July 2009 · 245 days ago
Greetings!
Things are off to a great start this year at Pasture Perfect Poultry and we hope you’re enjoying your free-range, farm-fresh poultry. New this year, you can pick-up your poultry on Sunday OR Monday evening from 5-8PM. If those times don’t work, just give us a call and we’ll find a time that does. Keep in mind the poultry will be frozen if you pick-up on Monday.
Pasture Perfect Poultry Open House, Sunday, July 26, 3-6PM
One of the advantages of buying locally is knowing your farmers and knowing how your food is raised. You are all invited to the Pasture Perfect Poultry Open House at Great Oak Farm on Sunday, July 26 from 3-6 PM. Take a tour of the farm, meet your farmers, and learn how your poultry is raised. Can’t make it on July 26? No problem, our customers are welcome anytime to visit our farms. Just give us a call to make sure we’re home.
Frozen Chickens Available Anytime!
If you need chicken and you need it now, give us a call. We have frozen chickens available for pick-up at all of our farms. Drop us an email or give us a call and we’ll find a pick-up time that works for you.
What’s New at the Farms?
WILD HOLLOW FARM
This year we added a 22’ x 48’ high tunnel for production of hot-weather vegetables. By late-July we’ll have tomatoes available for sale and soon after, tasty bell peppers. Eventually, we hope to grow sweet cherries in the high-tunnel, but we’ve got lots of experimentation to do first.
VRANES FARM
Vranes Farm is also home to Jay’s Tree Care, providing us with plenty of wood chips. We are still navigating the permitting process, but soon we’ll be making compost using wood chips and fish scraps from the Bayfield fisheries. The fish scraps have become a real problem for the fisheries and by composting them we’ll be producing a high-quality soil amendment while helping the fisheries.
GREAT OAK FARM
This year we are pleased to offer U-pick strawberries and raspberries. The strawberries are ready for picking and the raspberries are not far behind. Please call 765-4297 for daily picking conditions and hours.
Pasture Perfect….Cabbage?
At pasture perfect poultry we are strong believers in farmers working together. This year, we’ve embarked on a new venture: cabbage! We are growing green and red cabbage for Spirit Creek Farm of Herbster, WI, makers of lacto-fermented sauerkraut and kimchee. This fall, both products will feature our cabbage.
PPP and Agricultural Research
Last winter we submitted a proposal to the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant program to implement a feeding trial. Much to our surprise, the proposal was funded! Over the next few months, we will be conducting a feeding trial to determine the best time to feed day-range chickens. Half the birds will be fed once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The other half will be fed once in the mid-morning. Our hypothesis is the once-a-day feeding will encourage the chickens’ natural behavior of foraging in the morning and afternoon, resulting in a healthier, better tasting chicken that doesn’t need as much feed. To conduct the trial we’ve developed a low-cost method to generate on-farm statistically valid data – a method we hope can be used by growers all over the world. Soon you will be able to follow the research progress on our website (www.pastureperfectpoultry.org). Once we get it all set up, you can click on the “SARE Grant Feeding Trial” link to learn more!
Chris Duke Goes to Washington
Chris Duke was recently invited by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition to travel with other farmers from around the US to meet with Senators to discuss various federal agriculture programs and how they are and aren’t working for farmers. It’s a great opportunity for Chris and he’ll do a great job telling it like it is!
It’s Almost Turkey Time!
Our first batch of turkeys will be ready August 16. If you haven’t ordered, yet, there are still some available. We’ll also have fresh turkeys available on September 13, October 18, and, of course, Thanksgiving. For those of you that love BBQ, we highly recommend BBQ turkey legs!
Happy Summer!
Vranes Farm, Great Oak Farm, and Wild Hollow Farm
January 2009 · 400 days ago
Happy New Year!
Greetings from Pasture Perfect Poultry! A lot of you stocked up on chickens for the winter and we trust you’re enjoying some heart-warming chicken soup on these cold nights. Our little ones can’t get enough of chicken dumplings! We have been busy planning for 2009 and are pleased to present the first E-Newsletter of the year.
Changes for 2009
Thank you to those who filled out our survey last year. The responses were overwhelmingly positive with many great suggestions to make our business better. Here are the changes that you will see in PPP this year:
PICK-UP TIMES/DATES:
Some of you commented that Sunday evening was a difficult time for pick-up. Given our schedules, we will be processing on Sunday and will continue to offer a Sunday evening pick-up for fresh poultry, but we are also adding the option to pick up your poultry on Monday evening. Keep in mind that if you pick up your poultry on Monday, it will be frozen. There is no need to indicate whether you will be coming on Sunday or Monday – just come on the day that is most convenient for you.
