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John
and Ida Thurman, shown with Merrill Marxman of USDA's Farm Services
Agency (left), received a SARE grant to test whether raising poultry
would stimulate profits and create jobs. "We have found that
the more people doing these types of chickens, the more people know
about them, and the better the market gets," John Thurman said.
- Photo by Ken Schneider |
 |
Poultry can do a lot to remedy problem soil and control both insect
pests and weeds - while supplying a new revenue stream for the farm.
Soil
Poultry birds free to roam act as miniature manure spreaders that
fertilize the soil. They turn and mix soil and manure as they scratch
for insects and worms, increasing organic matter and improving fertility.
Take care not to keep birds too long in one area or in high concentrations,
or you risk denuding and compacting the soil.
Steve Stevenson of Wisconsin’s CIAS worked with farmers
who raise other livestock in addition to poultry on pasture. In
each case, the chickens followed the larger animals, from dairy
sheep to beef cattle. “We heard again and again that chickens
do wonders for soil quality and nutrients,” he said.
In Louisiana, SARE-funded researchers studying the benefits of
integrating vegetables with broilers or layers found that vegetables
grew best when planted 14 days after birds were moved across the
plot.
“We found significant improvement in plant performance 14
days after birds were on the land,” said James McNitt, a researcher
at Southern University, who tested for the optimum time to plant
cucumbers, summer squash, mustard greens and collard greens after
pastured poultry.
Mark and Robin Way of Cecil County, Md., appreciate the extra
nitrogen their flocks give to their hay fields. They move seven
pens at a time across one of their four hay fields, and rotate to
a new field each year.
“We’ve had soil tests, and we’re right where
we should be,” Robin Way said. “The animals do well
on the fields. They pick out bugs, and what they give back is extra
nitrogen.”
Tom Delahanty’s birds help him overcome an obstacle endemic
to New Mexico: poor soil. His birds are building a layer of rich
organic matter atop the sandy desert ground to the point that he
is considering expanding into organic produce.
“Between the rye and oats I plant both as cover crops and
forage, and the scratching the birds do that works their manure
down into the ground, I’m getting fertility like they’ve
never seen around here,” he said. “I’ve got grain
farmers coming from all over the valley to look my pastures because
they stay green all year long.”
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