American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63 his father. The fourth and fifth generation farm sits in the Apple River Valley among the driftless area of northwestern Illinois. The region is known as the driftless area because it was not impacted by retreating glaciers during the last ice age. It's a remote and rugged area that sits approximately 150 miles west of Chicago, and makes a popular second home for city residents. Tom leverages the Chicago connection to sell his pasture raised meat products, which include chicken, pork, beef, lamb, Issue 63 May – Jun 2011 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Producer Profile: Tom Arnold, Arnold’s Farm by Mike Badger In This Issue: 2 Board of Directors 3 Editor’s Letter 4 President’s Message Continued on page 4 26 Classifieds 27 Ask FSIS 27 Membership by State 29 APPPA Refresh 7 Common illnesses 10 Intern at Reiff’s 12 Poor Pigmentation of Eggs 14 Young Farmers’ Coalition 15 2011 APPPA Member Directory APPPA GRIT! Tom Arnold and his family run a diversified livestock farm in Elizabeth, Illinois that has been in the family for 126 years. When Tom was growing up, the Arnold’s Farm was a dairy, but today, the farm’s direct sale meat operation focuses on natural production methods over commercial. After graduating high school, Tom left the family dairy farm and found himself working in the food services industry as a delivery and operations manager where he gained valuable distribution and marketing experience. Tom returned to run the family farm with the passing of
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American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
his father.
The fourth and fifth generation farm sits in the Apple River Valley among the
driftless area of northwestern Illinois. The region is known as the driftless
area because it was not impacted by
retreating glaciers during the last ice age. It's a remote and rugged area that
sits approximately 150 miles west of Chicago, and makes a popular second
home for city residents.
Tom leverages the Chicago connection to sell his pasture raised meat products,
which include chicken, pork, beef, lamb,
Issue 63
May – Jun
2011
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association
Producer Profile: Tom Arnold, Arnold’s Farm by Mike Badger
In This Issue: 2 Board of Directors
3 Editor’s Letter
4 President’s Message
Continued on page 4
26 Classifieds
27 Ask FSIS
27 Membership by State
29 APPPA Refresh
7 Common illnesses
10 Intern at Reiff’s
12 Poor Pigmentation of Eggs
14 Young Farmers’ Coalition
15 2011 APPPA Member Directory
APPPA GRIT!
Tom Arnold and his family run a diversified livestock farm in Elizabeth,
Illinois that has been in the family for 126 years. When Tom was growing up,
the Arnold’s Farm was a dairy, but today, the farm’s direct sale meat operation
focuses on natural production methods
over commercial.
After graduating high school, Tom left the family dairy farm and found himself working in the food services industry as a
delivery and operations manager where
he gained valuable distribution and marketing experience. Tom returned to
run the family farm with the passing of
2 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
APPPA Coordinator: Jody Padgham PO Box 87 Boyd, WI 54726 [email protected] 888-662-7772 The APPPA GRIT newsletter is published six times a year and sent to members of APPPA. To join, visit our website or write us. Information provided in this newsletter is believed to be accurate, but readers assume all responsibility for actions based on this information.
Eli Reiff (President)
Board member 2010-2012 Poultry Man
922 Conley Rd Mifflinburg, PA 17844
(570) 966-0769
Tom Wadson (Vice President) Board member 2009-2011
(570) 584-2309. Deadline for Issue 64 is June 15, 2011.
4 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
Profile continued from page 1 President’s Message
Greetings from the beaut i fu l Bu f fa lo
Valley!
We are finally having some warmer weather
after having rain and storms almost everyday through March and April. I
am receiving a lot of calls about chick-ens not doing well or people experienc-
ing two or three dead birds each day. I think it comes from the wet and cold
weather. They get ascites; they turn purple in the head and fill up with fluids
similar to congestive heart failure.
We put 80 eggs in our neighbor’s incu-bator from my black australorps. They
are dual purpose birds. I was hoping they would become broody and hatch
their own, but I guess the broodiness is
bred out of them. Maybe that will change when they’re older or laying
longer.
Kathleen is receiving her first batch of 100 white meat bird babies on May 17.
She will brood them in the old brooder house behind our house for three
weeks and then put them in a Mike Hansen style pen to move regularly on
the grass.
We will get broad breasted white fe-male turkeys on June 27/28 for our
Thanksgiving orders. This year I or-dered 100 straight run red rangers
from S&G Hatchery in Alabama. They should be here around the same time
as the turkeys. I will be using those for barbecuing and serving at a hands-on
PASA field day on August 31 at my
farm.
