APPPA Offers Cash Scholarship for Pastured Poultry Education · In addition to the APPPA Raising...
Transcript of APPPA Offers Cash Scholarship for Pastured Poultry Education · In addition to the APPPA Raising...
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76
The American Pastured Poultry Producers
Association (APPPA) is offering its third annual
Jondle Memorial Scholarship, which includes $500
cash and a two-year membership in APPPA. The
scholarship will be awarded to an individual, farm, or
organization that can demonstrate an educational
need directly related to pastured poultry.
The scholarship may be used for any educational
activity related to pastured poultry, such as expenses
related to attending conferences and workshops,
trainings, youth education, or on-farm trials. Other
ideas that promote pastured poultry will also be
considered.
To apply, please send a proposal explaining how you
intend to use the scholarship. Include the history of
your farm or organization, and be sure to talk about
your current pastured poultry operation. Answer the
simple question, “How will this scholarship support
your pastured poultry educational efforts?”
Applications will be evaluated based upon how well
the educational opportunity to be funded by the
APPPA Offers Cash Scholarship for Pastured Poultry Education
ISSUE 76
July/August 2013
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Newsletter
scholarship enhances the individual‘s/group‘s
knowledge and how that knowledge will help promote
the pastured poultry industry.
Previous scholarship awards have funded community
poultry workshops, enabled individual farmers to attend
conferences, and assisted college pasture poultry
programs with supplies.
APPPA membership is not required to apply.
Apply no later than November 15th, 2013 by sending
your application to: APPPA, PO Box 85, Hughesville,
PA 17737. You may also submit your application via
email to [email protected]. The scholarship will be
awarded on or around December 15, 2013.
As a condition of the scholarship, the awardee will
provide a follow-up report for publication in the APPPA
Grit outlining how the educational opportunities
furthered their understanding of pastured poultry and
how that information is being applied on the farm.
(Continued on page 22)
this issue APPPA Scholarship P.1
President’s Corner P.2
Director’s Report P.3
Understanding Ascites P.4
Can the Molt be Profitable P.6
Turning Compost into Eggs P.18
Optimizing Website Content P.12
Pasture-Raised Poultry Clinic P.16
Feeding Microbials P.18
Turkey Consumption on Rise P.19
Community Corner P.20
APPPA member
Jonathan Coulimore
gives a feed mixing
demonstration at his
farm.
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 2
Summer is really here. The Bermuda Azores high
has been in position well ahead of schedule, thus we
have had minimal precipitation for over 6 weeks now.
It is at the point where we are in an acute drought
once again.
Our spring season had bountiful rain, which led to a
great potato harvest. The torrid heat and humidity
make the very necessary field work a challenge on a
daily basis. That said, we are still setting sweet
potatoes and are hoping to set some of our virus-free
elite cuttings in the very near future. These are
purchased from Scott Farms in Lucama, North
Carolina. This stock is derived from the
Micropropagation Lab at NC state in Raleigh, North
Carolina. At the present we are using older stock,
which will almost certainly not perform as well. We
take this chance to get in some harvest prior to the
elite stock multiplying enough to take cuttings off of it.
We plant the bulk of our sweet potatoes on raised
bed white plastic, which enhances survival rates and
allows us to gently feed the crop as we go. We have
had great success with this technique and have
obtained yields of 850 bushels per acre. Astounding
really. Hopefully we can do this again this year.
The watermelon crop is being harvested now, the
first wave being seeded varieties, both red and
yellow—exceptionally sweet and a delight to devour!
None of the above has anything to do with pastured
poultry until one realizes that the primary nutrient
source for both these summer crops is a direct result
of our poultry operation, both layers and broilers. This
light, organized manure laydown really is the key to
this success. We continue to raise broiler flocks, all
be it on a somewhat reduced scale for retail sale in
our farm shop. The huge feed cost increases in the
last year, along with increased ocean freight on the
feed, makes one “tune up” the poultry operation to
the maximum.
It is the only way to survive out here! One of the
biggest problems we continue to be ever vigilant
about is the lowly sparrow. In the event that these
little guys do get into a pen, they certainly can
decimate the food source that is supposed to be for
the broilers. Ten sparrows will eat enough feed to
dramatically increase production costs. As they say,
there is “always something!”
As I look around the events of tiny little Bermuda, I
continue to be in awe of the diversity of activities. The
last few weeks have seen the arrival of a slew of
foreign and local sports fishing boats in the annual
billfish tournaments. The annual “Marlin World Cup”
took place on the 4th of July. This is a tournament
that is fished for in time zones from Madeira to
Hawaii, and the biggest fish is the global winner. This
year’s purse was some $400K. Once again the fish
was caught in Bermuda. This year’s fish weighed 668
(Continued on page 22)
PO Box 85
Hughesville,
PA 17737
[email protected] | www.apppa.org | (888) 662-7772
The APPPA Grit newsletter is published six times a year.
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.
