The seasonality of unfrozen local pastured poultry
#14 of 21 things you may not know about Peace Valley Poultry
This Wednesday, November 16 delivery of fresh chicken will be our last until next spring. We will have frozen chicken available all winter, but fresh chicken, that is chicken that was processed on a Tuesday and delivered to Springfield on the next day, will take a break for winter. The reason is winter brings freezing temperatures (the water lines froze Wednesday night) and lack of growing forage and insects. It takes too much energy to keep the birds warm AND to gain weight. Since we share shelf space in at least two stores with a producer from California, I will highlight some of the financial advantages that bigger producers have over small farms like ours.
Producers in the south and California can keep growing all year long because of mild weather. If they are marketing “free range” chickens, the birds are already in a big house and extreme cold events can be managed by closing the doors. Because of their economy of scale, big poultry farms can afford to ship product 1700+ miles and still be very competitive. Economy of scale covers many areas besides shipping. The certification costs to certify non gmo feed are spread out over millions of birds instead of 15,000.
Today we will get another load of non gmo beans from our neighbor 4 miles south of us. I picked up the non gmo seed beans for him. I’m sure these beans are non gmo but we do not have a third party to verify this. However, you the customer are welcome to come inspect and ask anything, anytime. Yes, our poultry is more expensive than the California alternative, the main reason being economy of scale. But I have a hunch there is far less fossil fuel in our Howell County birds compared to the West Coast birds.
Last Fresh Chickens at Springfield stores
As mentioned above, Wednesday, November 16 we will deliver the last fresh chickens for the season to stores in Springfield. After that we plan to keep the stores supplied with frozen chickens until we start processing again in the spring.
Fresh Turkey Selling Schedule
At our regular delivery locations we will be selling fresh turkey, frozen whole chickens, and frozen beef.
DELIVERY: order on our website Peace Valley, on the farm: Friday, November 18 and Tuesday, November 22; 2-6 p.m. Springfield (noon-1 p.m.) / Mansfield (9:30 a.m.) / Rolla (4:30-5:30 p.m.): Saturday, November 19 Winona / Van Buren / Poplar Bluff: Wednesday, November 23
STORES: pre-order at these stores MaMa Jean’s, three stores – on Republic, Sunshine, and Campbell. Delivery to SUNSHINE store on Mon., November 21, 4:30 – 6 p.m. Horrmann Meats, two stores on Battlefield, in Springfield, delivery to the east location, Sat., Nov. 19. Jean’s Healthway, Ava, delivery on Monday, Nov. 21. Meadowbrook, Mountain Grove, delivery Saturday, November 19 Ozark Country Market, Poplar Bluff, Wednesday, November 23 Howell Valley Grocery, West Plains CDR Naturals, Bourbon, MO
VENDORS carrying our turkey: Farmer Girl, St. Louis. Will deliver on Tuesday, November 22, pre-order International Farmers’ Market, West Plains