American Pastured Poultry Producers Association€¦ · Business Profile 11 Classifieds 18...

Issue 31 Early Summer 2004

American Pastured Poultry Producers Association

Web Pages for Your Farm by Robert Plamondon Norton Creek Farm

Should you have a Web page for your farm? If so, how should you go about getting one? The reason to have a Web page is because it’s a fairly cheap and easy way to connect with your customers. For example, I rarely use the phone book anymore. I use www.Google.com to find information about local businesses. A Webpage is especially valuable when your product is hard to order for some rea-son, such as when it’s seasonal or requires advance ordering. You can put the details on your Web page, and the customers can figure out what’s what, instead of having to call you up and ask a series of more or less random questions before they understand what you are offering. What Goes Into a Web Page? The Web page should have the same kind of information you’d put into a flyer or bro-chure. This ought to include: ♦ What you sell and why it’s good. ♦ How to buy your products. This should

include production schedule, order forms, and anything the customer needs to place an order.

♦ How to contact you: mailing address, phone number, fax, email.

♦ A very clear description of what part of the country you’re in, to keep people from far away from bothering you by accident.

♦ Directions to your farm, farm stand, farmer’s market – as appropriate.

♦ A brief, feel-good description of your family and your farm.

♦ Color photos that include as many of these elements as possible:

♦ Bright green grass ♦ Happy poultry or livestock, preferably

babies ♦ Brilliant blue sky with white fluffy

clouds ♦ Children. Extra credit for overalls. Chil-

dren feeding baby animals would be ideal.

♦ You. Extra credit for overalls. ♦ Nostalgia elements: an old wooden

barn, old tractor, etc. How Do You Make a Web Page? You can make a Web page the way you do anything on a family farm: make the kids do it! It’s a skill that comes easily to many high-school and even middle-school kids, who tend to have some relevant computer skills already. Or you can learn the skills yourself. Simple Web pages are easy to make. The libraries are bulging with books on this topic, written for beginners. In short, though, the process consists of simply sav-ing existing word-processing documents as Web pages (Microsoft Word can do this), or using a Web-page editor to create a more customize Web page. I recommend that you look for some kind of beginner’s guide to Web-page design, and use whatever editor it recommends, espe-cially if it’s free. Many such books come with a CD that includes everything you need. (I’d be more specific, but it’s been a while since I was a beginner, and all the products have changed since then.) Do I Need A Domain Name? Yes, you need a domain name! It’s so inex-pensive that there’s no reason not to go for it. For example, I registered my website

(Continued on page 17)

Inside this Issue:

Editor’s Box Director Info

2

From Our President 3

Insurance 4

Processing Equip 5

Predators 6

Almost Organic 7

Board Description 8

Board Recommend 9

APPPA Exec 10

Business Profile

11

Classifieds 18

Purpose-events

24

American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue #31

Well, APPPA is headed for exciting times, as am I. You will see in Jim’s note on p 3 that I will be stepping down as APPPA coordinator as soon as we get someone new in place. This is a great organization with great members, and I surely will miss serving the organization and getting

to know many of you. I’m sure whoever follows me will keep you in good hands. Certainly con-sider the position for yourself or someone you know– the job is a very interesting mix of responsi-bilities. Keep your heads up for new contact info for the APPPA office. The email will surely stay the same, but mailing address and phone number will most likely change. We will give you plenty of notice, but you know how hard these things are to get across. I thought we’d start working on you now… We have some rather different topics for you this issue. Robert Plamondon has been offering advice on the APPPA website, and the Board thought he had such good ideas that they asked him to write something for you. We are looking for an APPPA webmaster (again, see Jim’s note on the next page). If you know of anyone, it can be really a fun project for someone. Being fairly close to the membership I know that many of you won’t be very excited about my arti-cle about organics, but I do think it is an important issue that not enough people have the right information about. I hope you read the whole article and understand the perspective I am present-ing. I look forward to hearing some dialogue from those of you out there that may have a different view! Well, there will be a lot more to say next time, happy production, Jody

APPPA Grit! is published six times a year at:

PO Box 1024 Chippewa Falls WI 54729

Voice mail/phone: 715-667-5501

Fax: 715-667-3044 Editor: Jody Padgham

E-mail: [email protected] APPPA Grit!, the newsletter, is included as a benefit of membership in APPPA. Membership rates are $30 per year. To join APPPA, send check or money order made out to APPPA in the amount of $30 to: APPPA,

c/o Jody Padgham PO Box 1024

Chippewa Falls WI 54729

Information provided in this newsletter is believed to be accurate but readers assume all responsibility for actions based on this information. Classified ads for members are $5 per issue, up to 25 words, 25-50 words $10. Nonmembers add $5. Display advertising per issue is $20 business card size, $35 for a quarter page. For more information on advertising in the GRIT, please contact us.

ditor’s Box

APPPA DIRECTORS Thru Dan Bennett, KS ‘04 Charles-Laura Ritch, AL ‘04 Mac Stone, KY ‘04 Jenny Drake, TN ‘05 Kip Glass, MO ‘05 Brian Moyer, PA ‘05 Jeff Mattocks, PA '06 Jim McLaughlin, NY ‘06 Karen Black/ Robt Plamondon OR ‘06

APPPA DIRECTORS - Contact Information Dan Bennett (Board Sec/Treas)

3647 Kingman Rd, Ottawa KS 66067 (785) 242-6240, [email protected]

Karen Black and Robert Plamondon 36475 Norton Creek Rd, Blodgett OR, 97326 541-453-5841 (email preferred) [email protected]. [email protected] Jenny Drake 69 Cowan Valley Lane, Hickman TN, 38567 (615)683-4291, [email protected] Kip Glass 2169 N Farm Road 71, Bois D'Arc MO 65612-2305 (417) 732-4122, [email protected] Jeff Mattocks

(The Fertrell Company), PO Box 265, Bainbridge PA 17502-0265 (800)347-1566, [email protected] Jim McLaughlin (Board President)

242 Dan Main Rd, Norwich NY 13815 (607) 334-2833, [email protected]

Brian Moyer 96 Noll Lane, Fleetwood PA 19522-8846 (610) 944-9349, [email protected] Charles and Laura Ritch

298 Goose Pond Rd, Hartselle AL 35640 (256) 751-0987, [email protected] Mac Stone

3636 Paris Rd, Georgetown KY 40324 (502) 863-0086 [email protected]


We have officially begun sum-mer although right now where

I live it feels like fall. We have had plenty of rain, in fact so much it is difficult to stay ahead of the grass. We need to mow out ahead of the grazing animals in anticipation of having new growth when the animals get to that area. APPPA is at a similar place in our stage of life. We have some planning to do in antici-pation of where we will be in the future.

