Artisanal Chicken

Artisanal Chicken program promotes sustainable practices

The public’s appetite for local food and farmers’ appetite for satisfying that demand has meant the Artisanal Chicken program was fully subscribed by February for this year’s new applicants. The Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) program is offered to eligible producers who want to raise between 600 and 3,000 birds.

“Coming out of COVID, there’s been a lot of interest—there are 163 farms in the program across the province, which is up about 20 from the year before,” says Carl Stevenson, CFO’s Manager of Community Programs Operations and Flock Advisor.

ARTISANAL BEGINNINGS

The program was launched six years ago to provide non quota holding farmers with the opportunity to supply their local and seasonal markets with fresh, high-quality chickens. It also gives consumers more choice and options to buy locally.

Previous to that time, smaller scale farmers could only raise up to 300 birds for their personal use. Commercial farmers have to buy quota under the supply management system, which matches supply with demand.

The application process for the Artisanal Chicken program is rigorous, with documentation, interviews and board approval. There’s also a requirement for the farms and records to be audited annually.

“We want to see them enjoy sustainable, long-term success,” says Shanna Armstrong, who is CFO’s Farming Operations Representative for eastern Ontario. “We help them put in place good biosecurity measures to keep diseases at bay and, for animal welfare, to ensure the birds are being treated the best way they possibly can.”

Many of the new entrants had only raised 100 or so birds previously, and some are taking a big jump by taking on many more. Armstrong also conducts annual audits with both commercial growers and her 32 Artisanal Chicken producers, who are in eastern and northern Ontario. She coaches both to help them prepare for what’s coming. Audits cover three main areas: on-farm food safety, animal care and farm worker safety.

While it’s not part of the audit, something Armstrong has really noticed over the years that the program has in place is that the condition of the pastures where chickens have been raised is so much better, with lush amounts of clover and other forages and really improved soil quality. Most Artisanal Chicken farmers put their birds in moveable outdoor pens—and transport the flock to a new location in the field to ‘graze’—usually every day. At the same time they’re eating, they’re fertilizing the soil. It means the farmers don’t have to use a tractor to spread manure in the places that need soil amendments.

“The farmers want to leave the land in a better condition than they got it—they take it really seriously,” she says, adding that Artisanal Chicken farmers are also very conscious of water conservation and use.

MAPLETWISS COMMITTED TO LOCAL AND SUSTAINABLE FARMING

Amanda and James Twiss are dedicated to sustainability in every aspect of their farm. MapleTwiss Farm is a 50-acre operation near Kenilworth, Ontario.

The couple—who have two small children—started their farm in 2018 and had a small flock of chickens in 2019 for their own use. They then raised 1,000 chickens under Chicken Farmers of Ontario’s (CFO) Artisanal Chicken program in 2020 and doubled that number to 2,000 for this year. They also raise pigs, cattle and turkeys.

“We really saw a spike in demand as soon as the pandemic hit,” Amanda says. “We had already sold out of our chicken before it started.”

During the 2020 growing season (spring-summerfall), they were able to market to smaller local stores and farmers’ markets that were open because they participated in the Artisanal Chicken program.

Amanda suggests that a lot of people preferred shopping at the smaller stores where they could feel safe. She also says that she had to re-organize the online store she had started in late 2019 quickly to make it much more efficient when COVID-19 hit.

She says that she feels lucky that there are a number of processors very close to the farm.

“I use that to sell to customers—our products don’t travel very far, and we’re keeping all the money locally,” she says.

The live birds go to Country Poultry for slaughter, and then the whole birds go to their butcher in Parker, Ontario, where they are further processed into cuts, sausages, ground chicken—everything.

SUSTAINABLE FARMING

The Twiss’ chickens spend their first 14 to 21 days inside a brooder and then are put outdoors on pasture. The chicken manure fertilizes their fields. They’re kept in a chicken tractor—basically a kind of outdoor cage on wheels—which is moved every day. Every year, they move the whole operation to a new spot on the property.

In terms of the processed chicken, Amanda says they try to use the whole animal. They get back the feet and the offal and sell it for human and animal consumption.

“I’ve had people ask for the livers for their babies because of the high level of iron,” she says.

She’s also in the process of finding someone to make stocks out of the bones, marrow and leftover carcass meat.

Amanda is very pleased with the Artisanal Chicken program—even through the pandemic, she was able to get information virtually and found that she could reach staff any time she had a question or concern.

“I’ve talked to people about how they’re intimidated by all the regulations, audits and documentation, but actually, the program staff are really helpful and want to see you succeed by raising the best and healthiest birds,” she says.

Eliana and Andrew Witchell are new to farming, and are eager to develop Eliana’s parents’ 46-acre property near Woodstock into a truly regenerative and sustainable operation that takes care of their family, the community and the environment.

“We’ve been thinking about this and planning for it for about 10 years,” says Andrew, who also is gathering and sharing data on how the farm—which they’ve named Provenance Farms— transforms using the practices the couple has researched over the years.

