In 1997, a group of five men from Adams and Buffalo counties raised 5600 chickens on grass pasture. They did it without using antibiotics and without having to worry about what to do with the chicken manure. Marketing and advertising were done mostly by word of mouth and their production system had low start-up and maintenance costs. Before the season began, they knew how many birds their customers wanted and when they wanted them. They sold directly to local customers who came out to the farms to pick up the chickens. They made a good profit and kept all the money in the local community. How did they buck the trend in agriculture towards large-scale, confined animal, corporate production? Pastured poultry is what it’s called and as group member Dave Bosle says, it "has tremendous potential. It’s timely, socially acceptable, and exciting."
The group members, who had never worked with chickens before, organized in 1995. They started by reading about pastured poultry in a book by Joel Salatin, a farmer who developed the method on his farm in Virginia. Supported by the local Extension Educator and other University of Nebraska specialists, and with some start-up money from the IMPACT project, they set out to raise 2500 chickens their first year.
At the heart of the system are movable, bottomless, chicken cages that hold from 75-80 chickens. The group made frames from inexpensive wood or metal pipes and covered them with chicken wire and corrugated metal. Wheels were added to one side to help in moving the cages and a simple watering system and a feeder completed the cages.
Newly hatched chicks spend 2-3 weeks in a warm brooder house and are then moved into the cages on pasture. The pasture reduces feed requirements by up to 30%. Sunshine, fresh air and healthy living conditions eliminate the need for antibiotics common in conventional poultry production.
Daily, the men or members of their families have to replenish the feed, check the water, and move the cages to provide fresh pasture for the birds. This regular movement spreads the manure and fertilizes the pasture. Group member Gerald Quinn has four boys who help move the cages and "get a great education in starting a business" too.
After 7-8 weeks, the chickens are ready for processing. In the group’s portable cleaning facility, the men help each other kill, pluck, and clean the chickens early in the morning. Customers begin to arrive in the afternoon to pick up their five-pound chickens, sold at $1.50 a pound.
Although they have had some problems with predators and with cooling the birds on very hot days, they feel they have a good grasp of the system. The group has shared their experiences at meetings in Hastings and with farmers in Kearney. They also allow others to rent their processing facility and have worked with 4-H kids in cleaning their chickens.
Each group member has developed his own customer base, usually people in nearby towns. Cultivating relationships between rural and town residents is important to the group. Dave Bosle sends out a winter newsletter to his customers. In it he explains his operation and requests orders for the next year. He also asks for an evaluation of his chicken so he can keep quality high. Bosle’s "like grandma used-to-raise, home-grown chickens" have been easy to sell. In 1997, he sold over 3,000 and plans to increase the number in 1998.
What has made this experiment a success for these families? First, they have stuck by their original goals of producing an excellent quality meat product and doing it without harming the environment. They started small and expanded as they gained experience. And finally, as a group they gleaned ideas from one another and helped each other overcome problems.
Contact: David Bosle, Hastings, 402-462-9424