20 lambs are going to leave this farm on Monday.
Eli Reiff
APPPA Board President
and turkey.
The chickens In 1998, Tom attended a Joel Salatin workshop as part of his ongoing education
efforts. He had already been selling meat
direct to consumers since 1988 and had started marketing small packages of meat
as a value-added service. After the Salatin workshop, Tom put together a few pens
and added poultry to his meat offerings. Soon after started raising pastured poultry,
Tom joined APPPA and has been a member since 1999.
Currently, the Arnold’s Farm markets approximately 2500 chickens and 150 turkeys each year. Did you note the use of
the word markets? Many producers would say they raise or grow their poultry, but
Tom uses the word ―markets‖ when he
talks about his farm. Of course, he still has to grow the animals, but Tom's operation,
like many others, is rural, and it's the ability to market that gives him the best
opportunity to thrive and not merely to survive.
Before we talk marketing, let's preview the
poultry operations.
To raise his 2500 chickens a year, Tom runs batches of 600 Cornish Cross broilers,
which translates to approximately nine Salatin-style pens with 75 birds each.
It's common for most producers to buy day old chicks and put them straight into the
brooder. Over the years Tom has
experienced high losses in the brooder, especially in the early spring when
temperature ranges can be more extreme. He had difficulties maintaining a good
temperature in the brooder, which lead to the high losses.
To compensate for the high loss rate,
Schlecht Hatchery will start the chicks for Tom in a controlled atmosphere and
5 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
deliver them at three or four days of age.
By letting the chicks get a few days older before putting them into his brooder, Tom
mitigated his losses.
The broilers go out on pastures at about two weeks of age and stay on pasture until
eight weeks of age. Tom has experimented with his pen setup a little. He has tried
enclosing the broiler pens in electric poultry netting and tipping one side of the
pen up to allow the chickens to range out of the pen. Moving the fencing proved to
be a hassle. So he moved back to the traditional daily move setup.
At eight weeks, the broilers go the processor and dress out between four and six pounds each. Tom sells to a restaurant
in Galana IL that likes to have four pounders for their entrees.
Processing Processing poses its own set of challenges. The closest USDA inspected processing facility is 250 miles away. Tom trailers 600
broilers to the plant for processing. Then
the next day he takes his freezer trailer back to the facility to pick up the
processed chickens.
To process a batch of chickens, Tom logs 1000 miles and 20 hours on the road over
the course of two days.
Tom says there is a non-USDA processing facility that is much closer, and he would like to use them. Like many other
producers, Tom finds himself making a
choice – comply with the regulations or dance around them. So Tom opts to watch
the pavement roll by on his way to the USDA processor.
He would like to see a USDA inspected
facility closer, but the USDA has not provided any help. According to Tom,
there's a market demand for the facility, but nevertheless, it's a risky, expensive
proposition to build a facility without any demonstrative support from the
organization that will ultimately sign off
on the facility.
Coyotes love turkeys The coyotes on Arnold’s Farm have developed a taste for turkey so much so
that Tom enclosed his turkeys with two levels of electric netting. The coyotes
used the fence to their advantage. They would round up the turkeys and get
them excited and flapping around. Through all the commotion, some of the
turkeys would flap against the fence and ultimately get out of the fence where
they were promptly eaten.
To finish last season, Tom's turkeys ended up inside three levels of electric
poultry netting. That's a lot of labor to move around. He's still searching for a
more efficient way to curb the coyotes.
Feed Tom mixes his own feed ration that consists of oats, corn, soy meal, fish
meal, kelp meal, calcium carbonate, and
a vitamin pack. The feed is stored in recycled feed and water tanks. One ton
of feed will last for five days.
Tom does plant GMO-free maize yellow corn without synthetic fertilizers and
feeds an antibiotic-free ration. But he's not certified organic and doesn't see a
current demand from his customers for organic meat. Tom's primary customers
are young families who can afford to pay a little more than the typical
supermarket prices but who want to pay less than Whole Food prices.
Tom's chickens are marketed as pasture-raised and the message resonates.
Marketing Tom direct markets his poultry and meat products to consumers for delivery to
various drop off points in the Chicago area, but his current marketing mix
Continued on page 6
6 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
started with a fall harvest festival. To
market his meat products in this remote location, Tom turned his farm into a
festival for five weekends in the fall. At it's peak, the festival drew up to 6,000
people over a season. To draw visitors to the farm, Tom marketed the event as a
destination event, which means the act of getting out of the city and into the
country is as much of the appeal as
spending a few hours on the farm enjoying family-friendly activities, such
as a petting zoo.
