Project Overview
Commodities
- Animals: poultry
Practices
- Education and Training: extension, farmer to farmer, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, technical assistance
- Farm Business Management: whole farm planning, new enterprise development, budgets/cost and returns, marketing management, feasibility study, market study, value added
- Production Systems: agroecosystems
- Sustainable Communities: infrastructure analysis, new business opportunities, partnerships, public participation, social networks, sustainability measures
Proposal summary:
The producers in this group project plan to assess the feasibility of a mobile poultry processing unit. Such a unit would be licensed and would comply with applicable local, state and federal regulations. The poultry processing unit would be moveable, self-contained and automated so it could visit farms to process the birds. The study, done by mail and interviews, will determine producer interest and their willingness to commit financially to developing a mobile unit. It will also assess the costs of such a unit, whether grocer, restaurateur and consumer demand would warrant its development and whether its use and sales from processed birds would provide an economic boon to producers. Project participants anticipate that such a unit would increase flexibility, reduce transportation costs and foster a connection between consumers and producers through direct marketing.