By now many of you know Jody Padgham, our coor-dinator, has given her notice to step down from her position. One of the suggestions she made to us was to consider changing the coordinators’ position to that of executive director. With an increasing work-load, that seems to be what the future holds for AP-PPA. The board agreed to change the title from coor-dinator to executive director with the thought of bringing on Jody’s replacement with a new title and responsibilities. If you or someone you know is inter-ested in the position of executive director of APPPA please contact me at 607-334-2833 or e-mail me at [email protected] The position is only part time now but we would like to see it grow to a full time position. Look in this issue of GRIT for the job description (p 10) and let me know if you are inter-ested.

On behalf of the board I would like to thank Jody for all her contributions to the success of APPPA and wish her the best for her future. Her efforts have in-deed helped bring APPPA up to a new level.

APPPA’s next annual meeting will be held in New Orleans, LA on January 21-23, 2005. This years’ meeting will be held in conjunction with the South-ern SAWG (Sustainable Ag Working Group) annual conference. APPPA will be working with Southern SAWG in setting up workshops on pastured poultry. For more information on Southern SAWG go to www.ssawg.org Watch GRIT for more information on our annual meeting.

It is the time of year when APPPA members elect new board members. Board members are elected to a 3-year term and are required to attend bi-monthly board meeting via tele-conference. If someone you know would make a good board member please send in their information so we can get them on the ballot

for the next issue of GRIT. We have included a job description for board members in this issue of GRIT. (p 8)

All of us have at one time or another had some of those chicks that don’t ever make it to market weight. You know them, they come from good genetics, they have good body confirmation, there’s great potential but they just don’t grow. I feel APPPA is a lot like that, we have all of the characteristics of becoming a major organization but we seem to never reach our genetic potential. I have spoken about this before; we have hit a 450-500-member plateau and can’t seem to get beyond this. With that few numbers we are not the voice that I believe we need to be to impact our nation and change the way people think about sustainable agriculture.

To try to increase membership we are offering to you, are current members, the opportunity to benefit from promoting APPPA to your friends. We will extend your subscription by 2 issues for every new member that you recommend. All you have to do is have the new person let us know that you recommended them and we will see that you get the extra issues. The board is also looking closely at attracting consumer members and we will have something to share with you in the next GRIT.

One more thing. We are looking for someone with Web page experience that would be willing to donate time to help manage the APPPA Web site. More and more people go to the Internet for information and we want to make sure our site is consistently providing current news to those looking for information on pas-tured poultry.

We all get mail asking for money or time and I regret to have to ask you for that, but APPPA can really use your abilities and talent at this time. Please let me know if you feel you can play a role in the future of APPPA. Contact me with what you can specifically offer and we will connect you with one of our board members to help APPPA move forward.

Be Blessed!

Jim McLaughlin

From Our President


Well, at least I have insurance. The insurance I found could be promising for a lot of you, too. My experience with farm insurance has been like most of yours: if you disclose all the facts (customers coming to your farm in large numbers, product liability, etc.) either the insurance coverage you have is inadequate, or your company doesn’t want to carry you or, worse yet, drops you. After many searches I found a company that offers a very reasonable price for the insurance coverage they offer. They are the American National Property and Casualty Companies, or ANPAC, www.anpac.com. I found a local agent here in Missouri but they do cover a majority of the United States. We, of course, had to switch to this company for our homeowner’s policy as they didn’t want to carry the product liability by itself. But the homeowners part was very comparable with what we already had, so no com-plaints there. The Commercial General Liability Coverage from AN-PAC is: One Million - General Aggregate Limit(Other than products-completed operations) One Million - Products—Completed operations Aggre-gate Limit One Million - Personal and Advertising injury limit One Million – Each occurrence limit 100,000 - Fire Damage Limit 5000 - Medical Expense Limit

ANPAC based the coverage on a gross sales limit of $110,000 per year saying this was a low figure, they probably wouldn’t cover operations for less than $100,000 in gross sales coverage. The premium for this coverage was $319 per year, very reasonable in my opinion. This coverage covers me when I’m selling at the farm-ers market, on farm sales, sales to restaurants and health food stores, etc. One fact worth noting: I am getting my birds processed at an inspected plant. My agent says, “we treat each possible client on an individual basis.” Meaning, if you’re processing your own birds and it is not sanitary, or your place is a death trap around each corner; mad bull in the pen by the parking area, scrap barb wire around where customers roam waiting to get their chicken, you are a higher risk and will be treated as such, or they might not insure you. One thing I did to limit my risk was form an LLC. This was looked upon favorably by this insurance com-pany. Any time you limit your exposure, you create a profile that is more desirable to your insurance com-pany. If you want to check ANPAC out, either go online to www.anpac.com or call my agent in Missouri, Mark Williams, 800-567-1417 and he can refer you to the contact information for your area. ¤

Hallelujah, we have insurance now by Kip Glass

B r o i l e r & L a y e r C h i c k sR e a d y - t o - l a y P u l l e t s

E q u i p m e n t / I n c u b a t o r s

F e r t i l e E g g s

2 6 6 E . P a le t o w n R o a d , Q u a k e r t o w n , P A . 1 8 9 5 1 P h . : 2 1 5 - 5 3 6 - 3 1 5 5 w w w . m o y e r s c h i c k s . c o m F a x : 2 1 5 - 5 3 6 - 8 0 3 4 o r d e r s @ m o y e r s c h i c k s . c o m


Those who have joined as Producer Plus Members (a $50 investment) can go the private Pro-Plus webpage and download special APPPA mate-rials. (Those without internet ac-cess receive these items in the mail. Past newsletters will be mailed by request) ♦ Jeff Mattock’s fantastic 37 page

book, Pasture-Raised Poultry Nutrition

♦ A PDF version of a Pastured Poultry Marketing Brochure, which can be customized with your farm name and info and passed out to customers.

