So began my obsession with one of the most idolized men in sustainable agriculture: Joel Salatin. I romanticized poultry tractors running abreast in succession over our lush hillside. For over a dozen years I worshipped every word ever written or spoken by the legend of Polyface Farms. As a result, we built chicken tractors. We raised birds on pasture. The chickens foraged naturally, they remained free of fecal material, they had access to fresh air which prevented respiratory distress, and this method encouraged movement to prevent lameness. The poultry reaped the benefits, and we were pleased to have implemented practices we still use today. I owed a lot to Mr. Salatin and lived vicariously through friends who had opportunity to meet him. I hoped to, one day, thank him in person for encouragement he probably never knew he extended to me.
My fantasized world came crashing down in 2019 when I witnessed, via social media, one of Polyface Farm’s interns dump a shipping box full of day old chicks from upper thigh/waist height into a brooder. Tumble, bumble they went onto the bedding. Day old chicks. I was mortified!!
I could have done various amount of shit throwing immediately, but chose to reach out to the source and ask if she could explain this method of handling. I was not alone in my concern. Many others were questioning the literal dumping of chicks. Her reply, “Chicks are very sturdy little creatures. They are not hurt or negatively impacted whatsoever by dumping. We dump very close to the ground and they fall on a very soft deep bed of sawdust. It does not phase them one bit – they immediately hop up and begin running around! At Polyface we always make sure our animals are properly cared for but we have spent many decades working with animals and from our experience we understand what is humane and what is not. I understand and sympathize with your perspective but I think that chicks are not as fragile/sensitive as many might think. We try to use our time wisely and that is why we choose this method. If we felt there was a negative impact from this method we would make the time to do it differently.”
After that, the video was immediately removed and I was blocked.
I reached out to Polyface Farm directly. A kind woman replied that she couldn’t see the video and asked me to email it. I advised that the video was deleted and therefore I couldn’t forward it. I went on to explain my concerns: that the box was not close to the ground, that chicks are actually fragile, that humane handling only takes a few extra minutes. I asked if they approved of these methods. She replied, “Of course not! We pride ourselves on how much we care for our animals, the land and our fellow men. I did not see the video but will make sure the Salatin family sees your message asap! Thank you so much for your concern. I wish everyone felt the same way we do about them.”
As a follow-up, I went onto another social media platform in hopes of finding the video to be able to actually forward it to Polyface Farm. I was thoroughly disgusted to see that this intern made the following public post, “This morning I posted a few videos from the arrival of our last batch of chicks. I have gained many followers on Instagram in the past several months; I am over 700 at the moment. In one video you could see the chicks being dumped from their box. This is not inhumane-the little buggers are incredibly resilient. However, even with an explanation of why we choose to dump the chicks, people became very aggressive almost immediately over the handling of the birds. I chose to delete my post, not only because I don’t want any negativity to affect Polyface. …. We do not raise humans. Animals are intelligent creatures that feel and respond but they do not have spirits, they do not have the same emotions as humans, and they do not think through things the way we do. While the intentions of many people are kind and well meant, they are not always accurate in their perception of what is humane and what is proper. My only request for you is this – remember that animals are not people.”
Animals are not people. But I will always stand by my sentiment that regardless of the fact that animals may be serving a utilitarian purpose, they deserve to be treated with compassion.
The reply I got from Daniel Salatin was dismissive and he ended the email with this, “We wish you the best and understand this was not the reply you may have wanted. But I do hope and ask that you don't blast us on social media sites just because you disagree. If anyone is looking hard enough, the right person at any time can find "animal cruelly" on any farm...even yours. Feel free to reach out with follow up and or other questions. We will not reply to finger pointing or name calling so be nice.”
Patriarchy. One more man telling a woman to mind her own business and keep her mouth shut. As a survivor of domestic abuse, and a woman with an inherently flippant personality, it took every ounce of my being to not unleash a world of fury. In that moment I decided that I didn’t care if it took all day to unload chicks one by one, that we were better than Polyface. You never really know your food unless you really know your farmer.
I have sat on this for nearly three years. Farmers come under deep scrutiny, much of it with justification, especially in commercial agriculture. We do not need revered farms/farmers negating all the work we’ve done to destigmatize small agriculture.
