OCTOBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC FV land limitations means higher density
Pasture poultry producer opts for free range barn expansion
by RONDA PAYNE ABBOTSFORD – K&M Farms’
poultry story began when the raspberry market went bust in the 1980s. That's when Mark Robbins contemplated what people spent the most money on when grocery shopping. When he realized it was protein, that translated into a thriving business in pasture- raised chickens and turkeys. The family went from 60
acres of raspberries to their own style of poultry production – something they describe as the way poultry naturally lives. “[BC residents] eat 35
million kilograms of chicken every two months,” says Mark. “That’s why we need farms that produce a lot of chickens. We just have a different approach.” K&M’s pasture-raised birds
are in flocks of 350 to 400 on the K&M Farms site as well as on leased land across the street. K&M Farms also produces 1,400 pasture-raised turkeys a year. In December 2017, K&M expanded its pasture-raised operation to include a new free-range barn. Now, in addition to the 7,500 pasture- raised chickens annually sold through the farm shop, there will be about 45,000 free- range chickens a year going to wholesalers. Every 60 days, 7,500 day-old chicks are delivered to K&M to be raised in the new barn. “Today, [processors] are
looking for a 30-day bird at about 2.2 kilograms,” says Jill. “In 45 days, we get a larger roasting hen at 2.7 kilograms.” K&M was nearing the limit of 2,000 pasture-raised birds when they applied for and received quota through the new entrant program. The program allowed for up to 2,000 birds without quota. “It just grew and grew,” says Jill of their increase from under 2,000 pasture-raised broilers to 7,500. Because K&M is part of the new entrant program, they were offered free quota for more birds to help meet the increasing demand for chicken in BC. But, without additional land, the family couldn’t add more pasture- raised birds, so they chose to go with a free-range barn system which allows for more birds in a smaller space. “We have it for 10 years,” Jill
says of the free-range quota. “They had an incentive for those in the new entrant program. We chose to do them free-range like this.” At the end of the 10 years, K&M can choose to purchase
the quota.
The new barn allows K&M to farm more intensively without acquiring more land. Built at a cost of $400,000, it has doors to an outside pen, LED lighting and windows for sunlight. Jill notes when the sun shines, the chicks congregate in the sunbeams from the windows.
The Robbins family lost out
on a five-acre lot across the street in a bidding war – something not uncommon in BC agriculture. “In the Fraser Valley, if you want to make those numbers work ... you have to farm extremely intensively,” she explains. “This [barn] was a way to increase our production on [the same land].”
Reaching out
During a public open house to show off the new barn on September 15, Jill reminded guests about the importance of eating Canadian-grown food. She also spoke about how all meat and broiler producers should be talking about the move to antibiotic-free meat coming December 1. “It’s the easiest message in
the world. Consumers have been asking for this and the industry has responded, but no one is talking about it,” she says. “They are really missing
Jill Robbins greets visitor Joshua Watkins to a public open house poultry producer K&M Farms hosted last month in Abbotsford. RONDA PAYNE PHOTO
out on talking about this.” Canadian poultry has been hormone- and steroid-free since 1963 and while most broiler producers are also antibiotic-free, all producers must be antibiotic-free come the December 1 deadline. The switch still allows single- animal prescriptions, but that’s something K&M Farms won’t be doing. In fact, they
never have. “We don’t medicate. Our
mortality rate is 15% with the birds outside,” she explains, adding that the industry average is about 2%. If a K&M bird gets sick, it
dies. There is no veterinary intervention. Not all producers will opt for this method, but there can be no antibiotics in any meat sold in
Canada after the deadline. Jill wants producer organizations to talk to consumers about the messaging. If they don’t, she encourages farmers to take up the torch as she has. “I’ve been telling everyone I
can,” she says. “This should make people feel even better about eating Canadian-grown food. We have excellent food systems.”
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