♦ Access to the Pro-Plus listserve. All APPPA board members are available with timely answers to your particu-lar questions.

♦ Past issues of the APPPA GRIT– from #18 on!

AND MORE! Let us know what would be useful to YOU! We are excited to have more than 80 Producer Plus members. Please mark the “Producer Plus” box on your renewal form. If it is not time for you to renew, let us know if you would like to upgrade by calling the office at 715-667-5501 mailing to P.O Box 1024, Chippewa Falls, WI 54726 or emailing to [email protected]

I started out on my processing equipment exploration thinking I’d talk to several pastured poultry producers to find out what they liked and didn’t like about their processing equipment. But, like every time I try to do something like this, my explorations took me in a direction I didn’t antici-pate. It may be no surprise to some of you that when I ask folks what they like about their particular brand of equipment, they all say “it’s what is right for me and my scale of operation.” I found that all of the companies that sell processing equipment to people like us produce very high quality equipment that has been time tested and works well. The major difference separating the different brands of equipment is the scale of operation that it is intended for, or very minor differences in design. Everyone I talked to had been happy with all the equipment that they used, and only made changes as their production grew or changed. So, instead of a lot of testimonials, I thought it more useful for all who may be out looking for the perfect processing set up to know who is out there and what they are selling. Almost all mentioned here are APPPA Business Members, and are always happy to serve APPPA producers. I’ll start by reminding you that if you are just starting out, you may not want to jump in and buy new processing equipment right away. It is possi-ble (though we don’t want to think about it) that pastured poultry won’t be a good long term fit for you or your family. Give yourself a break, and try things out for a year or two before you spend the big bucks to get that per-fect processing set-up. So what do you do if you have birds on the ground and are wondering just how they will be processed 8 weeks from now? If you live in a traditionally rural area, as I do, you may be surprised how many serviceable pluckers are sitting in the back of someone’s barn or shed. You may get lucky, as I did, in that my neighbor’s brother had raised birds for 10 years, built a home-made plucker, and then gotten “out of the business.” I was able to first borrow, and then buy for a very reasonable price, my first “no-frills” machine. No, it isn’t efficient or fancy, but it is giving me the opportunity to try out my bird raising, marketing and processing skills before I decide to take the plunge and invest in better processing equipment. I’d recom-mend that anyone starting out put an ad in the local shopper for a “used chicken plucker” and see what comes. Whatever you get may drive you crazy, but at least you haven’t invested $1,000 before you find out that you hate chickens! For those “do-it-your-selfers” there is always the option of building your own equipment. Herrick Kimball has a great book available that describes in great detail how to build his “wiz-bang” plucker for less than $500. Contact Herrick at [email protected] or 315-497-9618 to buy a copy of his book. Don’t forget that APPPA members can put a classified ad in the GRIT for only $5.00 per issue. There are often ads for equipment for sale. Try putting in a “wanted” ad and see what you get. For those that have made it past the “two year test” here is what I found as far as farm-scale processing equipment. There are basically five compa-nies that sell equipment relevant to us “pp” types:


APPPA PRODUCER APPPA PRODUCER APPPA PRODUCER

PLUS MEMBERSPLUS MEMBERSPLUS MEMBERS

Small Scale Poultry Processing Equipment by Jody Padgham


XTENSION FACTSPredators: Thieves in the Night

Predator Identification Key Clue Possible Predator

Dogs. A dog usually kills chickens for sport. Several dead birds with much mauling of the carcasses is usually evidence of a dog. Dogs usually visit the chicken pen during the day-light hours rather than at night. Mink-Weasel. Birds usually show signs of attack on the sides of the head if a mink or weasel has visited the poultry house. With these predators, several birds will probably be killed and piled neatly together. The back of the head and neck are frequently the only parts of the carcass consumed. Opossum. The opossum generally attacks only one bird at each visit. Usually, the bird’s abdomen has been eaten. Eggs may also be the object of the opossum’s raid. Owl. The only likely culprit here is the great horned owl, which does sometimes attack

poultry. One or two birds are usually killed, with the talons being used to pierce the brain. The owl will usually eat only the head and neck. Feathers found on a fence-post near the chicken pen may provide an additional clue. Fox-Coyote. The fox and the coyote are very smart and difficult to catch in the act of raiding the flock. Since birds are frequently carried away with little evidence left behind, the only way of determining losses may be a head count. Visits from these predators will usually be very early in the morning. Keeping birds in a secure pen or house until late morning is good insurance against losses from a fox or coyote. Determining the identity of the predators is essential in preventing repeat visits. Once identification has been made, appropriate steps can be taken. Eliminating the point of entry is the first deterrent and eliminating the source of the problem by trapping or other means is the second. Trapping should be done properly to minimize the chances of catching an innocent animal. Seek the advice of a wildlife specialist if you have no experience with trapping. Prevention is the best solution to the predator problem. Properly construct houses with no access points and maintain fences to keep predators at bay. Use chicken wire or hardware cloth to discourage chewing. Rats and mice can encourage entry by other predators by gnawing holes in wooden pens or burrowing under pens and fences. Modified from publication F-824 produced by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service • Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

Several Birds killed

Birds mauled, but not eaten Dogs

Birds killed by small bites on body and neatly piled

Mink or Weasel

Heads and crops eaten on several birds

Raccoon

One or two birds killed

Birds mauled, abdomen eaten Opossum

Deep marks on head and neck, some meat eaten

Owl

One bird gone- feathers remain Fox or Coyote

Several birds gone- no clues Human

Growers Discount


Poultry Nutri-Balancer

For all your Poultry Nutrition

Layers Broilers Turkeys Ducks

Geese Ratite Game Birds

“Where Quality Comes Naturally”

