Producer Q&A: Stony Brook Valley Farm

great satisfaction in handling our flocks, observing their good health and general well-being. Pastured poultry are calm and content, well-nourished and easy to manage. The pasture system is low-stress both for the animals and for the farmer. Finally, we enjoy the privilege of putting these birds on our dinner table, providing nourishment for our own family and friends. What type of land are you working with? Our area is known for its soil; it has very fertile soil from an ancient lake. We have a piece of land that is on the edge of the valley right below where the hills start. Our land is basically a flat 30-acre field with a stream and marshland running alongside it with some woods on the other side of the stream. We are in a semi-suburban area, large area of woods too, with a handful of housing developments around us. We have to understand in our operation that everything we do is very, very visible to our neighbors, a lot of whom are just regular people who, as far as they are concerned, are in the suburbs. There is a fair amount of traffic. Generally, weve found the sentiment of

by Kelly Eisenbarger Stony Brook Valley Farm is located in the Connecticut Valley of Western Massachusetts along the upper branches of Stony Brook in Granby and Ludlow, Massachusetts. The farms mission is to be a local and sustainable producer of poultry, eggs and meats. Last year they started a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in conjunction with their neighboring vegetable CSA, Red Fire Farm. Most of what they produce is certified organic by Baystate Organic Certifiers. One of the facilities that they use to process poultry is not certified organic, meaning they are not able to label the meat as organic, but all of their poultry is raised on organic pasture and fed organic feed. Farmer Patrick Bensen has been in the business for over seven years; he started down the road at Red Fire Farm where he learned how to grow using organic methods. Acres U.S.A. spoke with Bensen to learn more about his pasture-raised poultry and eggs. The Stony Brook Valley Farms website tells the story of why the Bensens

chose to raise their animals in the way they do: We raise our poultry on pasture because we enjoy it. We take pleasure in watching the animals graze, biting off leaves of clover and blades of grass, scratching in the ground and turning up insects, roots and grubs. We feel

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smaller but its a really nice bird. The hybrids lay 285 to 300 eggs a year. The first year I raised hens I raised heirloom breeds. With the mix of heirloom breeds I was getting 100 to 300 eggs per chicken per year. That was a huge difference. The brown egg laying hybrid is really a wonderful bird, a friendly bird, and the most productive of birds. Whats the birds life like during the growing season versus the cold Massachusetts winter months? We use mobile housing during the growing season with nesting boxes hanging both inside the house and outside under awnings. We use a combination of mobile fencing with removable poles and larger areas with fixed fencing. With moves, the more the better really, sometimes it is more than a week between moves but sometimes its every other day. We have a greenhouse we built for them that works very well during winter. The chickens body heat, I calculated it once, its like having a wood stove in there. Its reliably 30 degrees warmer in there. Usually we use hay bedding which is primarily organic hay, which is a significant source of food for them in winter, and good quality hay. If its more seedy its actually good chicken hay because they eat the seeds. I spread a couple of bales every day, and I also mix alfalfa in there

people is positive and there are people who I dont think care at all. I see this as a challenge. Its a chance to show people that our farming is legitimate. How long have you been farming this land? This is the seventh year Ive been working, the first four I worked for my neighbor, Red Fire Farm, and during the second year I started raising some hens. I worked for him and then started selling eggs to his customers and it grew from there. Two years ago, I was able to buy a piece of land that Red Fire Farm was renting from the previous owner. Ive continued to work with them, selling eggs to them and so forth. We have mapped a long-term rotation with field crops and pasture. Instead of a manurecover crop rotation its a pasture actively grazed by livestock. I started raising animals while working for them and moved on to my own three years ago. What drew you to farming and raising poultry in particular? I got into farming after I realized food was important. I think when I was younger I dont think I thought about

food. I grew up in this area and was aware of gardens and farming though. I never thought farming was anything I would do until I spent a lot of time learning about food, about organic food. I found out it is really about taking a lot of time. I think 10 years ago it was harder to find good quality food, especially in Massachusetts in the winter months there would be nowhere to go and buy good quality fresh grains and fresh feeds. I started working for the neighbors farm because he had a greenhouse for personal use at that time, then worked for him and got a lot of vegetables and was like, you know I like meat and eggs too so I might as well start raising them. So really it started out of personal interest and for personal use. What breeds do you use and what drew you to them? We raise three different breeds. For eggs we use all sex-linked hybrids which are brown egg layers. For turkeys we have raised heirlooms in the past but this year we went all white. Weve had a mix of bronze and six or eight different heirloom breeds like Narragansett, Standard Bronze, which is my favorite. Its a little

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lot of people that do it and certainly not local. It is religious for me as I am Muslim. One of the first things I Iearned about the religion was the technique of processing. I do believe, from a secular viewpoint, that it is a superior processing, that it is the most humane and gets the best quality product. because it is important to have leaves in their diet as well. Have you looked into certifications that would recognize and label your products according to your practices? I have looked into Animal Welfare Approved and others like Certified Naturally Grown. I dont feel that is totally necessary. I dont think Ill go out of my way to become certified unless its really in demand by my customer base. I really think my customers look for organic. Maybe once a year I will get an inquiry for Animal Welfare Approved. But, Im only a little over an hour away from Boston, highly visible to people around us and its very clear what Im dong with my animals. If I was remote and they couldnt visit, maybe. Baystate Organic is our local certifier and when working for Red Fire I did his organic certification papers and knew the people. They are local, well-respected and affordable. Choosing to certify organic, I think, is a significant thing. I think its an important step but not the only one a farmer needs to take. I think its important for consumers. Because we sell almost all direct I have interaction with customers, if they have questions they write me an email or call. Your poultry is processed certified Halal; was the decision to take those extra steps market driven or personal? It was personal driven and somewhat market driven. There are not a How and what do you feed the birds? In the past we did a lot with formulating our own feeds, and Id really like to get back to that. Freshly grown feed is really high quality and you have the opportunity to add high quality supplements too, which I found was really good for the birds. Lakeview Organic Grain provides feed grains for our flocks and seed for our pastures and crops. The Martens family and their staff are invariably prompt and supportive and provide the best quality grains available in the region.
For more information on Stony Brook Valley Farm and Red Fire Farm visit stonybrookvalleyfarm.com and www.redfirefarm.com/index. html.

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