Large-Scale Pastured Chicken Operation Doing Well

Large-Scale Pastured Chicken Operation Doing Well 29-1-7 Looking for "chickens so fresh they'll embarrass you"? Just follow the map to Dennis and JoAnn Dickman's Herscher, Ill. farm. They pasture-raise 4,000 chickens a year on three acres using a portable building that moves around every month and a fenced-in area that rotates weekly, providing fresh grass needed for "pasture raising." In addition, Dennis mixes his own feed made from ground corn, oats, roasted soybeans and fishmeal. JoAnn says next year, they want to increase their flock by about 30 percent. They sell their birds and other products at local farmers markets and in their own farm store. In addition to whole processed birds, they sell multi-colored sweet corn, turkey summer sausage, chicken bratwurst, chicken apple sausage, chicken stix and, of course, eggs. Those opening a carton of the Dickmans' eggs for the first time are in for a surprise because JoAnn puts a green egg into each dozen. "They're a little shocked. And I tell them, æYou've read Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham to your children. There are green eggs. You just thought that was a story,'" she says. Some don't like the egg because the mind plays tricks and they think it's green inside. She assures them it's not. Of their 200 layer hens, 30 are Araucana which produce different colored eggs. This year, the Dickmans offered a new product that JoAnn calls "Cluckers," which are lightly seasoned chicken patties. Keeping everything reasonably priced is important to JoAnn. The Dickmans sell birds for $2.99/lb. whole and $3.29 cut up. Every year, she tells customers to expect a 4 percent price increase. "People who know good food will gladly pay for it." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dennis and JoAnn Dickman, 6480 S 14000 W Road, Herscher, Ill. 60941 (ph 815 426-2154; email: djdickman@netzero.net; website: www.dickmans.net).

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