The Fertrell Company PO Box 265 Bainbridge, PA

17502 800-347-1566

www.fertrell.com

Fertrell

At more than a few public events I have attended this year (including APPPA’s own presentations at the PASA conference) I have been in the frustrating posi-tion of having to “bite my tongue” over misstatements surrounding the use of the word “organic.” I would like to take this opportunity to offer clarity on when this term can and should be used by producers of any product, and specifically poultry, in the US. This is an issue dear to my heart, as I work part-time for an organization that educates people about organic production (the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, MOSES- www.mosesorganic.org). You may be aware that organic labeling is now gov-erned by the USDA through the National Organic Program (NOP). I have never been a great fan of get-ting the government involved in private lives, but the NOP was a rule that was demanded by CONSUM-ERS because of their desire for clarity on just what they were buying when a product was called “organic.” Farmers, consumers, researchers and others worked hard for 10 years to come up with a rule that would work. This rule may not be fantastic, but it is something customers wanted and was put together by a very broad coalition of folks to the best of their abil-ity. So, now we have rules written down that say what it means to call something “organic” all over the US. I agree with those who worry that “the big boys” are trying hard to compromise the definition. I applaud those who say we should revolt and “go beyond or-ganic,” but at the same time I wish that the energy put into creating alternative systems was put toward de-fending a not-too-bad system that has not been truly tried yet. As a small producer that strictly follows or-

ganic practices and markets direct, I am happy to be able to explain my methods of production straight to my cus-tomers without having to worry about a government translation of my activities. Rule, labeling and transla-tion concerns apply most to those producers that market large scale or wholesale. These are the folks that really need the National Organic Program. Regardless of what you feel about the government get-ting involved in how you farm, I’d like everyone to set that aside a moment and think about your fellow farm-ers. There are a significant number of APPPA members that are raising larger numbers of organic chickens, fol-lowing the NOP, spending the money to become organi-cally certified and using the USDA organic label when selling their birds. Our past board president and winner of the 2004 “Real Chicken Award” Tom Delehanty is one, Peggy and Richard Sechrist, former APPPA board members, my neighbors Deb and Mike Hansen here in WI, friends Shelia and Ron Hamilton in Alberta, Can-ada, and many others- follow the rules of the NOP and sell certified organic birds. These folks aren’t Tyson or Gold ‘n Plump- they are small family farmers, trying to make a decent living and do good things for their fami-lies, like you and I. So what has me all in a tizzy? Hearing people make statements that they are “almost organic” or “basically organic.” I have heard variations of this statement more times than I care to count, and hope that I never hear it again. Let me help you understand why I feel this state-ment is such a bad idea. First of all, why do people feel compelled to say this kind of thing? The market for organic products has been growing more than 20% per year for the last several


Almost Organic? By Jody Padgham


APPPA Board Member Job Description

As a member of the board of directors of APPPA you are expected to fulfill the following: ♦ Fulfill a 3 year term (elected by the membership as specified in the by-laws) ♦ Attend 6 bi-monthly meetings ♦ Expected to attend at least 75% of the board meetings (contact board president or Executive Director if unable to attend) ♦ Expected to work on at least one committee (i.e. membership, newsletter, etc.) ♦ Stay well informed on APPPA and other relevant ag issues. ♦ Keep personal board files up-to-date. ♦ Participate and provide leadership on pastured poultry issues in your region. ♦ Financially contribute to the organization on an annual basis according to your own personal level. Responsibility Leadership and Vision ♦ Make expertise, resources and contacts available to the organization. ♦ Participate in the development and implementation of the strategic plans on an annual basis. Membership Representation ♦ Recruit new members according to goals set by the board. ♦ Willingness to communicate to members. ♦ Share pertinent information and communications to staff. Oversight and Governance ♦ Provide financial oversight of the organization. Board members are expected to review all financial statements. ♦ Personal Contributions ♦ Participate in fundraising activities (i.e. writing a membership letter, special events, etc.) ♦ Give between 5 to 10 hours per month to APPPA related activities. Public Outreach ♦ Represent APPPA at events ♦ Distribute APPPA materials

Easy Grower


The APPPA nominating committee relies on your recommendations in offering strong choices for the APPPA board election. Please take a moment to think of your fellow APPPA members and help pro-vide the nominating committee a good selection of candidates to choose from in creating the APPPA election ballot. Each year we vote for three members of our nine member board. Please provide the following information for your recommendation * for APPPA Board Member: Name: _______________________________________________________________ Street Address: ________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: _________________________________________________________ Phone; _____________________________ Email: _________________________________________ Recommended by: Name: _______________________________________________________________ Street Address: ________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: _________________________________________________________ Phone: _____________________________ Email: __________________________________________ Briefly state why you believe this person would be a good board member (use extra paper if needed.) A reminder: All individuals recommended must be APPPA members in good standing and willing to serve if elected. Please ask your friends if they are willing before you recommend them to us. Recom-mendations will be screened by the APPPA nominating committee and a slate of nominees will be se-lected and announced for voting in the next issue of the APPPA GRIT! Please return this form by Sep-tember 1 to: Jeff Mattocks, [email protected] PO Box 265, Bainbridge PA 17502

Recommendation for APPPA Board Member


JOB DESCRIPTION FOR APPPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The APPPA Executive Director is directed by the APPPA Board of Directors to conduct the daily operations of the organization. The Executive Director is the first level of contact for members, consumers and potential members. The Executive Director reports to the AP-PPA President and the Secretary/Treasurer.

The following position currently requires approximately 125 hours per quarter. We are an international organization with 475 members in 44 states and 4 countries, there is tremen-dous potential to increase membership and salary. The primary duties of the Executive Director are: Membership support - provide APPPA information to the general public and prospective members, enroll new members, process member renewals, maintain all membership re-cords, maintain producer/consumer list for Network in Action column and web site, main-tain inventory and ship T-shirts, bags, hats, books and past Grit articles.

Communications - serve as editor of organization’s newsletter (“APPPA Grit!”) published 6 times per year, with responsibility for compiling the newsletter content, layout, advertis-ing, printing and mailing. The Executive Director also has responsibility for maintaining and updating the APPPA web site. In addition, the Executive Director will respond to all APPPA related correspondence to include telephone messages, mail, and e-mail in a timely manner.

Trade Show responsibilities – responsible for APPPA trade show activities to include the coordination of materials and people in an effort to communicate the APPPA message and build our membership base. The Executive Director will be reimbursed travel ex-penses if he or she is in attendance at trade show events.

Financial record keeping - receive membership fees, pay bills, manage APPPA’s bank accounts, prepare financial records for the Secretary/Treasurer and the Board.

