration (mean log10 cfu) of this pathogen was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in wastewater [2.19 (95% CI: 0.36 to 3.03)] samples compared with soil [3.08 (95% CI: 2.23 to 3.94)], and compost [3.83 (95% CI: 2.71 to 4.95)]. Study can be content/92/11/3060. found online: http://ps.fass.org/ The following table shows the results by breed. All broilers were 10 weeks old at processing. Due to a small sample size, results for each breed and feed type were averaged across all three farms. All broilers, however ate the same feed and were pastured. Boneless Breast Sample Weight (lbs.) Cornish Cross, Non-Soy 0.923 Cornish Cross, Soy 1.163 Noll 22, Non-Soy 0.493 Noll 22, Soy 0.499 Barred Silver Cross, Non Soy 0.450 Barred Silver Cross, Soy 0.440 The data suggests that Cornish Cross fed a soybased ration provides the better boneless breast efficiency. Boneless Breast Yields from Broiler Carcasses Mike Badger, APPPA director and mobile chicken processor, collected 23 boneless breast samples from three breeds on three farms throughout Pennsylvania. The sample also measures the breast yield variances between soy and non-soy feed rations. The breast samples were originally cut for various nutritional and isoflavone analysis that will be published soon. The sample sizes, while small, provide some suggestive insights on breeds and feed relative to boneless breast yields. The Cornish Cross showed the biggest difference by feed type with soy-fed broilers having an average breast size of 1.16 pounds while the Cornish fed non-soy rations were 0.923 pounds. Otherwise, the Barred Silver Cross and Noll 22 breeds performed similarly on soy and non-soy feed with regard to the measured boneless breast sizes. Otherwise, these alternate breeds produced boneless breasts half the size of the Cornish Cross. American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 21 Diversified Poultry Workshop at PASA When: February 6, 2014 Where: Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference in State College, Pennsylvania More Information: pasafarming.org or (814) 3499856 Poultry production offers a viable option for farmers, either as a sole enterprise, but more often as part of their diversified farm. The size and scope of production can vary greatly, as can the season in which the poultry is raised on each farm. Join this varied group of experienced poultry producers for a day in which they share their knowledge and experience in raising classes of poultry other than broilers and laying hens. These grass-based, pastured livestock (both feathered and hooved) farmers have diversified their successful farm operations through raising turkeys (both heritage and commercial), ducks, geese and guinea hens. This day is geared for the experienced poultry producer who is interested in acquiring the knowledge needed for diversification to include turkeys, guineas and waterfowl. New DVD Series Coming APPPA will be filming a Diversified Poultry workshop at the PASA conference. The event will be turned into a multi-DVD set and made available for purchase. At the time of publication, the price per DVD has not yet been set. You can reserve your copy by contacting APPPA. Diversifying Poultry Pre-track Topics Presenter Duck Production Greg Gunthorp Special Nutritional & Health Needs & Considerations for Waterfowl, Turkeys & Guineas Jeff Mattocks Broad Breasted White Turkey Production Tom Wadson Heritage Turkey Production Val Vetter & Deb Aaron Guinea Hens Will Harris The Future of Diversified Poultry Mike Badger American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 22 Join or Renew APPPA Membership Check if renewal □ (Please print clearly. Return form to APPPA at the address below.) Producer Information Name _________________________________ Farm __________________________________ Address ________________________________ City, State, Zip __________________________ Phone _________________________________ Email Address ___________________________ Membership Information Membership (select one) □ □ □ Producer—$40 / $70 (2yr) Producer Plus—$60 / $105 (2yr) Includes online benefits Business—$200 Pastured Poultry Book Raising Poultry on Pasture $34.50 each (shipping included) # of Copies ____ Website ________________________________ List Pastured Poultry Products: Total Enclosed: __________ APPPA, PO Box 85, Hughesville, PA 17737-0085 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 79 23 APPPA PO Box 85 Hughesville, PA 17737 PRSRT STD U S POSTAGE PAID Eau Claire, WI Permit #203 If the number printed above your address is #79 or earlier, renew by mailing the form on page 23 or renew online at www.apppa.org. Call for our free color brochure. Specializing in hatching guinea keets, bantam silkie chicks, Muscovy ducks, and Khaki Campbell ducks. To order ducks, please contact Fifth Day Farm, Inc. 717-445-6255. To order Guinea keets or silkies, contact JM Hatchery. 178 Lowry Rd, New Holland, PA 17557 717-354-5950 | Fax: 717-354-0728 www.jmhatchery.com | joel@jmhatchery.com