The festival not only gave people a reason to get outside, it opened
opportunities for Tom because he realized that meat sales on festival day
skyrocketed. The Arnold’s Farm sells beef, pork, lamb, turkey, and poultry.
And it was through the festival that a Chicago buying club approached him with
a monthly order. Each month the buying club would visit the farm to pickup an
order.
Recognizing a good opportunity when he saw one, Tom worked out a deal where
he would deliver the buying club's order to Chicago, and he used the buying club
to establish a drop point for non-club
members.
To recruit new customers for his Chicago drop off point, Tom handed out sign-up sheets and promoted the delivery
schedule on his website. The drop point
idea caught on, and today, Tom delivers to 14-16 locations over the course of two
days.
Tom wasn't sure how to charge for delivery, but he finally settled on 35
cents per delivered pound. So, a whole pastured raised chicken costs $3.30 per
pound if the customer picks it up at the farm. If Tom delivers the chicken to one
of his drop points, the price becomes $3.65 per pound.
The escalating cost of gas and feed has
Tom thinking about how he can stay
affordable for his customers. One option
on the table is to offer free delivery for customers who pay ahead. Tom does
apply an $800 minimum purchase amount for each drop point.
To get orders for each delivery, Tom
relies heavily on his email newsletter. Email is a low tech, cost-effective way to
stay in contact with your customers, and in Tom's case, remind them to place
their orders.
Tom is featured on the menu at a local restaurant, which drives more direct-to-
consumer sales. People encounter Arnold’s Farm at Eleven One Main in
Galana, IL, and seek Tom out for direct sales.
In recent years, Tom has stopped
attending as many farmers markets because they were expensive to attend,
Continued on page 24
7 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
This flow chart does not include all possibilities, merely the most common. These remedies are not mainstream commercial treatments. They have worked for others but
they may not work all of the time. It is my wish that it helps some of you some of the time. — Jeff Mattocks
Editor’s Note: The flowchart was originally published in the Summer 2002 issue of the APPPA Grit. It has been updated by Jeff Mattocks.
Diagnose and Treat Common Illnesses By Jeff Mattocks
Continued on page 8
8 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
9 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
Jeff Mattocks is a nutritionist with The Fertrell Company. He is a regular contributor on the APPPA ProPlus mailing list.
10 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
Adventures of a Farm Chickie – Interning at Reiff’s Poultry Dressing
I knew that I faced some personal challenges that I would need to overcome if I was going to be successful at poultry processing. Specifically, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to actually kill the birds, I didn’t know if I could handle the smell, and I was unsure as to whether or not I could bring myself to eviscerate a still-warm chicken. Basically, I had some hang ups about the entire process.
You may be asking yourself why I would even be considering putting myself through this, and I believe I have some good reasons. My husband, Mike, and I have a dream of expanding our farm operations to the point that we no longer have to hold full-time jobs off the farm. Getting a mobile processing unit on the road is a big part of that dream. Although neither of us grew up actively farming or raising animals for food, a sustainable lifestyle is not only something we want for our-selves, but something we want to offer to our family, friends, and community.
I’m not a complete stranger to processing poul-try. As a young girl, I remember visiting my grandparents when it was time to “butcher.” We would get a metal coffee can and hang it on a tree as our killing cone. After that, the birds would be scalded in a large kettle over a fire, and then we would begin hand plucking. And this is where my job ended. The eviscerating process was completed by my grandfather or great uncle. I was hoping that poultry processing, at least the part I was familiar with, was a little like riding a bike. These are fond memories, and ones that I want my child to have, as well.
To further prepare myself for the adventure I was about to have, Mike helped me find some videos online to watch. Polyface Farm offers some great tutorials not only on processing, but also on cut-ting up the chickens, which is something I plan to explore more in the future for my own benefit. Daniel Salatin makes the point that even if you are not going to process your own chickens,
learning how to cut them up is a skill worth mastering for the money it saves and one we should be willing to help our customers with.
I also watched David Schafer’s Step-by-Step Poultry Processing video that is available online [Ed. Note: David wrote an article for APPPA Grit issue 62 describing various proc-essing options depending on scale]. Mr. Schafer does a nice job of reviewing the impor-tance of the scalding process. The key points he makes are if your scald is too short or too cold, your feathers are going to stay on; if your scald is too long or too hot, the skin will tear; and your scalder should be kept at 147 de-grees Fahrenheit. These videos were incredibly helpful in preparing me for what to expect dur-ing my day at Reiff’s Poultry Dressing.
