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PPT055 Interview with Dave and Ginger Shields - A Journey from Urbanites to Homesteaders to Pastured Poultry Entrepreneurs

Pastured Poultry Talk

Release Date: 09/15/2017

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. 

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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.

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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...

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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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On this episode, I’m joined by Dave and Ginger Shields of Pastured Life Farm in O’brien, Florida. Dave and Ginger started their life as urbanites in Jacksonville, but it was their preschool aged son that made them leave the city and the suburbs in search of a life more connected to their food. Their intention was to homestead and they did that for several years, but eventually, that homestead model transformed itself into a pastured poultry business. At this point, they’ve been on the farm for eight years. Today, they grow approximately 5,000 Cornish cross broilers and up to 1,000 laying hens in a sexlink / heritage bird flock rotation. Their new life is brimming with opportunity, which often rises up out of everyday farm challenges. The feed co-op they formed is one such example. They’re moving up to 100 tons of feed a month. We discuss one of my favorite topics, processing. And what’s it like to farm on sand? Dave talks through some of his tips for managing low organic matter pasture in Florida. Resources from the show: Pastured Life Farm: Facebook | Web Your Successful Farm Business by Joel Salatin Poultry Man Chicken Processing Equipment American Pastured Poultry Producers Association Check out the show sponsors: