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Once Tom Larson decided
to diversify his former Nebraska grain farm, he tried a host
of new ventures, such as raising birds on pasture, and focused
both on their place in his rotation and their potential in the
marketplace.
- Photo by Tom Wolff |
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The Extra Healthy Egg
Some producers are trying to capitalize on the ability to enrich
eggs with omega-3 fatty acids, which lower cholesterol and thus
have been linked to reduced risk of heart disease in humans. Flax,
commonly grown as an oilseed, can be added to hen rations at about
15 percent. Researchers at the University of Nebraska have found
that so-called “Omega eggs” can reduce saturated fat
by one-third.
With help from a SARE grant, Waterman, Ill., farmer Joel Rissman
began growing flax to feed to his 60 laying hens. He swaths the
flax, lets it dry, then adds it to livestock feed. “If we
were selling eggs off the farm, I could easily get a big premium,”
Rissman said. “Because our eggs are all picked up by customers
at the farm, which saves us time, we charge a modest amount that
allows for a fair profit,” about $2 a dozen.
For more information about feeding flax to layers, see “Resources,”.
Niches Within a Niche
Thirty-one percent of the respondents to a recent APPPA survey
raise turkeys along with pastured broilers. Sixty-nine percent raise
layers. Many also report raising varieties of poultry other than
chickens and turkeys, including ducks, guinea fowl and pheasant
hens. Some market two-year-old stewing hens.
Specialty fowl such as ducks can be raised with as little effort
as is required for broilers and layers, but can bring in much more
money per pound. Their rareness also tends to make the job of marketing
easier. Restaurants offer good markets for exotic fowl, and if regulations
in your state allow direct sales to restaurants, it’s worth
contacting the chefs at every upscale establishment in your area.
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