Upon arriving, my first job was to work with Eli to harvest the chickens. The art of the scalder quickly became apparent. Being early in the year, there were a variety of birds coming in to be processed, including heritage chickens, ten-der broilers raised indoors, winter hardy roost-ers, and Muscovy ducks.
Eli knew just how much time each was going to need in the scalder – a wealth of knowledge that only comes from years of experience. (Which Eli clearly has, having just turned the big 5-0!)
Although I gained good insights watching the online videos, nothing is a substitute for hands-on experience. The tender broilers raised in-doors needed one cycle through the scalder to come clean in the plucker, while the heritage chickens and winter hardy roosters benefited from a couple of extra turns in the scalder.
The ducks were the real surprise for me. After two full cycles in the scalder, they went into the plucker without any water to be “roughed” or have their first go at getting their feathers out. After approximately 60-90 seconds, it was back to the scalder for an additional two cycles be-
Interning at Reiff’s Poultry Dressing:
A day with Eli By Christie Badger
11 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
fore once again being placed in the plucker, this time with water, to complete the plucking proc-ess. Throughout this time, Eli would check the scald by pulling out a handful of feathers, testing how easily they came out of the bird, to deter-mine how much longer they needed in the scal-der.
After the plucker, the birds were ready to have their feet and oil gland removed. I had to be shown twice how to “walk” my knife down the tail to remove the gland, but after that, I was good to go. Eli demonstrated his confidence in me by allowing me to do all of the work while he super-vised, chatted with customers, and taunted me with how may birds he can kill while a batch is in the scalder.
“Walking” the knife down to remove the oil gland involves keeping your knife held vertical and cre-ating a series of small cuts while “walking” the knife to remove the gland. Just before the gland is completely cut off, you grab it and tear it off, effectively and efficiently removing the gland.
The feet are removed at the joint, and Eli showed me how to twist my knife backward at the last moment to create a more attractive cut and not have the leg bone jutting out of the skin. On this day, we were saving the feet for a spe-cial order. Other days, the feet go into a sawdust compost pile along with the rest of the offal.
Before passing the birds to Eli’s wife, Kathleen, and niece, Linda, to be eviscerated, we would slit the skin over the neck to aid in finding the wind-pipe. At that point, the birds would be passed along to the next step in the process.
Just as I was becoming comfortable and confi-dent in my harvesting skills, I was sent to the other side of the shop to work with Kathleen and Linda at the eviscerating table. I felt awkward and slow all over again, but Linda soon had me on my way to learning these new skills.
Linda showed me to lay the bird breast up and grasp firmly around the waist, which stretches the skin and makes for an easier cut. The most important things to learn when making the initial cut are: 1) don’t cut into the intestines, it’s a smelly, dirty mess if you do; 2) cut down far enough to remove all of the colon; and 3) don’t cut into the meat.
At first, I found that cutting down below the vent far enough to remove the entire colon to be the biggest challenge, and would often find myself needing to make a second cut. Eventually, I mastered this skill and became more efficient with one clean cut.
With a clean cut, the intestines are easily re-moved, and the rest of the viscera soon follow. Identifying the internal organs is an interesting review of anatomy. The gallbladder usually comes out with the liver and can make a real mess if accidentally broken open. The testicles can be a challenge to remove simply because they are so small and difficult to get a hold of. And older laying hens can be full of beautiful egg yolks.
Kathleen was patient with me as she reviewed my work and helped me focus on areas that needed more attention. With such knowledge-able and skilled tutors, I found myself becom-ing more comfortable with the work in no time, although certainly not much faster. I am sure speed will only come with time and experience. (At least, this is what Eli, Kathleen, and Linda kept telling me!)
There is a feeling of peace for me in doing this kind of work. For a long time, I was in the rat race with so many others, experiencing fre-quent stress headaches, missing out on so much of my life and my family because of work, and not giving 100% of myself to those I love.
At one point during my day at Reiff’s, I realized that harvesting food is honest work that makes me feel good about what I’m accomplishing in my life.
I look forward to working with my husband to get our mobile processing unit on the road this spring and offer others the opportunity to pro-vide for their families by eliminating the barrier of how to get their pastured poultry processed without having to travel a great distance.
I learned so much this day interning with Eli and Kathleen, with perhaps the most important thing being that I have so much more to learn.