Staff
Mike Badger, Director/Grit Editor
Board of Directors
Tom Wadson, President, 2009-2014
Michael Akey, Vice President, 2010-2015
Greg Gunthorp, Treasurer, 2009-2014
Jennie Watkins, Secretary, 2009-2014
Will Harris, 2013-2015
Jeff Mattocks, 2013-2015
Brenda Ostrom, 2009-2014
David Schafer, 2013-2015
Val Vetter and Deb Aaron, 2010-2014
Joel Salatin, board member at-large
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 3
Have you noticed that APPPA members like to share
their knowledge and educate others about pastured
poultry? You can see it in action everywhere: the
APPPAPlus mailing list for Producer Plus members,
in Grit articles, and throughout the year at
conferences and field days.
Many of our members have also published books
about various poultry related topics.
Starting on August 1, 2013, APPPA will begin to offer
member books via the APPPA website at apppa.org.
As a benefit of membership, you will be able to
receive a discount on each book by entering a
coupon code at checkout.
In addition to the APPPA Raising Poultry on Pasture
book, we will be carrying the following titles:
Feeding Pasture-Raised Poultry by Jeff Mattocks
Pastured Poultry Profits by Joel Salatin
The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural
Approach to Raising Chickens and Other Fowl for
Home and Market Growers by Harvey Ussery
Fearless Farm Finances by Jody Padgham, Paul
Dietmann, Craig Chase, and Chris Blanchard
When you order the book from APPPA, enter the
coupon code pasture at checkout to receive a
member-only discount. The coupon will change with
each issue of the APPPA Grit.
If you’re not connected to the internet and would like
to order one of these books, you may write or call
APPPA using the contact information on page 2.
Thanks for the support,
Mike Badger, APPPA Director
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 4
Ascites (aka water belly) is one of the worst
conditions to find on the evisceration line because
you usually discover the severe cases when the
yellow liquid shoots out of the abdomen.
With the unseasonably hot, cold, rainy spring
weather across the country, reports of ascites have
been widespread. Recognizing an advanced case of
water belly is fairly straight forward as the abdominal
cavity (i.e., the belly) fills up with yellow fluid. Affected
Cornish Cross broilers will sometimes appear reddish
in color.
Given enough time, ascites will kill your broilers.
Deaths tend to start cropping up after five weeks of
age, setting the stage for a race to processing day.
The most common explanation for ascites is one of
stress. Yes, that leaves the door open for a nearly
unending list of causes. For pastured producers,
letting your birds get chilled in the brooder or get
rained on and chilled when they first get on pasture
are common causes of ascites. Extreme heat can
cause problems as well, but cold and rain are more
frequent causes.
The birds that die at six, seven, or eight weeks of age
have likely experienced their stress weeks before
(maybe the first night in the brooder). There is no
cure for ascites, so prevention is the best action to
take. Keep the birds warm and dry early in their life
and cool when the outside temperatures heat up.
Identifying Ascites
According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, ascites
develops in fast growing meat chickens and affected
chickens may be cyanotic (bluish skin) with reddish
abdominal skin. Ascites slows growth, so sick birds
may be smaller; however, extreme growth can also
be a factor, so watch out for the largest birds in the
flock. Males are more likely than females to be
affected.
The Merck Veterinary Manual continues by saying
that chickens with ascites will often die on their
backs.
Underlying Causes
Canadian Consultants Limited describes ascites in
plain English as a “consequence of heart failure. The
disease is more scientifically known as pulmonary
hypertension syndrome and this disease may or may
not actually end up as ascites.”
When a broiler becomes stressed, the heart pumps
more blood. This is a problem with chickens because
the lungs are a fixed capacity and lie in the rib cage.
The Merck Veterinary Manual lists some specific
examples of what we might generally call stress.
“Predisposing factors that increase oxygen demand
(e,g., cold), reduce oxygen-carrying capacity of the
(Continued on page 5)
Understanding Ascites in Fast Growing Broilers Mike Badger
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 5
blood (e.g., acidosis, carbon monoxide), increase
blood volume (e.g., sodium), or interfere with blood
flow through the lung may result in flock outbreaks of
pulmonary hypertension syndrome with or without
ascites.”
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food
factsheet identifies altitude as a risk factor for
ascites, claiming that broilers above 5,900 feet above
sea level are more at risk. Merck Veterinary Manual
offers a more aggressive take and states that
altitudes of more than 3,000 feet are not satisfactory
environments for meat chickens. Both sources
suggest that slowing growth will curb mortality at
higher altitudes.
The fast growth of the meat chicken is a large
contributor to ascites, as the growth of the lungs
cannot keep up with the fast-paced growth of the
chicken. As a result the lungs can’t expand enough
to accommodate increase blood flows caused by
external stressors. The increased pressure could
acutely kill the chicken, but when instant death does
not occur, fluid forms around the heart. That fluid
then expands and fills the abdomen.
The rate of pulmonary hypertension syndrome can
be approximately 2% in broiler flocks and as high as
15-20% in roaster flocks, according to Merck. We
can presume that all the sources quoted are
speaking in the context of the commercial poultry
industry. The rate of pulmonary hypertension
syndrome and ascites of pastured poultry flocks
would be a great study.
The Canadian Poultry Consultants cites the optimal
temperature of a feathered broiler as 75° F
(24° C). This is the temperature where the bird
doesn't use energy to keep cool or warm. As
the temperature deviates from this set point,
the bird's body needs to expend energy and
consume more oxygen. Low temperatures
present the greatest risk.
Prevention
If you want to prevent ascites and pulmonary
hypertension syndrome, you control the stressors.