Until they moved to the area near the farm, the family lived in Toronto, with Andrew working in the medical and technology sector and Eliana working as a registered dietitian. They have two young children.

The Witchells are raising 1,800 chickens in six 300-bird batches in 2021 under the Chicken Farmers of Ontario’s (CFO) Artisanal Chicken program. In the future, they’ll be adding other livestock, including pigs, sheep and maybe cattle.

“We applied last year, and got in this year,” says Eliana. Both say their experience with the program has been fantastic, and, despite the pandemic, they’ve felt very supported by program staff.

“We intend to regenerate the soil,” Andrew says, adding that they’ll be taking about 20 acres of what used to be cash crop land and making it into pasture for the birds and animals. The livestock, in turn, restores the soil by digging it up with their beaks, feet and hooves, fertilizing it with their manure and eating the insects and plants. They’re also going to be growing fruits, vegetables and nuts. They’ll be documenting the entire process and sharing data with the University of Guelph and other farmers.

PROCESSING

The Witchells get their birds processed at Chicken Little, a provincially regulated business that’s about an hour from the farm.

The staff at Chicken Little have been very accommodating—answering questions and providing exactly the kind of service the Witchells want. They even conducted a digital tracking test using RFID (radio frequency identification) tags on the chickens’ legs. “Our birds are big—they come out at seven and a quarter pounds,” says Andrew, explaining that they are currently selling whole birds to family buyers. This way of selling reduces the environmental effects of packaging parts. They’ve also started the process of talking to chefs and restaurants.

Eliana says that the Artisanal Chicken program staff were great for helping ensure she and everyone in the production cycle is connected—from having the number of chicks and dates booked at the hatchery right through to booking slaughter dates at Chicken Little.

“Carl’s been fantastic and the coaching system in the program helps us make sure we’re not missing something before the audit,” she says. Carl Stevenson is Chicken Farmers of Ontario’s Community Programs Operations Manager and Flock Advisor.

Eliana explained that their audit will be conducted after they’ve completed the third or fourth of the six batches they’re growing this year.

They have an online market at provenance.farm and the family is targeting the Greater Toronto Area, KitchenerWaterloo and London.

“We’ve had inquiries from as far away as Ottawa,” Andrew says, noting that the pandemic has created a huge demand for the chicken.

GIVING BACK

As part of their commitment to community, they’re donating at least 180 birds to foodbanks. They’ve contracted with A-Way Express Courier, a social enterprise that employs people who have been in direct contact with the mental health system, to deliver orders to customers.

“Ten per cent of everything that comes off this farm is always going to go to foodbanks,” Andrew says, adding that he’s been very happy with the courier’s service.

With a winning combination of deep knowledge, help from professionals in both farming and food processing, and a passion for taking care of community and environment, the Witchells are well on their way to farming success.

PROCESSING OPPORTUNITIES

Both Armstrong and Stevenson point out that a lack of slaughter capacity and accessible poultry abattoirs in the province are barriers to increasing the Artisanal Chicken program.

“One of the first questions I ask when I’m coaching new farmers is ‘have you got your dates booked with your processor for the year?’ And if not, I advise them to do it right away,” she says.

For her entire geographic area—from Kingston east to the border with Quebec—Armstrong says there are only two processing plants for smaller lots.

“Some farmers have to travel up to two and a half hours to get to a processor,” she says.

The pandemic really boosted demand for local chicken and Armstrong says when she has conducted audits, she’s heard of producers getting requests from well out of their own communities for product.

Stevenson agrees that processing capacity is tight and adds that the Artisanal Chicken program has shone a light on the need for more.

“It’s right across the province—there are definitely opportunities if an abattoir has the capability of adding a white meat line,” he says.

In both the application and interview process for the Artisanal Chicken program, he ensures that producers have at least had a conversation with a local processor about taking their birds, because there are some processors that are scheduling as much as two years into the future.

Carl Stevenson, Community Programs Operations Manager and Flock Advisor with CFO

PANDEMIC PIVOT

Both Stevenson and Armstrong had to change their processes because of lockdowns from the pandemic. Application interviews and audits were conducted using on-line platforms, videos, and photos. Training and coaching for on-farm food safety and animal care and reporting were done via webinars.

“We did three webinars for new farmers coming into the program and another webinar on two different dates for farmers who were already in the program,” Stevenson says. “We had good feedback from the farmers and the farming operations team is also coaching virtually as much as possible.”

Every farmer does things slightly differently, so processes have to be molded to the business, while still upholding the regulations.

“We hope to be on-farm for most of the audits towards the end of the summer,” Stevenson says. The new protocol will be to have any documentation submitted in advance to reduce the amount of time representatives have to be on the farm.

Stevenson says there is a lot of enthusiasm for the Artisanal Chicken program—and there’s definitely room for growth.

Visit artisanalchicken.ca for more information.