Grant Writing and Program Development: Identify and research prospective grant fun-ders, assist in grant development, and assist board of directors with planning program development relevant to APPPA’s future goals.

Qualifications: good communications, writing, computer, and record keeping skills; knowledge of Pastured Poultry. Computer skills should include knowledge of web site development and maintenance.

The time required at our current level of operation averages 125 hours per quarter.

Location: the Executive Director will work from their home, (anywhere in the U.S.A.)

To apply for this position, please contact Jim McLaughlin. See page 3.


SCALDER 42 gallon rotary, gas fired with auto control temp timer. 60,000 BTU, all stainless steel.

POULTRY MAN Eli M. Reiff 570-966-0769

922 Conley Rd Mifflinburg, PA 17844

Mechanical PLUCKER 3/4 HP motor, motor totally enclosed, 10:1 Gear reduction, 27” diameter, stainless with shower

ALSO AVAILABLE: Manual Scalder–

hand dunk birds. 42 gallon, 45,000 BTU

Please call for prices on all equipment

APPPA Business Member Profile: Eli Reiff: The Poultry Man by Brian Moyer

About three years ago I attended a pasture walk at a farm in north central Pennsylvania where they raised sheep and pastured poultry. At some point in the tour, the farmer introduced one of the attendees. “This is Eli Reiff. He has a USDA approved processing facility at his farm. I can tell you that without Eli, many of us wouldn't be doing pastured poultry.” Talking with Eli after the pasture walk, I found out he had transport crates for sale, so I set a date with him to come pick some up. One afternoon a few weeks later I made the long drive from my farm to Eli’s place in the town of Mifflinburg in central PA. When I got to his farm, I pulled up to the processing building where I found Eli leaning against the door. I said “How are ya Eli?” and he said “Well, if I get up in the morning and I got chickens to dress, it’s gonna be a good day.” I thought to myself, “I gotta bring birds to this guy” and Eli and his family have been dressing my birds ever since. Eli Reiff has been processing poultry for 24 years. Eli, along with two other family members, does the process-ing. They generally schedule most of the work for the morning, leaving afternoons to do other farm work. They process 5 days a week after Memorial Day and dress 200 to 225 birds per day. They process 40,000 chickens per year, along with 1200 turkeys that get scheduled starting after Labor Day. While Eli and family where busy dressing my birds this last time, I picked his brain about poultry processing and pastured poultry. Eli scalds at 147 degrees for 40 seconds. Older birds a little longer, layers for 60 seconds and tur-keys for 50 seconds.



years- organic is the largest growing agricultural oppor-tunity. Consumers have been studied, and by and far they buy organic because they feel organic products are healthier for them. They want a product that is grown without chemicals. With the prevalence of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) in corn and soybeans, or-ganic is one of the only ways those who care can be as-sured their food is GMO free. Organic producers have worked had to communicate with consumers, and have succeeded in fetching strong prices that reflect increased production costs and higher perceived value. So, ok, you say- my birds are healthy. I’ll give you that- grass-raised birds are the best there is, and you can get a lot of marketing mileage on the taste alone. But, can you say they are raised without chemicals, “organic” or “almost organic?” Most likely not- if you buy your feed at the local mill or feed store. Unless you have evidence otherwise, whoever grew that corn and those soybeans sprayed LOTS of chemicals on those grains and beans. The corn is most likely genetically modified, the soy-beans roundup ready GMO. Chemicals were used to control insects and rodents during storage and additives may have been added to preserve freshness. If medi-cated, feeds contain low levels of antibiotics as a “preventative” measure. I am not one to judge what other people choose to do. If you choose to buy feed that has these things in it, that is ok with me. Lots of people do. There are people that will argue me into the ground that their products raised with chemicals are lots better for people, animals, the envi-ronment or whatever. What I have a problem with are those that feed this feed and say their birds are “more or less organic.” If you have been unaware of the difference between organic and “feed store” feed, I hope this helps clear things up. If you support the use of chemicals in producing your food, then don’t try to please your customers by telling them something that isn’t true. Those who negotiate with their neighbors for home-grown feed, or raise their own without chemicals have a stronger leg to stand on in this argument I am making, but unless they strictly follow organic practices (and become certified if above the $5,000 per year small pro-ducer exemption) they legally can not use the term “Organic Chicken.” Now, I expect that many of you will disagree with this law.

(Continued from page 7) Organic This is when we need to think of our friends the Dele-hanty’s, Sechrist’s, Hanson’s and Hamilton’s again. These folks work very hard, and pay a lot extra for feed, health care and processing, to be able to say they have raised their poultry according to the above-mentioned national rule. I feel that we need to honor their commitment by NOT using the same terminol-ogy unless we are AT LEAST walking the same mile they are. Organic certification is not for everyone. Many of us raise poultry the same way we have been doing it for years, with corn raised by Joe down the road and healthy pastures that have never been sprayed. If you are selling birds to the neighbors and relatives, you can basically ignore everything I have said here today. If, however, you have a display at a farmer’s market, you are taking ads out in the local paper, you have a web presence or you are wanting to beef up your brochure, think twice about saying you raise birds that are “almost organic” unless you can assure your custom-ers that you are abiding by the standards set in the NOP. Many people resort to the term “natural” in lieu of “organic.” Due to the lack of true definition there is no line drawn that lets us know what the term “natural” refers to. I know plenty of people that use chemically raised feed store feed, including chick starter laden with antibiotics, and call their product “natural” be-cause the birds are out on grass rather than in cages. Although it seems kind of goofy to me to call this “natural”, it is technically just fine, as no one has de-fined what that term “natural” really means. Organic production, for better or worse, has the line firmly drawn. Antibiotics and GMO’s are out, outdoor ac-cess and non-chemical feed are in. Let’s support our