12 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
The first documented report of shell pigment loss in brown-shelled eggs was in
1944 when Steggerda and Hollander, while removing dirt from eggshells
produced from a small flock of Rhode Island Red hens, made the surprising
discovery that some of the brown pigment
also rubbed off. This effect was even more evident when the eggs were rubbed
vigorously. Most of the eggs gave up their pigment fairly easily except those
possessing a glossy surface.
It is well established that no single factor is responsible for the loss of shell pigment
in brown-shelled eggs. Variation in pigmentation among brown-shelled eggs is
more pronounced in broiler breeders than in commercial brown egg-type layers. In
flocks of broiler breeders, it is common to have a variation in eggshell pigmentation,
resulting in hues ranging from dark brown
to almost bleached white. This contrast occurs because genetic selection for
uniform brown-colored eggs in broiler breeder flocks is of little importance
compared to eggshells of commercial brown egg-type birds. Most commercial
producers and university personnel serving the poultry industry understand
that the loss of shell pigment from brown-
shelled eggs can be caused by numerous factors. Many individuals, however, still
prematurely jump to conclusions and blame shell pigment loss and variability on
only a single factor. The most common scapegoat is bronchitis. Statements such
as "I know my hens had bronchitis because their shells are pale" or "All you
have to do to determine if your hens had
bronchitis is to look at their eggshell color -- if the shells are pale they had a
bronchitis challenge" are still often heard in the field. Such statements are made
even without knowledge of the flock's bronchitis antibody titer, bronchitis
vaccination schedule, or supporting
necropsy findings.
More often than not, the cause of shell pigment loss is not bronchitis but some
stressor to which the flock has been exposed. Fear, for example, is a common
cause of eggshell pigment loss. It is not
until all the contributing factors to pigment loss are considered that the
exact reason can be identified and the problem resolved. Many times the exact
cause of periodic, flock-wide pigment loss is never identified.
The purpose of this article is to identify
and discuss the various factors that are known to contribute to the loss of
eggshell pigment. A general review, however, of the pigments and the
process involved in their deposition aids the reader in better understanding shell
pigmentation problems.
EGGSHELL FORMATION AND PIGMENT
DISPOSITION
Once the egg reaches the site of the reproductive tract known as the uterus
(shell gland), it resides there for approximately 20 hours. During this time
the shell is deposited, mostly as calcium
carbonate, onto the shell membranes that envelop the albumen and yolk. As
shell formation progresses in the brown egg layer, the epithelial cells lining the
surface of the shell gland begin to synthesize and accumulate the pigments.
The three main pigments are biliverdin-IX, zinc chelate, and protoporphyrin-IX.
The most abundant pigment in today's
commercial brown-shelled eggs is protoporphyrin-IX. It is not until the final
3 to 4 hours of shell formation that the bulk of the accumulated pigment is
transferred to the protein-rich, viscus fluid secretion known as the cuticle. The
Continued on page 13
Factors Causing Poor Pigmentation of
Brown-Shelled Eggs By Gary D. Butcher and Richard D. Miles
13 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
degree of brownness of the hen's eggshell
is dependent on the quantity of pigment directly associated with the cuticle. The
pigment-rich cuticle is deposited onto the eggshell at about the same time shell
deposition reaches a plateau, about 90 minutes prior to oviposition. Therefore,
pigment distribution is not uniform throughout the thickness of the eggshell.
Even though the eggshell contains traces
of pigment, its contribution to the intensity of brown color is negligible compared to
that of the cuticle.
FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR DECREASING
THE INTENSITY OF BROWN SHELL COLOR
Stress. Since the majority of the pigment is localized in the cuticle, anything that interferes with the ability of the epithelial
cells in the shell gland to synthesize the
cuticle will affect the intensity of eggshell pigmentation. This is especially true during
the final 3 to 4 hours of shell deposition since it is during this time in the egg-
laying cycle that cuticle synthesis and accumulation occur most rapidly.
Stressors in poultry flocks such as high
cage density, handling, loud noises, etc., will result in the release of stress
hormones, especially epinephrine. This hormone, when released into the blood, is
responsible for causing a delay in oviposition and the cessation of shell gland
cuticle formation. The above stressors,
which result in hen nervousness and fear, can cause pale eggshells to be produced.
The paleness is often the result of amorphous calcium carbonate deposited
on top of a preexisting fully formed cuticle or of an incomplete cuticle caused by
premature arrest of cuticle formation.
