Introduction

LIKE MANY FAMILY FARMERS, CHUCK AND MARY SMITH integrate several diverse enterprises to ensure their continued ability to earn a living on 200 acres in north central Kentucky. "We look for things we can do as a family," Chuck said, including his three daughters. "We want something that'll keep us and them here for a long time."

To the Smiths, that means diversifying into new enterprises and establishing sustainable practices quite unlike the traditional corn and soybean rotations that had nearly stripped the farm's hillsides of topsoil before they bought it. They want to boost their income and increase, not further diminish, the farm's fertility.

At least one enterprise they've adopted in recent years helps them accomplish those goals: pastured poultry. Each year, the Smiths raise 3,000 broilers and 100 turkeys in a pasture-based system, then sell them directly to customers from Louisville, 45 miles away.

The enterprise ensures a respectable income for their effort, involves the whole family and blends well with other aspects of their operation, from raising organic beef to growing grapes for a new winery. They graze their 50 cattle on the same pastures used by the chickens and are exploring the idea of turkeys grazing among their grapevines.

The Smiths also grow organic produce to sell at two local farmers markets and harvest five or six acres of tobacco each year. Of all those efforts, they point to their poultry operation as a remarkably dependable source of income. The family nets 50 percent of the sale price of each bird, with the chickens selling for $1.75 per pound at an average weight of 3.5 pounds, and the turkeys selling for $3 per pound at an average dressed weight of 18 pounds. Compared to the average payments for conventional growers raising chickens under contract - about 22 cents per 3.5 pound bird - the Smiths find themselves ahead, especially because their chicken housing costs are so much lower.

Moreover, raising poultry on pasture presented few barriers at the start. Chuck Smith already had set aside pasture for his beef cattle, and initial costs for birds, their pens, supplemental feed and processing equipment were low.

It didn't take long for Smith to find that the enterprise returns more to the farm than it takes away. His cash flow throughout the six-month production period is remarkably steady. Fields are healthier because the chickens deposit nutrients, then work them into the soil. And the good will Smith has earned among his appreciative chicken customers has prompted many of them to try the family's other products. Finally, he knows they can expand the operation without much additional effort, a distinct possibility if demand continues apace.

"The market's there," said Chuck, "and it just seems to be getting bigger."

The consistent market is just one incentive for the Smiths and other producers across the country who, in ever-increasing numbers, are raising poultry in alternative ways. Add the environmental benefits - like amending soil with poultry manure and improving pastures when paired with ruminants - and it's easy to see how outdoor poultry systems are meeting the needs of producers across the country.

"Birds on pasture make it easier to graze other kinds of livestock there, or to think about vegetable production that doesn't need a boost from chemical fertilizers," said Allan Nation, editor of Stockman Grass Farmer. "Before you know it, you've got a diversified operation that makes it simpler to earn money from several efforts, all of them working in concert, and all of them making your farm and your environment stronger. Pastured poultry drives the train."