Here’s a summary list of items to prevent:
Keep the chickens warm and dry through all stages
of their lives. Keep the brooder bedding dry.
Restrict feed, especially at high altitude. The Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and Food recommends
restricting feed after 35 days of age. The advice to
restrict feed contradicts much of the practical advice
pastured poultry producers get, which says let the
chickens have unrestricted access to feed. But if
your chickens are dropping dead, limiting feed could
be a worthwhile troubleshooting step. Ensure you
have enough feeder space to allow all the birds to
eat at the same time so you don’t introduce
additional competition and stress from crowded
feeders.
Do not feed excessive salt. According to Jeff
Mattocks with Fertrell, sodium should be
approximately 0.20% of diet. Jeff cautions that the
causes of ascites are so diverse, worrying about salt
could be a slippery slope. However, if you have the
basics covered (warm, dry chickens), then it’s good
to have a handle on a range of causal factors so you
can troubleshoot. High levels of sodium in the water
source could also elevate the salt levels.
(Continued on page 7)
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 6
managing the hens through the non-productive molt.
Jeff used 84% as the rate of lay for pre-molt and 60%
post-molt. You can adjust those numbers based on
your chosen breed. If you’re only comparing the rate
of lay between the two cycles, you might be
encouraged to keep those hens longer.
However, the cost of maintaining the hens for 60
days during the molt is clearly laid out as you’re
expending labor and feed in exchange for no eggs.
In the tables, calculations are placed in parenthesis
should you want to translate this data back into a
spreadsheet.
Time to cull those hens.
Can the Molt be Profitable?
A recent conversation on the APPPAPlus discussion
group (available to Producer Plus members)
centered on the financial impact of taking your laying
flock through the molt. Jeff Mattocks, APPPA board
member and Fertrell nutritionist, published a
spreadsheet that shows the cost of producing a
dozen eggs during the initial 52 week production
period and then post molt. The spreadsheet also
showed the feed and labor costs to manage the flock
through a 60 day molt without any egg production.
I repurposed Jeff’s spreadsheet into two separate
tables, one to show production costs and one to
isolate the expense of the 60 day molt (see page 7).
The key takeaways from the charts are that post-molt
production will drop and you incur a lot of expense
52 Week Production Post-Molt Production
Organic Pullets Non-Organic
Pullets
Organic
Pullets
Non-Organic
Pullets
Pullet Cost $8.50 $6.900 $9.58 $6.98
Egg Cost per Hen: 300
eggs per hen for 52
weeks (pullet cost /
300)
$0.028 $0.020 $0.044 $0.032
Hen cost per doz
(Pullet Cost / 25 doz)
$0.34 $0.24 $0.53 $0.38
Feed per day in lbs. 0.25 0.25 0.313 0.313
Feed Cost per lb. $0.45 $0.22 $0.45 $0.22
Feed Cost per Hen $0.11 $0.06 $0.14 $0.07
Cost per 100 Hens per
Day
$11.25 $5.50 $14.09 $6.89
Cycle Avg Production 84% 84% 60% 60%
Avg Dozen per Day 7 7 5 5
Feed Cost per Doz
(100 hens cost / Avg
Doz)
$1.61 $0.79 $2.82 $1.38
Hen cost per Doz
(Pullet Cost / Egg Cost
per Hen )
$0.34 $0.24 $0.53 $0.38
Cost per Doz $1.95 $1.03 $3.34 $1.76
Cost of Egg Production
Summarized by Mike Badger
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 7
Nutritional facts provided by USDA.
Can I eat the meat?
The presence of ascites in the broiler does not necessarily
condemn the carcass. For those of us who process on-farm,
it’s basically a processor’s decision whether you keep the
chicken or not based on your judgment on the quality and
health of the rest of the bird.
If we care to follow USDA’s guidance, their position is laid out
in section 381.83 - Ascites (Abnormal Physiologic State) of the
FSIS/USDA Poultry Slaughter Inspection Training Manual “If
there is no evidence of any other disease condition and the
fluid does not interfere with inspection, the carcass may be
passed after removal of the fluid." (thank you to Sharon
Hoerich for sharing the source via the Producer Plus mailing
list.)
With the heat of summer upon us, we look toward the cool
weather of fall, but with the cold comes our next opportunity
for widespread ascites infections. Keep those chicks warm!
(Continued from page 5) 60 Day Molt
Organic
Pullets
Non-
Organic
Pullets
Feed Cost per
lb.
$0.45 $0.22
Feed Cost per
Hen
$0.08 $0.04
Cost per 100
Hens per day
$8.46 $4.14
Hours of
Labor for 60
Days
30 hrs. 30 hrs.
Hourly Labor
Wage
$15.00 $15.00
Labor Cost $450 $450
Labor Cost
per Hen
$4.50 $4.50
Cost of Molt
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 8
As chicken farmers, we
buy a lot of feed, and
the bank account feels
the pain every time we
make a purchase. As
the price of feed rises,
many producers feel
they are unable to pass
the full brunt of the
increase onto
customers, which
leaves us eating part of
the increased expense
and searching for cost-
effective alternatives.