I was recently told by several customers that the price of our chicken is a bit too high. When I asked what an acceptable price would be, nobody could seem to answer. Feeling incredibly self-conscious, and knowing full well that our farm takes a financial loss most years, I set out to investigate similar products at other Vermont farms. I was not able to compare apples to apples, or rather, chicken to chicken.
We feed certified organic grain. We raise our birds on pasture and move them twice a day. They are processed humanely on our farm. Then they are vac-sealed and frozen. Two farms had prices greater than ours and they feed non-GMO (this is not organic). Another farm had a lower price, but fed conventional grains. One farm with a similar price point feeds organically but takes their birds to a USDA facility for processing. I couldn’t tell if our price was exaggerated or not because I couldn’t find a local farm with a comparative model of operation. I turned to commercial operations and found that we were less expensive than Costco and Perdue for organically fed, pasture raised chicken. These operations can buy their feed in bulk, whereby reducing their costs. I guarantee our definitions of pasture raised differ greatly. And I am certain their birds are not butchered humanely on-farm.
I went back to the financial drawing board. Where could I cut costs? My labor was already factored in at bare minimum. I don’t account for hand unloading each individual chick from the shipping box to the brooder, or from the brooder to the poultry tractor, or from the poultry tractor to the kill cones. I don’t account for the coffee time in the barn or the field observing the animals to be sure that they’re thriving and making adjustments as necessary. I don’t account for the night checks to be sure that the heat lamp is still secure and my barn isn’t burning down, or to check what our livestock guardian dog is barking at when the birds are on pasture which sometimes means thwarting off attacks from bears, coyotes, foxes, and raccoons. I don’t account for the hours of cartoons our toddler watches while we butcher poultry because daycare… that’s a conversation for another day. I don’t account for my labor driving to pick up the chicks from the feed store, or my time driving to purchase grain. I don’t account for my time replying to emails and phone calls, book-keeping, or other administrative duties. I have only ever factored in my daily chore time and my time butchering/packaging the chickens. So now I am beginning to realize why farmers who feed inferior grains can charge more than we do. They, like most smart businesses, factor in all their labor!
What do we really have into each chicken, even with my labor at bare minimum? $30.62. This is at current organic feed prices and does not account for inflation which is happening daily at an astronomical rate. This does not take into considerations the losses (which always occur even with the best care). And it does not reflect infrastructure repair or replacement. Poultry tractors, feed troughs, and water fountains do not last forever. It’s becoming increasingly obvious to me why our farm rarely makes a profit. For too long I have been satisfied with our mission to provide our community with meat from organically fed, naturally raised, humanely processed animals and less driven to have our farm be a viable business. So can we cut our costs and lessen the price to customers? Likely not.
Why am I being so honest about what expense we have into each chicken? Because I sincerely want our customers to realize that we are not taking advantage of them. I want our customers to value our knowledge about the fragility of day old poultry, about correct initial brooder temperature and subsequent adjustments, about feed trough and water fountain placement so chicks don’t crowd or drown, about brooder shape so chicks don’t get stuck and suffocate in corners, about the proper amount of feed offered so the birds don’t literally eat themselves to death, about the weather watching we do and prevention measures we take to mitigate losses, about husbandry practices that can identify and treat illness or injury, about organic and regenerative practices that protect the sustainability of our land, and so much more. I want our customers to understand the effort we put in from brooding chicks properly to slaughtering them humanely. I don’t wish to sacrifice my effort because I believe the value is evident in our finished product.
What’s the solution? Charge bare minimum because I love what I do. Or increase our poultry price to reflect my time which will increase it by at least 30%. I am not willing to make a call this season. I want my products to be accessible.
If you can only afford $2.50/pound chicken, that’s okay. I am not bullying you into purchasing our poultry. I am happy you’re able to afford food. Too many cannot. What I refuse to do any longer though, is walk in the shadows of iconic farmers who talk a good talk but don’t walk a good walk. The reputation of agriculture, and my reputation, matter to me. I demand better for myself, my animals, and my customers. My only hope in sharing any of this is that you truly get to know your farmer and know your food.