American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) Perspective of Alternative Poultry Production Practices

Authors: PHELAN, GRADY - American Pastured Poultry Producers Of America; Rothrock, Michael

Submitted to: Poultry Science Association Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/28/2018
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) is a nonprofit educational and networking organization dedicated to encouraging the production, processing, and marketing of poultry raised on pasture, and is the largest industry group focused on pastured poultry. APPPA passionately embraces humane, people-friendly, environmentally enhancing, pasture-based production models. Twenty years ago, when APPPA was founded, knowing how pastured poultry differed from the conventionally-raised poultry was easy. As the integrity food movement has gained momentum, the gap between commodity and craft poultry has become a confusing marketplace of labels. Pastured poultry require two things: access to grass (that's pasture) and frequent movement (rotation). Birds live outside as appropriate for the age of birds and the season of the year. Realizing that production models must be profitable to be successful, APPPA's interests include processing, packaging, cooking, marketing, and any other topics related to pastured poultry enterprises. APPPA's world vision is to see pastured poultry adopted as the model for environmentally, emotionally, and economically sensible poultry production. This vision includes decentralized food systems, farmstead-sized processing, and as much interaction as possible between producer and consumer. APPPA sees pastured poultry as the model for environmentally, emotionally, and economically sensible poultry production that can feed your local communities uniquely nutritious, delicious, and humanely-raised chicken, eggs, turkey, ducks, geese and guineas. For this symposium, I will discuss how pastured poultry is different from traditional, conventional-scale poultry production, and how we see these management differences effect animal and environmental health, product quality and product safety.

Technical Abstract: The American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) is a nonprofit educational and networking organization dedicated to encouraging the production, processing, and marketing of poultry raised on pasture, and is the largest industry group focused on pastured poultry. APPPA passionately embraces humane, people-friendly, environmentally enhancing, pasture-based production models. Twenty years ago, when APPPA was founded, knowing how pastured poultry differed from the conventionally-raised poultry was easy. As the integrity food movement has gained momentum, the gap between commodity and craft poultry has become a confusing marketplace of labels. Pastured poultry require two things: access to grass (that's pasture) and frequent movement (rotation). Birds live outside as appropriate for the age of birds and the season of the year. Realizing that production models must be profitable to be successful, APPPA's interests include processing, packaging, cooking, marketing, and any other topics related to pastured poultry enterprises. APPPA's world vision is to see pastured poultry adopted as the model for environmentally, emotionally, and economically sensible poultry production. This vision includes decentralized food systems, farmstead-sized processing, and as much interaction as possible between producer and consumer. APPPA sees pastured poultry as the model for environmentally, emotionally, and economically sensible poultry production that can feed your local communities uniquely nutritious, delicious, and humanely-raised chicken, eggs, turkey, ducks, geese and guineas. For this symposium, I will discuss how pastured poultry is different from traditional, conventional-scale poultry production, and how we see these management differences effect animal and environmental health, product quality and product safety.