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PPT010: Veteran Farmer Terrell Spencer Shares His Story on Chickens, War, and Restoration

Pastured Poultry Talk

Release Date: 07/03/2015

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Pastured Poultry Flocks show art Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Pastured Poultry Flocks

Pastured Poultry Talk

I have a conversation with Chrislyn Wood, DVM, about the threat of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and pasture raised flocks. Dr. Wood is a veterinarian with USDA APHIS and she is involved first hand with HPAI monitoring and response efforts.  We cover a lot of ground, including historical observations, risk assessment, disease identification, and prevention. 

info_outline The Days of Wholesale Pastured Chickens are Over for Greg Gunthorp show art The Days of Wholesale Pastured Chickens are Over for Greg Gunthorp

Pastured Poultry Talk

Greg Gunthorp joins the show to talk about his decision to step away from pasture raised chickens. Covid plays into the story, of course, but the challenges started long before this virus came to be front page news. 

info_outline Turning a 20 year chicken hobby into a farm with Cynthia Capers show art Turning a 20 year chicken hobby into a farm with Cynthia Capers

Pastured Poultry Talk

Cynthia Capers, Heniscity Farm in Tennessee, shares her 20+ year journey from hobby chicken keeper to farm. Twenty years ago, the sight of six Black Australorps brought tears to her eyes. Today, she's serving  her community through egg sales, chick sales, and pullet sales.

info_outline PPT114 - Small Layer Flock Profitability show art PPT114 - Small Layer Flock Profitability

Pastured Poultry Talk

I answer a listener question, "How can I make my small laying hen flock more profitable?" With feedback from the community, insights from The Fighting Farmer, and personal experience, we dive deep into ways to prosper from your small flock of laying hens.

info_outline Perdue Acquires Pasturebird show art Perdue Acquires Pasturebird

Pastured Poultry Talk

Perdue acquires Pasturebird and becomes the biggest producer in the space. I unpack what it means on this episode and walk through some history. 

info_outline Maintain Production with All In/All Out Rotation for 5,000 laying hens show art Maintain Production with All In/All Out Rotation for 5,000 laying hens

Pastured Poultry Talk

Listener Chris asks how to utilize an all-in/all-out pullet replacement strategy without duplicating infrastructure while maintaining egg production. To help answer the question, I share insights from Mark Harrison and Dave and Ginger Shields. 

info_outline Community Q&A Plus a Monologue on Heritage Poultry's Role in Pastured (PPT109) show art Community Q&A Plus a Monologue on Heritage Poultry's Role in Pastured (PPT109)

Pastured Poultry Talk

I close out the pastured poultry training series with a live streamed Q&A between Terrell Spencer from The Fighting Farmer and myself. We went live on Facebook and fielded questions from our listeners, and this episode of the podcast includes an edited version of that conversation. If you want to watch a replay of the stream, find it on . Before we work into the questions, I offer some thoughts on heritage poultry's potential role in pastured community. APPPA has recently started to focus on breeding specific topics and offers monthly livestreams on breeding. Check out . We cover a...

info_outline Feed Management Tips to Reduce Waste & Maintain Egg Production show art Feed Management Tips to Reduce Waste & Maintain Egg Production

Pastured Poultry Talk

In Pastured Poultry Talk episode 110, farmer Matt Steinman discussed how he used fermented feed as a solution to waste and fines. While fermentation can be a viable solution for some people, it's not the only way to deal with fines. This episode unpacks those options.

info_outline Is Fermented Feed Worth the Time for 1,000 hens? show art Is Fermented Feed Worth the Time for 1,000 hens?

Pastured Poultry Talk

Farmer Matt Steinman (Foothills Farm in Sedro-Woolley, Washington) and Dr. Louisa Brouwer (technical advisor on the trial) share the results of a SARE-funded trial that sought to understand the economic impacts of feeding fermented feed to laying hens. The trial compared a dry feed, wet feed, and a fermented feed and then determined the net difference across to the bottom line.

info_outline Community Q&A PIus a Heritage Poultry Monologue show art Community Q&A PIus a Heritage Poultry Monologue

Pastured Poultry Talk

I close out the pastured poultry training series with a live streamed Q&A between Terrell Spencer from The Fighting Farmer and myself. We went live on Facebook and fielded questions from our listeners, and this episode of the podcast includes an edited version of that conversation

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Mike speaks with Arkansas producer Terrell Spencer, aka Spence, about farming, military, and life.

Everyone has a story and in this episode, Spence shares his story as a veteran turned farmer. He credits his farming path to an Iraqi farmer he observed while on patrol. As he transitioned to life on the farm, he found his therapy in an ax and a chainsaw. He found faith and support in his community.

Now a big part of the Spence's story is his eagerness to mentor other vets through the Farmer Veteran Coalition.

He started his current poultry business with 30 hens. Now the farm employs Spence and another full-time employee while focusing on poultry. They start between 800-1000 broilers every two weeks from mid-April through December and manage 200 layers. 

Spence is a fixture in the pastured poultry community, offering advice to APPPA members and veterans in addition to consulting services. He is the current Vice President of APPPA.

We end the conversation with a simple question, "how has your pastured poultry business changed?" Feed, chicks, and experience are given. But it's the people Spence relies on.

"A farm will do everything in it's power to become the most important thing in your life." -- Spence.

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