Rainbow Breeder Company

Offering a full range of chicks for Pastured Poultry and

Free Range production

PO Box 2363 Clanton, AL 35046

Danny Eiland, 205-280-3771 Richard Udale, 479-903-6373

[email protected]


fellow farmers, and the consumers behind them, and keep within the lines. Let’s commit to being organic or not, but never to being “almost organic.” Just what does organic production of poultry under the national rule entail? There are several points in the production of organic poultry. 1. All birds must be fed, from the second day of life, 100% certified organic feed. Certified organic feed is grain that has been raised on land without prohibited substances (a big term basically meaning no syn-thetic chemicals, gmo’s, treated seeds, sewage sludge…. For more on how to grow organic crops, go to the ATTRA website at www.attra.ncat.org) for three years. 2. All additives to the feed, such as mineral mixes and supplements, must be “certifiable”. This is why we love the Fertrell Company, AP-PPA business members, as they do the organic feed homework for us! (www.fertrell.com) 3. No antibiotics may be used. Most conventional medicines are not allowed. Natural remedies are promoted- check out the new book: “Remedies for Health Problems for the Organic Layer Flock” by AP-PPA member Karma Gloss, avail-able free on the web at http://www.kingbirdfarm.com/Layerhealthcompendium.pdf or for a modest fee by contacting Karma at 607-657-2860. 4. Poultry must have access to the outdoors when seasonally and age appropriate. No sweat for us, right? A very big deal for the ‘big guys” like Tyson and Gold ‘n Plump. 5. Vaccines are allowed, as long as they are not GMO. Not many pastured poultry producers use vac-cines. 6. Processing must be at a certified organic processing plant. This is a huge issue for many producers. It is hard enough to find a plant that

(Continued from page 12) Organic each year in organic product, you need to follow the rules, including keeping excellent records, but you need not be certified. Those selling more than $5,000 per year in organic product must be certified. To become certified, you must first apply to a USDA accred-ited Certification Agency. You may find these agencies by visiting www.ams.usda.gov/nop/CertifyingAgents/Accredited.html or calling the USDA at (202) 720-3252. I rec-ommend that you ask any neighbors that may be into organics (dairy or vegetable farmers? They often have signs out front that they are organic) who they are certified with. All certification agencies cer-tify to the National Rule- they have different fee structures and office policies that may make some more attractive to you than others. The certification agency will send you an application (it may cost money- $50 is common). That


will process your birds, much less at a reasonable cost. Now to be certified organic….. Luckily, it is not monu-mentally difficult for a processor to become organically certified- there is little that they do that is not ok. The main issues are the separation of or-ganic product from non-organic. Some producers have worked through this by having their proces-sor be certified only for their birds, which are run first thing in the morn-ing on clean equipment. In this case the producer will often pay the cost of having the plant certified for or-ganic for the several days they are needed. Check with your local plant to see if this is a possibility. Those of us who home-process get caught up by this point. Since I home process and direct market, al-though I follow all of the other or-ganic rules, I only say my birds are “Organically Raised”. They cannot be certified, or technically labeled as “organic”. 7. You may still buy chicks from whomever you choose. The chicks do not need to be “organic”, but need to be raised organically from the moment you get them at 1-2 days old. 8. You must keep very com-prehensive re-cords on any-thing associated with the birds- labels from feed sacks, notes on pasture move-ment, remedies used, sales docu-mentation. See the ATTRA web-site for more in-formation. 9. If you sell less than $5,000

Pickwick-Zuber (formerly PICKWICK-ZESCO)

POULTRY PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

7887 Fuller Road – Suite 116 Eden Prairie, MN 55344 USA

Telephone: 800/808-3335 USA 952/906-3333 Fax: 952/906-3335

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Pickwick-Zuber has equipment for your process-ing needs. We have equipment to do one bird at

a time to 500 birds per hour. The Pickwick line of poultry processing equip-ment has been picking birds for over 50 years

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Eli can tell the difference between pastured and indoor birds the minute they come to the door. “They smell differ-ent. Indoor birds can smell of ammonia or manure and the skin is thinner and can be damaged in the scalder.” He tells me. “The steam from the scalder brings out the smell. Indoor birds have more fat and the fat is greasier and runnier then pasture birds. Pasture birds have firmer fat. They are brighter looking. They have more white in their feathers and more yellow in their legs.” Common problems that he looks for in birds are things like inflammation in the knees. This is seen mostly in in-door birds and is due to fluid build up in the legs. When this happens, Eli removes the leg from the carcass. He also sees Ascites, or fluid in the belly, which Eli says can be caused by high stress. Bruising on wings is common, it often happens when loading the birds into the crates. Reiff’s Poultry Dressing business is a USDA approved custom facility, which means once a year an inspector will review his shop. In Pennsylvania regulations fall to the USDA. There is no state inspection. They charge $1.50 per bird. $1.25 per bird if it is under 9 weeks of age. Older birds take longer and not as many can be scalded or plucked at once, so are a little more expensive. Since Eli sees and talks to so many pastured poultry producers, I asked him his thoughts on where he thinks Pas-tured Poultry is going. “ We're not even half way to where it can go.” He tells me. He is amazed that so many new people are still reading Joel Salatin’s book and then coming to him for processing. People from all different backgrounds. I've seen people pull up to his place with chickens in the back of a Volvo wagon! I asked Eli what tips he would give growers to help them in raising high quality birds. “Don’t move them to pas-ture to soon. If the weather is questionable, it is better to hold them in the brooder longer. If you wouldn’t sleep out there, don’t expect your birds to. And don’t over-crowd your crates when taking them to slaughter. At 8 weeks of age you should have no more then 10 birds per crate. Less if it is hot weather.” In 2001, Eli started constructing his own processing equipment to sell. He calls this business “The Poultry Man” processing equipment and has sold over 200 pieces all over the country and in Bermuda and the Bahamas. Their mission is to “Help farmers to be able to do what they want to do at an affordable price.”

I take birds three times a month to the Reiffs, and although the trip is a long one, I always find the Reiff family cheerful and happy to see me. Eli is always will-ing to help educate growers and processors. He has hosted a field day at his place and has been invited to conferences to speak about poultry processing. When I asked Eli if he could quarter some of my birds for me today he said “Hey, we put the 'c in cus-tom.” Why would I ever not want to bring my birds to Reiff’s Poultry Processing? ¤

(Continued from page 11) Reiff Poultry


APPPA membership by state Spring 2004 AL 3 AR 6 AZ 1 CA 7 CO 6 CT 2 FL 3 GA 7 HI 1 IA 13 ID 3 IL 24 IN 19 KS 7 KY 3 LA 8 MA 7 MD 11 ME 7 MI 17 MN 14 MO 25 MS 4 MT 1 NC 9 ND 1 NE 5 NJ 3 NM 2 NY 36 OH 28 OK 2 OR 15 PA 63 SC 6 SD 3 TN 5 TX 15 UT 1 VA 19 VT 4 WA 17 WI 38 WV 4 Cana 2 Argentina 1 UK 1 Bermuda 1

Featherman Pro

Premier


Shady Lane Poultry Farm, Inc.

