On Farm Poultry Processing
Written by Mike Kirk
Our Land and Livestock team focuses on producing grass-fed and pasture-raised livestock. We manage over two hundred acres of hay and rotationally grazed pastures on which we raise cattle, pigs, chickens, and sheep. Our Butcher department helps to bridge the gap between field to fork. We cut and break down our 100% grass-fed beef and lamb, pastured pork, and certified organic pastured chickens for use in our restaurant kitchen or for retail in our Market.
One of our mobile coops in the field
Our chickens forage in the fields and get moved daily
Our poultry come to the farm as day old chicks. Once they are old enough to do so, they are brought out to the field where they are moved every day in mobile range coops. Access to fresh pasture allows chickens to be chickens—they can run in the green grass and forage as a beneficial addition to their diet. This environment is nourishing and low stress.
Chicks shortly after arriving on the farm
Our chicks arrive on the farm when they are one-day old
New to our farm is a state-inspected poultry processing facility. Our poultry plant is less than a mile from where these animals are raised, and this helps to ensure a smooth and more humane slaughtering process.
We crate up the chickens temporarily to move them to the processing plant
Tad and Mike crate up the chickens temporarily to move them
During this process, our poultry processing facility is run by a cross-functional team of managers and employees including me, Mike Kirk, who directs our butcher program, Ed Pitcavage, who leads our Land and Livestock program, and Peter Chlebowski, our Poultry Processing Lead, who all work together to slaughter and process birds under inspection. We also have a small crew of about eight other team members from across the farm who assist during the process. Once the birds are fully processed and chilled, the poultry is brought up to the Farm Commons Barn to sell in the Market or use in our kitchen.
Our Plant in a Box shipping container
Mike loading the meat freezer
The meat freezer in the Market
The unit itself, called the Plant in a Box (PIB), is a converted shipping container designed and built by Featherman Equipment in Missouri. Over the winter we worked with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) to bring the unit under inspection and work on a HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) plan as required for inspection. We chose this unit as it was a cost-effective way to enter the inspected poultry market and it fit our needs very well. We decided to invest in slaughtering our own birds for several reasons:
Commitment to quality: The birds never leave the farm, are handled and processed humanely, and fresh product is on the shelf within two days of slaughter
Consistent fresh product: Over the course of the growing season, it ensures fresh chicken product consistently in the Market and kitchen
Increased production: The Livestock team has been able to almost double their poultry production since bringing the plant online
Flexibility: An on-farm poultry plant allows the crew to harvest birds at different sizes depending on their use—Chef Kevin and his team in the kitchen may want a different size bird than what we retail for guests to purchase in the Market and bring home