Egg producer John
Moody in Kentucky has
been working on a
method that uses low-to
-no-cost local inputs to
help feed his flock of
250 hens. In a recent winter experiment, John
compared his production with a neighbor. While the
production methods differ between the farmers, the
numbers are encouraging. John experienced a
higher production level while using 40% less
purchased feed than his neighbor.
John used supplemental lighting during the winter to
maintain an 86% rate of lay in the flock while the
neighboring farmer did not supplement light and
experienced a 50% rate of lay. The quality of the
eggs, according to John, remained constant
throughout the winter, as well. They were always
deep orange in color.
The drop in purchased feed stands on its own merits.
Maintaining production and quality while expending
less money on inputs makes a profitable egg
business. Comparing the feed consumed, John’s
hens ate approximately 3-1/2 ounces of feed a day
while the neighbor’s hens ate six ounces. As
temperatures moderate in the spring and summer,
the expectation is that the feed consumed would drop
further.
John is using the chickens and the compost to solve
three problems. First, he has hard clay soil that is low
in organic matter. Second, the chickens need high
quality forage and space to forage. Third, John’s farm
is hilly and he doesn’t have a tractor to move portable
chicken houses.
In John’s setup, the chickens do have access to
three to four acres of hilly pasture that is adjacent to
the compost pasture, but there is one inherent
problem with chickens. If they’re left in one spot for
too long, they will negatively impact the ground.
That’s where John starts designing his systems.
By Mike Badger
Turning Compost into Eggs
Hens forage on a pasture of compost and wood at
John Moody’s farm.
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 9
Recycling Wood and Waste
John has procured a steady stream of carbon and
other organic materials to feed his compost pile. He
is able to get up to 1000 pounds of expired organic
produce year round from food establishments in the
Louisville area. His other materials include regular
shipments of coffee grounds, slab lumber, manure,
and woodchips.
The slab lumber costs $15 per 1000 pound load from
his Amish neighbor. The manure comes from a non-
organic stockyard and costs $30 in delivery charges.
The remaining inputs require John’s labor and time to
collect and apply.
For the woodchips, he is a drop-point for the local
power company when they trim trees in the area. The
woodchips provide an important role by sanitizing the
other materials via thermophilic composting by
eliminating pathogens without destroying the
beneficial microbes, says John.
According to the Open Source Ecology website
thermophilic composting is beneficial because, “all
the organisms that cause human diseases are
adapted to live around human body temperature.
Higher temperatures kill them. Compost that stays at
50°C (122°F) for 24 hours will be safe to use to grow
food. A temperature of 46°C (115°F) will kill
pathogens within a week. 62°C (143.6°F) will kill
pathogens in one hour. The bacteria that make
compost need oxygen. This can be provided by
sticking holes in the heap with pipes or sticks. Or you
can pile in coarse materials like hay when building
the compost heap, to create little pockets of air.”
To help filter manure, John piles the manure onto a
thick layer of slab wood. The slab wood decays at a
faster rate when buried under the manure and as the
wood decays, it’s inoculated with beneficial microbes,
and John notes that the fungi and microbes like
wood. Worms will also take up residence in the piles.
(Continued on page 10)
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 10
John draws his inspiration from hugelkulture, which is
a system of gardening with wood buried in the
ground. According to an article “hugelkulture – the
Ultimate Raised Garden Beds” (www.richsoil.com/
hugelkulture), you can build mounds up to seven feet
tall where the base is composed of wood, twigs,
woody material, and the top is covered with a couple
of inches of topsoil. As the wood decomposes it
creates pockets of air and actually helps self-till the
pile. The hugelkulture garden is very good at
retaining water, making it drought resistant – the
bigger the pile, the less water you need to add to it.
Not only does the hugelkulture recycle waste
material, it provides a rich growing environment for
areas with hard, compacted soil, typical of the clay
soil that John has on his farm.
By using the woodchips and manure, the initial
decomposition stage of the pile is cut by one-third,
allowing the important decomposer organisms to
move in quicker.
Add Produce and Mix
About once a week, John mixes produce and
woodchips into the pile. While the chickens won’t dig
(Continued from page 9) too deeply into the manure piles, they will dig holes in
the woodchips as deep as six to eight inches. John
likens the resulting woods cape to craters on Mars.
Hogs are on John’s list of enhancements because
they will naturally root and turn the piles much more
thoroughly than a chicken will.
Collecting the Dividends
Not only does the flock of hens have year round
supplemental feed from the waste produce, but the
biologically active compost piles hold an abundance
of grubs, worms, and insects upon which they can
forage. Because the piles of compost are of varying
ages of 6-12 months, there is always something of
interest to the chickens.
John also doesn’t have to worry about the compost
pasture getting beat up because of its woody, carbon-
dense materials, and he is always adding to it. As the
compost finishes, John plans to spread it onto his
pastures to help build the soil of those pastures.
Looking Ahead
After three years of experimentation, John is pleased
with his results so far, and he continues to look for
ways to use alternative feeds while maintaining
production in his market flock. Who wouldn’t be happy
with less feed, getting more eggs, and
enriching the soil?
Mike would like to thank Harvey Ussery for
providing the production numbers from his
“Reflections in Feeding” article in the August/
September 2012 issue of Backyard Poultry.
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count. A hen digs a small hole in the compost pile.
