It’s not even the end of January and we are already out of Chicken Breast. Whole Chickens, Chicken Thighs and Chicken Wings are dwindling as well. With our 2022 price freeze until March 1st, now is a great time to stock your freezers. We hope to buy in some Pasture Raised Organic Chicken from our friends at Wrong Direction Farm like we did last winter. I am interested to hear any feedback from folks who tried their chicken last year. Please let us know your thoughts. For now, Racey and I have been working hard on our plan for 2023 and one of the questions on the table is how could we keep our chicken in stock year round?
The solutions and possibilities are multifaceted: we have production, processing and freezer storage to consider.
Production. In 2022 we processed 4,176 chickens (to be exact) and for some cuts that number has gotten us to the end of January. Our Adirondack weather makes for great winter adventures, but a tender young chicken wants milder weather we can only count on starting in late April. So the soonest we can start putting chicken back in the freezer is about the middle of May, and that is pushing it. So we’ve been looking at the numbers to increase the number of coops we have in the field, which means hauling more grain to the field every day. These infrastructure investments take time and money.
Processing. We are proud to process all our chickens here on the farm. Having just run the numbers, we now know that 38% of our cost in chicken is processing, (for reference organic feed is 40% so those two costs are the vast majority). An increase in chicken production means more time and people processing.
Freezer storage. Keeping chicken in stock year round means we need to have enough in the freezer at the end of the season to last until May of the following year, and that is more freezer space than we currently have. There are freezer storage solutions, but they are expensive, and require a lot of time (and ferry fees) to put pallets in storage and retrieve. Freezers consume electricity, the used freezers we have on the farm consume even more than most. It is very important to us that our operation consider all the ways our operation impacts our farm ecosystem as well as the greater earth system we all live in. One option would be to replace our existing freezers with a larger efficient freezer. In theory one large freezer with excellent insulation is more efficient than two freezers.
This is the work of January farming.
For anyone reading this, we welcome advice, support and encouragement. If anyone has experience in the world of business planning, market research, marketing strategy and budgeting we would love your input!
The pigs continue to offer their own form of wisdom. This week they foiled my latest strategy to get to the feeder troughs without wading through a sea of grunting and squealing 200 lb pigs. Last week’s strategy was called the “sneak attack”. First thing in the morning the pigs are always sleeping, cozied up in their nest of hay in the barn. On a good calm morning I can hear them snoring from a distance. The “sneak attack” involves very quietly filling one bucket of feed and sneaking my way to the feeders. Taking care to not scoop grain too loudly, crunch the snow too much or let the dog get too far ahead of me. One transgression and the swarm comes running out of the barn to greet me before I reach the troughs.
Pigs are smart and curious. So I was not surprised that they eventually caught on to my game. So Lewis, Lovett and I came up with a new strategy: the “pig race”. Lure all the pigs up the hill to where I fill the grain buckets. Then distract them to one side and make a break for it on the other with a bucket of grain, racing them to their feeders. My first attempt at the “pig race” drew laughter from all of us. I’m pretty sure a few of the pigs were chuckling too, of all of our animals pigs have the best sense of humor. I beat them to the feeders, but just barely. And there were a few of my pursuers who came barreling down the hill with such gusto that when the moment came to slow down the slippery snow pack made for something akin to pig curling. One pig slid all the way into me on its hind end, squealing with what sounded to me like a mixture of terror and glee.
Perhaps we can all use a little laughter.
Reber Rock Farm Blog 