NEW FOR 2009: HERITAGE CHICKENS:
Great Oak Farm will have a batch of heritage breed meat chickens that will be available on a limited basis in April. These heritage breeds are increasingly in demand from high-end restaurants because of their exceptional flavor, aroma, and texture. Enjoy!
CARPOOLING:
Consider talking to your friends and neighbors about coordinating your poultry order for 2009. Many of our customers did so last year. One person picked-up orders for everyone else in the group and then someone else in the group picked-up next time. It is a great way to save gas and enjoy the freshest possible poultry all season long.
Although we cannot coordinate carpooling/pick-up for you, we will continue to send out an area carpool email list when folks request it. We started doing this the last half of 2008, and many people found it to be very helpful. When we send out the pick-up email reminder, just email us back and we will reply back with a list of other customers in your area. If you do not want your name/email/phone shared with others, please let us know!
STEW BIRDS:
We will not be offering stew birds in 2009. Our main source of stew birds in 2008 was Great Oak Farm’s laying flock. Chris plans to over-winter his layers this year, which means no stew birds for PPP. Sorry stew bird lovers, maybe next year?
PACKAGING:
Some of you requested that we upgrade our packaging so that it is freezer friendly. The bags that we used in 2008 and will continue to use in 2009 are 4-ml, heavy duty plastic and are made for freezing. There is no need to repackage your poultry for freezer storage. Personally speaking, some of us have found a chicken or two in the bottom of the freezer many months later and have never had a problem with freezer burn. We have looked into vacuum packaging, but at this time the cost for the equipment is too high. Keep in mind that you can minimize the chances for freezer burn by keeping your freezer at the coldest setting.
2009 Order Form
We will be sending you our 2009 order form by mid-February (and some extra copies for your friends and neighbors). Be sure to look for it in your mailbox. Last year we sold out the first and last order dates for chickens and the heritage turkeys in a matter of weeks. Be sure to place your order early! The order form will again be available on our website this year.
PPP and Agricultural Research
One of the reasons pasture-raised poultry are healthier than cage-raised birds is because they can do what chickens and turkeys want to do – eat plants and insects. That said, the modern breeds that reach the sizes customers like are fed quite a bit of grain. We have applied for a grant through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Farmer/Rancher program to test ways to encourage foraging behavior and maximize pasture utilization. We hope the results of our research will allow us to feed less grain to our poultry. We’ll find out in March if we get the grant!
Happy Winter from us at:
Wild Hollow Farm, Great Oak Farm, and Vranes Farm
October 2008 · 520 days ago
As we end our first season….
Wow! Just a few more weeks left of the season and we’re all sold out of chickens! It’s been a great first year. We’ve exceeded our sales projections and feel good that our birds were free to roam on pasture all year long. We hope that you’ve been happy with our products and have enjoyed the great taste and satisfaction of knowing your birds were raised the right way. Thanks for all your business and now it’s time to start planning for next year!
Why can’t we sell to stores or restaurants?
Many of you have asked where to find our poultry in stores or restaurants. We have also had numerous calls from retailers looking to sell our products.
As you can imagine, State and Federal laws pertaining to slaughter and sale of meat products are complicated. In order to sell to stores, restaurants, and at farmers markets, all poultry must be processed at a state or federally licensed processing plant. Unfortunately, the closest state inspected plant that processes poultry is near Wausau, WI. The shipping and processing add on significant costs, which either means we have to charge much higher prices or grow a whole lot more birds to make it worth it. We are considering sending some birds down to Wausau next year in order to meet restaurant and retailer demand and we’ll keep you posted. But, for now, we will continue to sell birds from the farm.
Most States have laws that allow poultry producers to slaughter and sell up to 1000 birds at the farm per year. In other words, each of us can raise, slaughter and sell 1000 birds as long as customers pick them up at the farm. The rationale is that because customers visit the farm and can see and inspect how the birds are raised and processed, they will have reasonable assurance that they are buying a clean and safe product.
Our customers are invited to come visit our farms and see how our birds are raised and how they are processed. We believe strongly that folks have a right to know how and where their food is raised. Interestingly, it is likely our birds are processed in more sanitary conditions than in the big inspected facilities. In such facilities, the guts are eviscerated and the birds are thrown in huge vats with other birds. These “bacteria baths” are allowed, but they must add chlorine bleach to control pathogens. The reason conventional poultry often smells like chlorine is because they are run through the “bacteria baths”. With our processing (and other farms like ours) the guts are removed by hand and the intestines don’t break open so the bacteria exposure is greatly reduced. No matter how a bird is processed, however, safe handling and cooking at home is essential.
