Coop to Soup: Pasture Raised Poultry Processing for Homesteaders in Virginia
Sustainable Agriculture
Mackenzie Gunn
Amelia
Abstract
Homesteading and small flocks of chickens are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. Homesteaders of America did a survey on their members in 2022 which indicated that broiler chickens were within the top considerations for their membership. Additionally, there is an increasing interest in selling poultry at farmers markets and off the farm, but state regulations and exemptions are confusing to understand. Coop to Soup was developed to equip small farmers and homesteaders with information on humane poultry handling and raising, safe food handling practices, and a deeper understanding of the legalities of selling chicken on the farm in Virginia. The program was run as an 8-week long hybrid program that took participants through every step of raising and processing meat chickens on a pasture system for personal consumption or sale including raising chicks, nutrition, poultry health, pasture systems and chicken tractor design, and marketing your product. It was geared towards smaller producers or homestead style production, with notes on scale for larger markets. At the end of the 8 weeks, there was an in-person processing session where participants could process and take-home chickens that had been raised over the 8-weeks. The program emphasis was on humane animal husbandry and food safety throughout the growing and finishing process. During the hands-on processing day, participants learned every part of the slaughtering process, including set up for food safety, dispatching, cleaning, and packaging birds. Participants commented that the set up during this day gave them ideas for things to change in their home set-up to ensure better food safety and efficiency. Post-program evaluations showed that participants increased knowledge and comfort levels in all areas but had the greatest increase in knowledge of food safety practices, laws surrounding selling and distributing poultry, poultry nutrition, and record keeping. Participants felt that the most valuable part of the program was the hands-on aspect, which allowed them to build confidence in the whole process.
Authors: Mackenzie Gunn
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Mackenzie Gunn Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia, 23002-0229