Day–old chicks, several varieties: Pasture-bred commercial Cornish Cross Broilers,

Rainbow Free Range Gourmet Broilers, Brown Sex-link layers, Homesteader’s Delight dual purpose chickens.

Also several varieties of exhibition and heirloom poultry available.

Matt John 520 Agawam Road Winchester, Kentucky 40391

859-737-2636 www.shadylanepoultry.com

(Please note that prices DO NOT include shipping. These prices were current as of 6-10-04. With steel prices fluctuating, you will want to call to confirm prices before you finalize your decision.) Contact information for the companies can be found follow-ing this article. If you buy more than one piece of equipment, the companies may negotiate on price.

Small Scale Processing Plant Equipment Those ready to get into processing at a larger scale also have several companies to choose from. All offer high qual-ity equipment, and all will work with you to custom design a system that is just right for you. Call the “small plant equipment” folks listed below to ask about a whole system for your small processing plant.

(Continued from page 5) processing


Small Scale POULTRY PROCESSING EQUIPMENT Name State Product Birds/batch Price Notes

Pluckers

David Schafer MO Featherman Pro Plucker 5 $975 Food grade plastic, 22” tub,

Eli “Poultryman” PA Mechanical Plucker 5 $1525 Stainless, 27” tub

Pickwick-Zuber MN Pickwick Mini-Spin Pik Picker

3, up to 30 lbs total

$2000 before July 15, $2500

Stainless. 24” tub

Pickwick-Zuber MN Pickwick Spin Pik Picker 5, up to 80 lbs total

$5600 Stainless, 30” tub, timer, auto discharge. Will do geese, tur-keys, suckling pigs

Brower IA BP 25SS Spin Picker 3-6, 1 turkey $2310 Stainless, 25” tub Brower IA Tabletop drum picker 1 bird at a time $472 Galvanized, you hold bird Brower IA Drum picker with legs 1 bird at a time $755 Galvanized, you hold bird Pickwick-Zuber MN Pickwick Drum Pickers, 3

sizes 1 bird at a time $370-925 Galvanized, table top or with

legs, with or without motors Scalders Pickwick-Zuber MN PKES Electric Scalder 3 $190-210 Fiberglass 30 gal. hand dunk Eli “Poultryman” PA Manual Scalder 5 $692 Stainless, 42 gal, hand dunk

Eli “Poultryman” PA Gas Rotary Scalder 5 $2149 Stainless, 42 gal

Brower IA Manual Scalder 3 $1770 Galvanized 38 gal, dipping bas-ket


http://www.nortoncreekfarm.com. To do this, you either have your Web-hosting service register your domain for you, or you go to the Web site of a “Web Registrar” and do it yourself. It’s not difficult at all. I use http://www.godaddy.com. A domain name should cost under $10 a year. That just gives you the name. You also need a Web hosting service to actually make your page available to the teeming millions on the Internet, and to make email addressed to your new domain available to you. How Do You Put Your Page on the Web? It seems as if there are millions of Web-hosting services. A lot of people use a hosting service provided by their Internet Service Provider, but you can buy Web hosting from innumerable services. There is ferocious, cutthroat competition in the Web hosting business. I noticed that godaddy.com (the Web Registrar I mentioned above) is offering Web hosting for $3.95 a month. There are innumerable Web hosting services that will give you more fea-tures than you will ever use for $7.95 per month or less if you prepay a year in advance, or $9.95 per month if you don’t. I found the reviews on http://www.top10webhosting.com useful, though I haven’t tried any of the services listed there yet. How Do You Make People Notice Your Site? If you’re selling to local customers, people will notice your site largely because you will (or ought to) put your site’s address (or URL) on everything you give your customers: business cards, flyers, egg cartons, broiler tags, refrigera-tor magnets, pencils. Everything. One of the main uses for your Web page is so existing customers can find simple information like your hours of operation or how to place an order. To pull in new business, people will need to be able to find you through search engines and online directories. The most important search engine is Google. People sometimes find our farm by typing search strings into Google such as “Corvallis free-range eggs.” This can lead to new customers and doesn’t cost anything. To add your site to the Google database, go to their “Add your URL” page at http://www.google.com/addurl.html and fill in the two-line form. That will add your Web page to their database in the fullness of time (it may take several weeks).

Everyone should send an email to [email protected] asking to have your Web site added to the Producer’s Directory at http://www.apppa.org/APPPA/producers.htm. This is a free service to APPPA members. ( ed note: Other web-sites that will list your farm include www.eatwild.com, www.localharvest.org and www.newfarm.org - “farm locator”) There are a great many people who will list your site in their directory for a fee, or submit your URL to a million search engines for a fee. My advice is to save your money. Maintain Your Site Getting your site up on the Web is interesting and excit-ing. Maintaining it is dull. But it works a lot better if it has new content from time to time. If you can have peri-odic updates, people who drop by for the first time will see information that’s more timely, and others will have a reason to come back. This doesn’t have to be fancy at all. New photos and updated calendars that don’t stretch too far back into the past are really all it takes. A little bit of chatty news about the farm helps, too. That’s about it. My own farm Web site at http://www.nortoncreekfarm.com is about as simple as they come; just a few paragraphs of text, a few links, and a copy of our farm newsletter. You can do this, too! ¤

(Continued from page 1) Web

PASA


DDOTSONOTSON F FARMARM ANDAND F FEEDEED

Distributors of Fertrell Poultry Nutri-Balancer

and the complete line of

Fertrell Products. 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

GRIT Classifieds

FOR SALE: Used turkey range feeder, will hold 800 lbs feed. Rain proof, will work well for laying hens as well. Cut chore time and solve feed storage problems. Rose-bud MO, 573/764-4235 [email protected]