2009 Order forms
We will be setting our 2009 order schedule early in the year, and order forms should be available by February or so. For those of you who have ordered with us in 2008, you will receive an order form in the mail. Although it is hard to think ahead many months, give some thought to your 2009 order. We sold out of many dates, heritage turkeys, and stewing chickens within the first few months of 2008!
Thanksgiving turkeys still available
We still have Thanksgiving turkeys available for pick-up on November 24 and 25. As always, these birds will be fresh and ready for your holiday meal. They are about 14-20lbs. We also have a few frozen turkeys available for pick-up at any time. Call us at 278-3978 if you are interested.
Survey
We are already busy planning for next season, and we’d like to hear from you about any changes or comments you may have. In a few weeks, we will be emailing out a short survey. Please take a few minutes to think about the experience you have had with PPP. We are committed to working with our community to provide fresh, local, and high quality poultry.
Hawks are no match for captain scarehawk
It certainly is true that predators can be a problem for pasture raised poultry. It is a cost of doing business, but well worth it. We do employ a range of tricks to deter coyotes, hawks, skunks, and other varmints. The first trick is that our birds are raised in open fields away from forest edges and other varmint habitat. The birds also spend the night safely inside range houses (AKA: “Hoopies”). Our farm dogs also do a good job patrolling. We have had a few unwanted visits from hungry hawks. But ever since Captain Scarehawk has been on the job, no hawk has dared snatch a tasty chicken nugget. Good work Captain Scarehawk!
Happy Fall from us at:
Wild Hollow Farm, Great Oak Farm, and Vranes Farm
June 2008 · 645 days ago
And We’re Off…
We are pleased and more than excited for the first year of Pasture Perfect Poultry! If you’ve already ordered for the 2008 season, we thank you. If you haven’t there are still chickens and turkeys available!
The year so far has been going smoothly, although a little cold. Chris Duke of Great Oak farm raised the first batch of chickens (ready on June 8). The little chicks were brooded in the cozy confines of his greenhouse in April. Despite a flood and a few nights in the 20s the chicks were out on pasture as scheduled and did very well.
Jay Cablk and Carrie Linder of Vranes Farm are raising the second batch (ready on June 29). The birds are off to a great start and love the lush green grass of the early season. The sheep, lambs, and guard llama keep them company through the day.
The Fischbach family of Wild Hollow Farm is raising the next batch. Despite their range shelter blowing away in the recent windstorm, the little birds are well on their way and have been enjoying the dandelion greens.
One of the reasons we formed PPP was to make processing more efficient and enjoyable. Processing is usually the bottleneck which burns folks out and limits the availability of locally raised poultry. By investing in quality equipment and pooling our knowledge, skills, and handiwork, we came up with a fantastic trailer-mounted set-up that allows us to process birds efficiently, safely, and cleanly. The new automatic scalder that we purchased (thanks to the Chequamegon Food Coop’s micro-loan) does an amazing job at producing a nice, smooth, feather-free bird. We’re still working out a few kinks with this new system, but overall we are very pleased.
What do chickens and turkeys eat?
Pasture-raised poultry have access to all the things that make a bird healthy, wealthy and wise. We raise Cornish-Rock chickens, which are a modern breed that have been bred to do one thing: grow fast. They can reach a 5-6 pound dress weight by 8 weeks. No other chicken breed comes close. Because these birds have been bred to convert feed to meat, they are not particularly interested in doing anything else. We feed them a mix of ground corn, wheat, and other grains that are raised in accordance with organic standards. From day one the birds have access to pasture and by four weeks the birds are on pasture day and night, ensuring they can eat all the insects and plants they want. They are free to roam in a fenced pasture all day and are kept in a range shelter (“hoopie”) at night.
Our turkeys also have access to pasture from day one and are on pasture day and night by four weeks. Turkeys are more active foragers and roughly 50% of their nutrition comes from the pasture. The rest comes from the same mix of grains fed to the chickens. Last year’s grasshoppers were a boon for those of us raising poultry! We hardly had to feed them!.
Find us at the Ashland farmer’s market!
PPP will be represented at the Ashland Area Farmer’s Market this summer at Chris Duke’s Great Oak Farm stand. There will be updated order information, brochures available, as well as the opportunity to speak directly with Chris about PPP. The market runs Saturdays from June 14 – October from 8am-noon on the 200 block of Chapple Avenue.
Customer Appreciation
We thank you, our customers, for your support as we launch this new endeavor. We have received many notes of praise and excitement along with order forms. We take pride in providing fresh, quality poultry to our community and we are happy to know that our work is valued! Be sure to send us comments, questions, requests for newsletter topics, or your favorite recipes! Email us at pastureperfectpoultry@gmail.com.
Happy Summer from us at:
Wild Hollow Farm, Great Oak Farm, and Vranes Farm