PPT031: Mark Kastel of Cornucopia Institute discusses organic egg production
Release Date: 01/04/2016
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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
info_outlineMike interviews Mark Kastel of Cornucopia Institute to discuss the Institute's report "Scrambled Eggs: Separating Factory Farm Egg Production from Authentic Organic Agriculture." The gold standard in organic egg production, according to Mark, is smaller, pasture-raised flocks, and these are the farms that earn the coveted 5-egg rating in the accompanying egg scorecard.
At about 14 minutes, Mark starts drawing a distinction between pasture-raised and enhanced outdoor access. Enhanced outdoor access (a 4 egg rating), he says, is what mainstream organic consumers think they're getting, but the prevailing marketplace reality is not even close.
This short interview will give you insights into the organic egg production, but the full report is recommended reading as it demonstrates a understanding of pasture-raised in the context of the issues facing farmers.
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