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 11
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 12
Your website performs many different functions for
your farm. For example, it presents your brand in
your absence and it acts as a sales resource that you
can direct people to.
Your website can also attract new customers to you
through the search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing,
etc). It works like this. A person who wants to buy
local chicken goes to the search engine, types some
words, and then views the search results.
As a website owner, your goal is to be represented in
those search results. We’re going to look at some
ways that you can develop your website content so
that you have a better chance of being represented in
the search results when your potential customer does
a web search.
You may hear this referred to as search engine
optimization (SEO) or content marketing. Either way,
the goal is to use your website to attract new
customers—people who have never heard of you
before.
If you have a website with a contact form or email,
then you’ve gotten emails from online marketing
spammers who pitch their services with a lot of
promises. They’ll take you from obscurity to
prosperity. They often frame their pitch by saying
they looked at your website and realize you’re not
represented on search engines and they can help
you. Delete these emails.
Instead, take an hour each week to learn some basic
search engine optimization (SEO). As direct-
marketing, do-it-yourself farmers, we can get a good
return on a few hours of time by tweaking website
content.
We’re going to look at three content optimization tips,
which really are the foundation principles of SEO. Do
the basics outlined in this article, and you’ll
outperform the people who don’t know any better or
who chase the latest fads.
Can you do more to optimize your content?
Absolutely.
However, these items are timeless: understand how
your customer talks, optimize page titles, and keep
pages to one topic.
One word of caution. Do not outsource your website
content strategy and SEO to your web developer or
designer. This is a marketing problem and should be
approached with a marketing perspective. Your web
developer may give you some good tools to make
your content easier to optimize, but what I’m
proposing is not a technical solution; it’s born from
human thought.
Understand How Your Customer Talks
Look at the pages on your website that talk about
pastured poultry. What terms do you use? The
biggest mistake for businesses on the web is that
they talk in terms that their industry understands, and
that often includes the nuances of the industry. Free
range versus pasture raised would be an example
here. As APPPA members, you could probably talk
for hours about the nuanced approach to these two
terms and why one it better than the other.
How your customer talks has practical impacts for
your website. Customers will use their own language
when they do a web search (even if their language
Optimizing Website Content to Attract New Customers
Mike Badger
This is the second article in Mike’s online marketing
series. The advice here can be extrapolated to other
marketing mediums; however, it’s presented in the
context of your website.
In next month’s issue, we’ll look at how we can use
email to connect with prospects.
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 13
isn’t technically correct). If you don’t have content on
your website that speaks their language, then you
are invisible to those customers.
Using terms that are familiar to your potential
customer (i.e, website visitor) not only attracts people
who do not know about you, but it also builds a
rapport. In other words, your content earns the
visitor’s trust enough to take the next step.
To step through some of the critical thinking involved
with your content optimization, I’ll use my own farm
website as an example. I have two ecommerce
pages for my chicken offerings. One is titled, “pasture
raised chicken” and the other is titled “homesteader
chicken club.”
If I look at the past six months of website traffic in
Google Analytics (the Keyword Report), I know that I
received search engine traffic for 897 unique
keywords. If I filter the list for “pasture,” I only have
28 unique keywords.
Through my website, I do not get a lot of pastured
chicken leads calls, email, or orders. In other words,
my website is not performing well in terms of
pastured chicken sales and in terms picking up new
chicken customers. Something is not right because
there are lots of people eating local chicken where I
live.
I also can look at my Landing Page report in Google
Analytics and see that my pastured chicken page
only attracts 1% of my total site entrances. A landing
page is the page that people enter your website on.
Not everyone enters from the home page, making
SEO an important website consideration.
My task as an online marketer is to figure out what I
can do better. It’s my opinion that my web pages are
(Continued on page 14)
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 14
not optimized correctly. The content is off, and it
doesn’t match how my customers talk.
How does my customer (your customer) talk? To
start with, listen to them. What words do they use
to talk about your chicken?
Next you can do some keyword research. For
keyword research, I use the Google Keyword
Tool (search Google for the link). The Keyword
Tool provides monthly search estimates for a list
of keywords that you supply, and then it provides
variations on those keywords. If word stemming
is something that excites you, then you just found
hours of enjoyment.
Going back to my example, I fed the Keyword Tool a
list of keywords. The following list is my starting list,
which I derived from my knowledge of the industry
and my customers. The number represents the
estimated monthly search volume at Google:
pasture raised chicken (590)
pastured chicken (1900)
farm raised chicken (480)
buy local chicken (58)
fresh chicken (22200)
free range chicken (14800)
buy free range chicken (480)
local chicken (1900)
“Fresh chicken” and “free range chicken” have the
most volume out of these keywords. You can see
that “pasture raised chicken” does have some
searches.
I actually did this exercise when I built my website
and I made the determination to optimize for “pasture
raised chicken.” However, when I look at my keyword
report in Google Analytics, the people I’m attracting
with the “pasture raised chicken” keyword are looking
for general information. Their search terms take the
following shape: pastured chicken prices, what do
pastured chickens eat, what does pastured chicken
mean, etc.
(Continued from page 13)
These are not good searches if you’re trying to sell
chicken. And the Google Keyword Tool provides
related variations that could prove helpful. A good
exercise is to take the keyword(s) you think you’ll use
and then actually do that web search. What pages
come up in the search results. Don’t forget to add
some local search terms to your web searches.
