Overview

"Pastured, or free range, poultry" refers to a poultry production system that is characterized by chickens, turkeys or ducks being raised primarily on pasture. The birds supplement their grain feed by foraging for up to 20 percent of their intake and are often moved regularly to fresh pasture.

Pastured poultry is a niche market that taps into increased consumer demand for more natural and humanely raised protein sources. Consumers demanding this type of poultry product are generally willing to pay more for the system, which includes raising poultry on grassy pasture to deliver a product that is considered by many consumers to be healthier and tastier, as well as more environmentally sound. Pastured poultry production generally has lower entry costs and thus is attractive to smaller or limited resource farmers.  April 2007 . . .   Pastured/Free Range Poultry

Marketing

• American Grassfed Association (AGA) - The AGA provides range poultry producer’s opportunities to network with similar producers and to investigate marketing alternatives for this niche.
• "America's Changing Appetite: Food Consumption and Spending to 2020," FoodReview, 2002, ERS, USDA.
• Growing Your Range Poultry Business: An Entrepreneur's Toolbox, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, 2002 - This 63-page publication is an entrepreneur's toolbox that examines feasibility, business planning, budgets and production issues for the range poultry enterprise.
• Approaching Foodservice Establishments with Locally Grown Products, University of Nebraska Food Processing Center, 2003 - Prepared for the North Central Initiative for Small Farm Profitability, this publication helps producers market their products to foodservice establishments and identify the opportunities and challenges in this market segment. 
• American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) - A nonprofit educational and networking organization dedicated to encouraging the production, processing and marketing of poultry raised on pasture.
• Consumer Preferences for Organic/Free Range Chicken, Kansas State University, 2002. 
• Feasibility of Producing and Marketing Label Rouge type Poultry in Illinois - The research attempts a feasibility study of adapting the French Label Rouge poultry production system to Illinois. The Label Rouge system produces a high-quality product using specialized genetics and a system-wide on-farm production regime that is optimized for small farms; the system is both economically and environmentally sustainable.
• Label Rouge: Pasture-Based Poultry Production in France, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), 2002.
• Marketing Options, Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE), USDA - Direct marketing cited as top sales method.
• Marketing Strategies for Farmers and Ranchers, Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE), USDA - Offers snapshots of the many alternatives to marketing commodities through conventional channels.    
• Pastured Poultry, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) - A Heifer Project case study booklet featuring many pastured poultry producers and their experiences.
• Pastured Poultry Study Addresses Broad Range of Issues, University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems Research Brief, 1999, and Raising Poultry on Pasture are publications related to pastured poultry production.
• Pasture Raised Products Message and Strategy Consumer Focus Group Study, Food Routes Network/Midwest Collaborators, 2002 - Summary of focus groups held to assist producers in planning marketing efforts for pasture-raised products. Topics covered include: participants’ general food buying habits; issues related to meat, poultry and dairy products; appropriate production terms for use in marketing these products and their benefits; messages for use in marketing these products; and feedback on overall communications and marketing strategies.
• Poultry & Eggs, Economic Research Service, USDA.

Processing

• Legal Issues for Small-scale Poultry Processors, 2001 - A comprehensive guide to the laws in your state. PDF files available on Introduction, Federal Laws (6 pp) and Laws by State (58 pp). Note: These files are based on data collected in 2001, and some laws may have changed or been updated, so be sure to check with your state department of agriculture regarding those regulations.
• Processing Farm-Raised Poultry, Kansas State University, 2000 - A publication that addresses home processing.
• Kentucky Mobile Processing, Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE), USDA - The publication provides an example of a shared-use mobile processing unit.

• Alternative Poultry Production Systems and Outdoor Access, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), 2006 - Various aspects of free-range systems in the United States and abroad are presented. Production topics such as outdoor access, pasture management and predator control are also addressed. Compares U.S. requirements with European Union requirements for free-range poultry programs.
• Pastured Poultry Research, Truman State University, 2003 - This research bulletin from northeast Missouri provides feed efficiency and weight gain research, as well as nutritional and foraging analysis. Producer profiles, including production and processing costs as well as market prices, are also in this publication.
• Chicken Feed: Pastured Poultry - This informational site includes feed rations, suppliers, lists of other producers and resources related to pastured poultry production.
• Pastured Poultry, Co-op Style, Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE), USDA - This publication is on raising pastured poultry cooperatively by buying and processing birds with other producers.
• Poultry Enterprise Budget, Center for Integrated Agriculture Systems, the University of Wisconsin - An Excel spreadsheet developed to help farmers make financial and management decisions about new or existing poultry enterprises.
• Profitable Poultry, Raising Birds on Pasture, Marketing Options, Sustainable Ag Research and Education (SARE), USDA, 2002 - Bulletin on raising and marketing poultry on pasture.
• Specialty Poultry Resource Handbook, Iowa State University Value-Added Agriculture - This web site gives readers an overview of specialty poultry production resources. This handbook was assembled to offer resources for breeds, buildings and equipment, health, nutrition, marketing, processing and regulations related to specialty, small flock poultry production.
• Sustainable Poultry: Production Overview - A livestock production guide that addresses alternative poultry production. The publication provides information on raising poultry on pasture, including descriptions of production systems and facilities, as well as detailed nuts-and-bolts information.  

Businesses/Case Studies

• Eat Wild has a directory of grass farmers who raise livestock on pasture. This directory is organized by state.
• The New American Farmer (Poultry on Pasture Profiles), Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE), USDA - This program offers producer profiles that look at how specific farmers are exploring sustainability. One profile examines an Indiana producer who raises up to 8,000 range chickens and ducks annually.
• Mulligan Creek Farm raises pastured poultry in Alberta and shares much of the information they have learned regarding pastured poultry.
• Small Farm Cooperative: Quality and Innovation - Members of Nebraska’s Small Farm Cooperative market their natural meat and maintain high standards for quality.

 Links checked February 2008.