Brown-shelled birds, especially broiler breeders, housed in experimental floor
pens for research purposes often become fearful each time the pen is entered for
such things as egg collection, vaccination, uniformity, and frame and fleshing
measurements. When this occurs,
production of pale-shelled eggs should be
expected, especially if the fearfulness
occurs during the last 3 to 4 hours of the egg-laying cycle when the cuticle
formation is interrupted. In fact, the relationship between stress and the
production of pale eggs by laying hens is so great that researchers have suggested
that loss of shell pigment may provide a basis for a noninvasive method of
assessing stress in hens.
Age of the bird. As the brown egg-type bird ages, there is a corresponding
decrease in eggshell pigment intensity. The exact reason for this is unknown. It
is possibly due to the same quantity of
pigment being dispersed over a larger surface area of shell as egg size
increases with bird age or less pigment synthesis. As the hen ages it is normal
for the tapered end of the egg to contain less pigment than the rounded end.
Stress-related egg retention in the shell gland and subsequent amorphous
calcium carbonate deposition on the shell
surface have been identified as a major cause of pale eggs in older hens.
Chemotherapeutic agents. A rapid decline in shell pigmentation is common
following the ingestion of certain drugs
by the hen, such as the sulfonamides. The coccidiostat Nicarbazin, administered
to hens at a dose of 5 mg per day, can result in the production of pale eggs
within 24 hours. Higher doses can lead to complete depigmentation of the eggshell
cuticle.
Disease. Viral diseases, such as Newcastle and infectious bronchitis,
affect egg production in poultry. These viruses have a specific affinity for the
mucus membranes of the respiratory and reproductive tracts. Because the virus
directly infects and damages the
reproductive tract, the signs of disease are manifested indirectly in the product
of the tract, the egg. Thus, total egg numbers decline and eggshells become
thinner and abnormally pale and have
Continued on page 26
14 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
The National Young Farmers’ Coalition is a new organization by and for young
farmers focused on building a support system for young and beginning farmers.
This is being approached from a few different angles. Farmer to farmer learning
is encouraged by publicizing training and
educational opportunities and through the Farmhack blog. Farmhack is all about
sharing and demonstrating ideas for tools and systems to be used as low cost
solutions on farms.
Networking within the farming community is promoted through conferences and
social events intended to yield business and social ties. The NYFC is also
establishing a political position on the upcoming farm bill which is slated for
2012. We want to know what you think!
The NYFC is circulating a survey in partnership with The Greenhorns and
BeginningFarmers.org to gain perspective from farmers across the country about
their ideas for the new farm bill and how it could most benefit new farmers. We are
looking to find out what the biggest
obstacles are, what existing programs are getting it right, and what potential actions
should be taken to help beginning farmers and ranchers.
Our goal is to get 1,500 farmers to fill out
our survey. It only takes five minutes and your information is always confidential. It
c a n b e f o u n d a t h t t p : / /www.surveymonkey.com/s/NYFC. If you
would like to check out the NYFC go to www.youngfarmers.org
INTERVIEW WITH NYFC
Mike Badger asked NYFC a few follow-up
questions about their organization. Lindsey Lusher Shute, NYFC board
member, took a few minutes to respond.
APPPA: Is NYFC planning to develop it's
own events and programs? If so, do you have any pastured poultry programs in
the works?
NYFC: NYFC's focus will be connecting young farmers to workshops on
sustainable growing techniques (including pastured poultry). We are
beginning to offer more online technical resources, primarily through the Farm
Hack blog.
APPPA: What does NYFC see as the primary reason for attracting new
farmers?
NYFC: The average age of farmers in the US is 57, and 500,000 farmers are expected to retire between now and
2030. Young farmers are key to rural
stability and a secure food supply.
APPPA: What's the biggest obstacle or two that face new farmers from your perspective?
NYFC: Capital and land access are
identified as the biggest challenges for young growers. Getting started in
farming, and especially with livestock, is very expensive. Land prices coupled with
basic operating expenses, are preventing many young people from pursuing a
farming career.
For more information about NYFC, visit www.youngfarmers.org or send mail to:
PO BOX 292 Tivoli, New York 12583
National Young Farmers’ Coalition Seeks Input
15 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
The 2011 APPPA member directory is a list of members who volunteered to have their
contact information included in the direc-tory. The directory is meant to provide
networking opportunities for producers. You had to explicitly opt-in to the direc-
31 American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 63
Check above your address for your final issue number. If it is #63 or earlier, PLEASE RENEW TODAY!
Go to www.APPPA.org to renew or fill out the form on pg. 23 and mail it in!
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