Optimize the Page Title
After you know what terms to use, you need to apply
those terms to the web page you want to create. If I
only gave you one technical SEO tip (and I’m only
giving you one), then you should make the title and
top level heading (H1) your keyword. Then write your
web page content as you naturally would.
For example, if I change my “pastured raised
chicken” page to “fresh local chicken,” then I would
make the title and first level heading (H1) of my web
page “fresh local chicken.” The title is the single most
important SEO piece for search engines and it’s what
you see in your browser tab when you visit a page.
The title tells the search engine what the page is
about. The actual copy you use supports that title. I
A view of the keyword research as reported
by the Google Keyword Tool.
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 15
DDOTSONOTSON FFARMARM
ANDAND FFEEDEED 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
Fertrell
should note that if I change my page title, I would still
talk about and use the term “pasture raised chicken”
in my content because it’s important to what I do.
The goal here is to adjust your website content so
that it attracts the most qualified visitors to your site-
those are the visitors who will sign up for your mailing
list, call you, or buy from you.
One Page, One Topic
The chances are good that you will have multiple
keyword phrases that you will want to target. Don’t
put them all on a single page. Each page should
cover exactly one topic. For example, if you create a
page in your shopping cart for “fresh local chicken,”
make “fresh local turkey” its own page. Don’t lump
them together on a page called “pastured poultry,”
unless the “pastured poultry” page is a category page
that links to the individual pages.
Blogging is a wonderful way to create a lot of content
for your website and allow you to cover a broad but
related range of subject matter in concise articles.
Those articles with your keyword rich titles and
content are indexed by Google. That attracts people
to your website.
When people get to your site via these blog articles/
website pages, the visitor needs to understand that
you have stuff you can sell them. Provide the link to
your ordering instructions or shopping cart so that
you can ask for the sale. This can be featured
sidebar links, headers, or copy.
Never assume the person reading your page knows
what you want them to do. Ask for the sale on every
page of your website, always.
Evaluate Often
I know. Who has time to do all this stuff? As if raising
chickens, turkeys, ducks and managing other farm
enterprises is not enough to take on.
Your number one marketing asset is your website. If
you’re going to outsource the website, make sure it’s
to someone who is a marketer. Otherwise, as a small
business owner, you’re on the hook to know how
your website works (SEO) and know how to evaluate
its performance (Google Analytics).
Learn More
One of the best beginning resources is the Google
Webmaster Guidelines (do a Google search). It takes
you through some of the technical and background
information for creating good websites that are useful
for your visitors and the search engines. I’ve spent
time on getting you to understand how important it is
to think critically about how the information you place
on a web page affects who comes (or doesn’t come)
to your website.
The intention is not to tell you what words to use on
your website. Rather, it’s intended to introduce you to
the thinking that goes into creating content.
Mike Badger is a recovering account executive for a
marketing agency. His clients often asked the question,
“How can I be number one on Google?”
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 16
Join the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project for
this two-day event focusing on profitable pasture-
based poultry enterprises—meat or eggs, chickens or
turkeys (or ducks, or geese, or guineas)… these
workshops will cover the gamut. APPPA Director
Mike Badger will present on day two.
You can register for either day as a standalone
workshop, or if you want to get the complete
experience (and save $20) you can register for the
full two-day event.
Registration Details
Day 1: The Biology -- $40
Day 2: Systems and Economics -- $40
Full Registration (both days) -- $60
All registration fees include lunch and resource
packets.
Event Details
Day 1-The Biology
Date: Friday, September 13, 2013
Time: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
Location: The Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary
Medicine, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA
01536
If you think fowl biology is simple—or just not that
important for a small poultry farmer to know—you'll
change your mind by the end of this workshop. This
will cover everything from nutrition to poultry health to
bird behavior to anatomy, including how each of
these is different between species and between egg-
laying or meat varieties.
Day 2-Systems and Economics
Date: Saturday, September 14, 2013
Time: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
Location: A to-be announced farm in Eastern
Massachusetts
Pastured poultry growers often become masters of
on-the-fly farm engineering. Get a close-up look at
some tricks of the trade in this field day (on a local to-
be-announced farm), from the broad approaches of
different egg and meat production systems down to
those little details which end up saving (or costing)
you time and money. Of course, we'll also tackle that
perennial concern of anyone raising birds outdoors:
predator protection.
Along with production systems, producers and others
will share their insights on the economics of pasture-
raised poultry, from minimizing costs to maximizing
your marketing dollar.
visit http://www.nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/training/
poultryclinics.html or email [email protected]
or call 978-654-6745.
Pasture-Raised Poultry Clinics September 13-14, 2013
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 17
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 26, 1997]
APPPA Statement of Purpose
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 18
Sept. 12, 2012 -- A paper recently
published in the Journal of Animal
Science helps researchers further
understand how microbials and
probiotics affect poultry health.
Researchers at the North
Carolina State University and
Chung Jen College of Nursing,
Health Sciences and
Management (Taiwan) conducted
a study to investigate the effects
of direct fed microbials on energy
metabolism in different tissues of
broiler chickens. The researchers
wanted to learn how consuming
microbials and probiotics could
change energy use and immune
function. Typically, direct fed
microbials and probiotics are
used to improve livestock health,
but how they actually work is not
fully understood.
