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 2011 ... 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.
• 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.
• Label Rouge: Pasture-Based Poultry Production in France, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), NCAT, 2010.
• Pastured Poultry, ATTRA, NCAT - A Heifer Project case study booklet featuring many pastured poultry producers and their experiences.
• Raising Poultry on Pasture, University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems Research Brief, 2001- Publication 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.

Production

• Alternative Poultry Production Systems and Outdoor Access, ATTRA, NCAT, 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.
• Chicken Feed: Pastured Poultry - This informational site includes feed rations, suppliers, lists of other producers and resources related to pastured poultry production.
• Pastured Poultry, Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
• Pasture Poultry Enterprise Budget, Kansas Rural Center, Sustainable Agriculture, 2003.
• 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.
• Pasture-Raised Poultry: Getting Started, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 2010 - This fact sheet explains the opportunities and challenges associated with pasture-based production systems, provides an overview of breed selection for egg-type laying hens and meat-type birds and discusses the equipment and practices that get birds off to a good start.
• 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, SARE, USDA, 2002 - Bulletin on raising and marketing poultry on pasture.
• 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 - Directory, organized by state, of grass farmers who raise livestock on pasture.
• Garcia Farms case study, Value Added Producer Grant recipients, 2008 - Near Wood River, Nebraska, Scott and Robert Garcia have begun laying the groundwork for future growth, starting with what was familiar - chickens. Their farm, which had about 500 chickens in 2008, uses natural farming methods.
• Mebane Farms, Montrose, Colorado - Discusses how the Mebane family became involved in the pastured poultry business, including their decision to build a licensed processing facility.

 Links checked April 2011.