Friday, February 10, 2017

Artisanal chicken easier to grow than sell

The farmers who are taking advantage of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario program to grow up to 3,000 chickens for artisanal markets are finding sales can be difficult.

The blog for Small Flock Poultry Farmers Canada has correspondence indicating some growers are having trouble selling all of the chicken they raised in their first year.

Glenn Black of Providence Bay, Manitoulin Island, who runs the blog, says that he, too, has not yet been able to sell all the chickens he grew last year.

But he is hopeful that if sales of frozen birds continue at the pace set during early winter, he will sell out before the next crop is harvested early this summer.

He offers a list of promotional tips on the blog, such as writing letters to editors of local publications.

Some other tips are:
- Year-round "farmers markets";
- Local seasonal Farmer's Markets and other rural markets;
- Local butcher shops;
- Convenience stores;
- Local restaurants, hotel restaurants and conference centres;
-  Catering companies, and
- Wedding planners and their clients.

The Chicken Farmers of Ontario also features the success of the artisanal program on its website.