These findings could have long
standing implications as
producers feel the pressure to
move away from the sub-
therapeutic use of antibiotics.
“Microbials are not a direct
replacement [for sub-therapeutic
antibiotics] but an opportunity
through a different mechanism,”
said Matthew Koci, coauthor of
the study and assistant professor
in the department of poultry
science at North Carolina State
University.
In the study, 192 one-day-old
broiler chicks were assigned to
two different diets. One of the
Feeding microbials to chickens leads to mysterious immune response
diets was a standard control
starter diet (CSD) and the other
was a CSD with direct fed
microbials (DFMD). The
researchers then injected twelve
broilers from each diet group with
sheep red blood cells at days
seven, 14 and 21. The presence
of sheep red blood cells
challenged the chicks’ immune
systems without actually causing
illness.
“We wanted to give the immune
system something to respond to
and didn’t want to change the
metabolism with a disease,” said
Koci.
Researchers measured several
parameters, including body
weight, whole-body energy
expenditure, tissue respiration
rates, and energy metabolism.
Over a 28-day period, the
researchers found no difference
in body weight or feed efficiency
between broilers fed CSD or
DFMD. While there wasn't a
difference in whole body
responses, there were other
differences. The researchers
discovered broilers fed the DFMD
had decreased tissue respiration
in the gut, increased respiration in
the thymus and increased
immune responses. There was
also an increase in ATP
consumption and changes in the
cytokines in the gut.
But Koci believes there may have
been something going on behind
the scenes. He theorizes that the
interaction between direct fed
microbial species and intestinal
cells results in a change in the
energy consumption in the small
intestine. This leads to an increase
in the amount of energy available
to the immune system. The results
of the present experiment are the
first to indicate that direct fed
microbials leads to increased
energy expenditures by the
immune system.
Through some unknown
mechanism, broilers fed the
microbial diet may have a faster,
not better, response in their
immune system. The DFMD was
not promoting growth, but under
disease stress, the bird would be
able to get back to optimal growth
in fewer days than birds not fed
microbials.
Koci cautioned that individual
producers may see different
results from microbial use in the
diet depending on the production
system. He also said that not all
body tissues were studied, so
there could be energy directed
toward other tissues that were not
accounted for.
This study is titled “Direct fed
microbial supplementation
repartitions host energy to the
immune systems.” It can be read
in full at
journalofanimalscience.org.
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 19
What does this mean for you, the pastured poultry
producer? In a word, opportunity.
With an industry valued at over $7 billion, you do not
need to capture a large portion of the market in order
to have a successful turkey enterprise. Currently, in
the U.S., pastured poultry producers typically think of
turkeys as a holiday special, but the research is
suggesting that there is an opportunity to create a
more robust turkey market, especially if you can
develop a market for value-added turkey parts and
cuts.
Something to think about as we gear up for
Thanksgiving.
According to an article in QSR Magazine, the Mintel
research group reported that sales of turkey, duck,
and other specialty birds grew 6.5 percent in 2012.
That put the total annual sales at $7.1 billion from $6
billion in 2008.
Approximately 84 percent of the U.S. population eats
turkeys, compared to 94 percent who claim they eat
chicken. The entire poultry industry was estimated at
$30 billion in 2012.
According to the article, approximate 38 percent of
the U.S. Consumers indicate that they have
increased their consumption of poultry products. The
low-fat nature of chicken and turkey provide an
appealing alternative to some other red meat.
Turkey Consumption on the Rise
Mike Badger
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 20
Classif ied Ads To place an ad, email [email protected] or call
(888) 662-7772.
Crates, Plucker, Pressure Washer and More
Mobile 1 ton feed box battery augered, 20’ hay
wagon, 3pt broadcast spreader, single bottom
plow, 60” disc, Honda gas pressure washer, 6 -
Shenandoah gas brooders, 10 - float tank valves,
used chicken crates, electric hand plucker on
stand. Pickup at Springfield Farm, Sparks, MD.
Contact [email protected] for details.
Golden Nugget Pullets
Approximately 150 Golden Nugget Pullets for
sale. They are just about 4 months old. Price right
now is $13/pullet and will go up to $15 when they
start to lay. Jonathan & Ellie Coulimore 360-256-
8650.
Donkeys
FREE: Two donkeys, 4 year old and 12 year old.
Pickup at Springfield Farm, Sparks, MD. Contact
[email protected] for details.
Electric Netting Fence Cart
Patent pending electric netting fence cart used for
retrieval, deploying and storage of electric fence
netting. Can be either used by hand or with an ATV
or utility vehicle. $479.00 each plus shipping.
Made in Pepin, Wisconsin. Details at
buvalafarm.com or contact Matt Buvala at
[email protected] or (715) 495-7927.
Pastured Poultry Pens
Patent pending design developed by Absolute
Pastured Poultry's years of experience. Contact us
at [email protected]. Details at
www.pasturepens.com or call us at (570) 788-1044.
