They’re Marketing Tree Range Chickens

They’re Marketing Tree Range Chickens Tree-range production is a very old, yet surprisingly new, way to raise chickens. While poultry originally came from jungle environments, modern production methods mainly rely on confinement, with a growing segment of free-range producers. Over the past 8 to 10 years, a subset of free-range producers, led by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin (Vol. 47, No. 4), has embraced the belief that trees are for the birds. These tree-range producers are members of the Regenerative Ag Alliance (RAA). They raise chickens in paddocks planted with hazelnuts and elderberries in the understory, and a variety of hardwoods in the overstory. The largest group of tree-range producers is in Minnesota and Wisconsin. All are within two to three hours of a Stacyville, Iowa, processing plant and market their birds through Tree-Range Farms. “Tree-Range Farms is a collaboration of 11 farmers who together produce over 50,000 birds,” says Tedd Pederson, Tree-Range Farms. Pederson has the challenge of finding customers for the collaborative while ensuring it has enough supply to meet existing and new customers’ demands. The fact that tree-range chickens are a seasonal production model adds to the challenge. “We don’t produce birds for three to five months a year,” explains Pederson. “We like to say our chicken is freshly frozen. We try to have chicken on hand year-round, but this year we sold out.” Pederson expects to have chicken available by late May this year. Processed whole birds average 4 lbs. He says prices can vary by the cut, weight, and whether organic or premium natural. When available, Tree-Range Farms chicken can be found at 17 retail stores, mostly in Minnesota. Four online marketers offer home delivery. Four restaurants, one in Chicago, also carry Tree-Range Farms chicken. While the production, processing and marketing of Tree-Range Farms chicken are limited geographically, the tree-range concept is not. RAA hopes the Tree-Range Farms template will spread. The organization offers Regenerative Poultry Production Training online. Prices range from free videos to a $15 introduction to the full program, which costs $997. The latter is a structured, 11-week course with assignments, guest speakers, and other materials. It covers the mechanics of raising poultry humanely, reducing feed costs, and building secure and labor-friendly infrastructure. Students receive a poultry production manual, a one-on-one consultation with Haslett-Marroquin, and discounted future consultations. “Once a farmer is trained through the RAA, receives a site visit, and contracts with Tree-Range Farms, many logistical aspects of production are taken care of,” suggests Louis Kemp, RAA. “All chick and feed delivery logistics are managed by RAA, as well as the costs associated with those taken care of upfront. Processing logistics are also managed collectively, including scheduling processing slots, sending a transport to pick up and deliver the birds, and assisting in loading the birds themselves.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tree-Range Farms (ph 507-200-0699; info@treerangefarms.com; https://treerangefarms.com) or Regenerative Ag Alliance (ph 507-664-1088; info@regenagalliance.org; www.regenagalliance.org).

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