Forks Farm Field Day on Pastured Poultry, June 22, 6-8pm Forks Farm, Columbia County, PA Top-ics to be covered: use and selection of breeds (layers and meat), brooding chicks, pasture systems and housing, processing, marketing and nutrition. Come join some of PA's most seasoned pasture poultry practitioners: Lyn Garning (Over the Moon Farm), Bucky Ziegler (Paradise Valley Organic Farm) Eli Reiff (Poultry Man Custom Processing), Dr. Stephen Marks (John Hopkins University lec-turer on poultry nutrition) and Phil Gatfelter (Forks Farm). Please RSVP on or before June 16th by con-tacting Kris Ribble, NRCS Grazing Specialist, 570-265-6969 ext 117 or [email protected] Spon-sored by the Northeast Project Grass and the Hop-kins Family

Brower–

Helfter

Fertrell


Call or email for your free copy

Shackle Evisceration at an Affordable Price

14.5 foot evisceration track with 20 shackles- $495

Pickwick kill tunnel

Tired of lifting plastic crates? Ask about our galvanized chicken crates that hold 1500 lbs.

Contact Jim Protiva

at (417) 277-5869 7-9 pm CST or email [email protected]

Poultry Equipment Catalog

Your Complete Source for Free Range Poultry Equipment

♦ Feed Bins and Feed Delivery Systems ♦ Chore-Time ® Floor Feeding Systems ♦ Automatic Bell & Nipple Drinker Systems ♦ Hanging Feeders and Waterers ♦ Natural Ventilation Curtain Sys-

tems ♦ Pens and Range Equipment ♦ Incubators, Brooders and Heaters Plus parts and supplies Visit www.gillisag.com [email protected] Call us toll free: Willmar MN Storm Lake IA 1-800-992-8986 1-800-792-6828 Gillis Agricultural Systems, Inc.

application will generally become your “Farm Plan” – another requirement of the NOP. Once you submit the application, it will be reviewed by the agency, and if it is complete, an organic in-spector will be assigned. The inspector will come out and look at your farm and poultry operation. They will look at all your re-cords, go to the fields and look at any handling areas. They will submit a written report to the agency. The agency will offer a de-termination as to whether you qualify for organic certification or not. This all sounds rather harsh, but in my experience is a rather interesting blend of sterile rules and real people that come to-gether to a very human, functional and admirable process. 11. Once certified you may use the USDA “Organic Seal” and label your product as “USDA Certified Organic.” 12. You will pay an annual fee for certification. The average small poultry operation will be $300-500 per year, varying with whether you need crop fields certified. You generally pay costs associated with the inspection, and some certification agencies require a small % of the annual organic sales. Most states have a cost share program in place for organic certification. Contact your local Department of Agriculture to see if there are funds available to you. 13. You re-apply for organic certification each year, with an an-nual application and inspection. ¤

(Continued from page 13) Organic

Distributor Contacts: Brower, Houghton, IA 800-552-1791 (also small plant equipment) www.browerequip.com Eli Reiff, “PoultryMan” 922 Conley Rd, Mif-flinburg, PA , 17844 570-966-0769 David Schafer, Schafer Natural Meats, 760 SW 55th Ave, Jamesport, MO 64648, 660-684-6035 [email protected] Pickwick-Zuber, Inc. (Formerly Pickwick-Zesco) 7887 Fuller Rd, Suite 116, Eden Prai-rie, MN 55344, 800-808-3335, [email protected] (also small plant equipment) www.zuberinc.com Ashley Machine, Jim Israel, owner. 901 Carver St, Greensburg IN, 47240. 812-663-2180 (Small processing plants) ¤

(Continued from page 16) Processing equipment

APPPA STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

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.

APPPA exists to facilitate the free flow of creative ideas. Member producers are encouraged to consider all poultry species and all pasturing models, assuming personal responsibility for adapting ideas and models presented through APPPA.

APPPA passionately embraces humane, people-friendly, environmentally-enhancing, pasture-based production models. While we respect the freedom of others to engage in industrial confinement factory farming, we believe our approach is superior.

APPPA assists both producers and consumers to transact business with as little government intervention as possible. APPPA does not discriminate in membership or programs based on the business size of producer or consumer. Realizing that production models must be profitable to be successful, APPPA's interests include processing, packaging, cooking, marketing, and any other topics related to pastured poultry enterprises.

APPPA's world vision is to see pastured poultry adopted as the model for environmentally, emotionally, and economically sensible poultry production. This vision includes decentralized food systems, farmstead-sized processing, and as much interaction as possible between producer and consumer.

(Adopted by the APPPA Steering Committee, August 27, 1997)

EVENTS & HAPPENINGS

APPPA GRIT! PO Box 1024 CHIPPEWA FALLS WI 54729

All the indicators point to pastured, home processed poultry as one of this century’s best family farm enterprises. Pasture Poultry Profit$ by Joel Salatin.

Presorted Standard

US Postage Paid Chippewa Falls WI

♦ June 22 Forks Farm Field Day, Columbia Co, PA. See announcement p. 18

♦ August 12-15 Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Annual Summer Conference. Hampshire College, Amherst, MA. Keynotes by Ralph Nader, Ron Paul, Vandana Shiva, Eliot Coleman. contact Julie Rawson at 978/355-2853 or [email protected] www.nofamass.org

♦ August 12, Herscher IL, Pastured Poultry Field Day. More info at www.aces.uiuc.edu/asap/ 217/968-5512

♦ August 20-22, Herbfest, Norway IA. Sponsored by Fron-tier Herbs. 800/669-3275

♦ September 11, GrazeFest– National Celebration of Grass-fed and Pasture Raised Foods from America’s small farms. Sponsored by the folks at the EatingFresh Guides. If you would like to participate, email at [email protected] 609-466-1700 www.eatingfresh.com

♦ October 1, 9am-5pm Raising Standard Turkeys for the Holiday Market. Linesville PA. Sponsored by PASA. More info, www.pasafarming.org or 814/349-9856

♦ October 2, 9am-5pm, Criteria for Choosing Breeder Tur-keys From your Flock, Linesville, PA. Sponsored by PASA. More info, www.pasafarming.org or 814/349-9856

♦ Jan 21-23, 2005. APPPA annual meeting, SSAWG Confer-ence, New Orleans, LA. See note p 3.

Next Issue of Grit— Late Summer 2004. Deadline Aug 1

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