Rebar Portable Shelter — Churt Design Manual
Now available on disc by Tom Delehanty. Mail $39 to
Pollo Real, PO Box 1429, Socorro, NM 87801. Email
Gibson Ridge Egg Washer
Sink-top unit scrubs eggs with hot water and brush at
a rate of 28 eggs per minute. Suitable for a 3,000
layer flock. Made in U.S.A. of as much U.S. materials
as possible. $1,875 plus shipping.
Gibsonridgefarms.com or (740) 698-3330 (Ohio).
Calendar of Events September 13-14, 2013: Pasture-Raised Poultry
Clinics with the New Entry Sustainable Farming
Project. Mike Badger, APPPA Director, will be a guest
speaker on September 14. For more information, visit
http://www.nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/training/
poultryclinics.html or email [email protected]
or call 978-654-6745.
September 20-22, 2013: David Schafer and Joel
Salatin will provide a poultry processing
demonstration at the Mother Earth News Fair in
Seven Springs, Pennsylvania. Don’t forget to visit the
APPPA booth.
October 12-13, 2013: Schafer and Salatin will provide
a poultry processing demonstration at the Mother
Earth News Fair in Lawrence, Kansas. Don’t forget to
visit the APPPA booth.
News
States Join CIS Program
North Dakota and Wisconsin joins Ohio in the
Cooperative Interstate Shipment Programs (CIS),
which allows selected state-inspected poultry
processors to ship across state lines. According to the
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the
participating states operate state inspection programs
that are at least equal to the federal requirements.
Ohio was the first state to get a poultry processing
facility licensed under the CIS program (as APPPA
reported in the Issue 74 Producer Profile of Dan
Masters).
Don’t Forget to Renew Your APPPA Membership
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 21
In May 2013, Hermann Weber hosted an on-
farm workshop that featured a post-mortem
examination. In the photo to the right, Jarra
Jagne, DVM, shows attendees how to
euthanize a chicken by dislocating its neck.
Hold the legs, tail, and wings together, if
possible. If you’re right handed, put the bird
on the right side of your hip. Place the neck
between the thumb and forefinger of your
right hand. Then pull away on the head until
you dislocate the spine at the base of the
neck.
The bird will flap its wings as it dies. Dr.
Jagne, cautions that guys tend to use too
much force to pull the head and tend to pull
the head right off, which causes blood to
spreay everywhere.
The photo below shows developing eggs as
seen in the post-mortem. Notice the round
worm to the right of the eggs. Now that is
something you don’t want to see in your
hens.
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 22
APPPA is a nonprofit educational and networking
organization dedicated to encouraging the
production, processing, and marketing of poultry
raised on pasture. APPPA encourages people to
exchange information, techniques, innovations, and
advice. To learn more about APPPA, visit
www.apppa.org or call Mike Badger, APPPA Director
at 888-662-7772.
The scholarship honors the lives of Scott and Marilyn
Jondle who took to farming as a second career. Scott
was a dedicated APPPA member and board
treasurer who was well known for his thoughtfulness,
sense of humor, and generosity. They were both
passionate about not only learning about food and
farming, but also about sharing their knowledge with
others.
(Continued from page 1)
pounds. The second biggest fish was also caught
here, and it came in at 641 pounds; it was a skinny
fish that should have weighed much more. The
good news is that both fish were fully used. I must
say that it seems a bit selfish to take these beautiful
creatures.
Last week also saw the North American Optimus
dinghy championships. Basically the best junior
sailors in the world meet in full-on competition. The
future top sailors in the world compete at the
windward mark as I feed sheep.
Today marks the opening of the “Island Games,” a
mini Olympic games contested by small islands
from around the world. It is the first time they have
been held here.
So as we prepare for the fall broiler, layer, and
turkey flocks, the field cropping continues. Soon
time to plant fall vegetables.
My thoughts go out to the many areas in North
America who have experienced severe weather. So
fellow APPPA members, please keep up the good
work.
Your board continues to work hard at various
conferences, workshops, and behind the scenes.
I truly hope that we can all have a successful year
and continue to enjoy health and happiness.
Sincerely,
Tom Wadson, APPPA President.
(Continued from page 2)
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Issue # 76 23
Join or Renew APPPA Membership (Please print clearly. Return form to APPPA at the address below.)
Producer Information
Name _________________________________
Farm __________________________________
Address ________________________________
City, State, Zip __________________________
Phone _________________________________
Email Address ___________________________
Website ________________________________
List Pastured Poultry Products:
Membership Information
Membership (select one)
□ Producer—$40 / $70 (2yr)
□ Producer Plus—$60 / $105 (2yr)
Includes online benefits
□ Business—$200
Pastured Poultry Book
Raising Poultry on Pasture
$34.50 each (shipping included)
# of Copies ____
APPPA, PO Box 85, Hughesville, PA 17737-0085
Total Enclosed: __________
Check if renewal □
If the number printed above your address is #76 or earlier, renew by mailing the form
on page 23 or renew online at www.apppa.org.
APPPA PO Box 85
Hughesville, PA 17737
PRSRT STD
U S POSTAGE PAID
Eau Claire, WI
Permit #203
178 Lowry Rd, New Holland, PA 17557
717-354-5950 | Fax: 717-354-0728
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Specializing in hatching guinea keets, bantam silkie chicks, Muscovy ducks, and Khaki Campbell ducks.
To order ducks, please contact Fifth Day Farm, Inc.
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Call for our free color brochure.