(a division of Eat’n Park Hospitality Group,
Pittsburgh), has a word of caution. Moore
would like nothing better than to encourage
the menuing of farm-to-fork poultry in the
college/university, business and industry and
museum accounts that his company serves.
As yet, however, he hasn’t given them the
green light, and makes no secret about his
concerns, ranging from cost to food safety.
“The biggest obstacle, from the chef’s
perspective, is that the chicken or turkey
doesn’t come from the farmer in a beautiful
box with 10 chicken breasts,” he says. “You’ll
get whole chickens, so you’ll have to find a
use for all those other parts.”
Seasonal availability also becomes an issue
when purchasing fresh locally pastured
birds, he notes, because they may only be
available May through November, unless
they’re frozen and held for use during the
winter months.
ONE FARMER’S QUEST FOR STATE INSPECTION
If you’re a poultry farmer selling more
than 20,000 birds annually, your farm
and processing facility is required to
pass U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) inspection; with fewer than
20,000 birds, an exemption allows you
to market within your state without it. But
until recently, the rules in Connecticut
allowed the small poultry farmer to sell
birds only for household consumption.
Seeking greener pastures for sales of
their pastured poultry, Rick Hermonot,
owner of Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm,
Sterling, Conn., and his son Jonathan,
a recent University of Connecticut
graduate, became leading advocates
of state inspection.
“Other states, including neighboring
Massachusetts, will inspect your farm
and processing operation and let you
sell to institutions and restaurants
within the state,” Hermonot explains.
“We were successful, and now the
Connecticut Department of Agriculture
will inspect us. This ensures that
poultry is being processed in a clean
and sanitary facility."
Hermonot believes state inspection
will drive solid growth among small
poultry farmers, because “there’s
tremendous demand here in
Connecticut for locally grown poultry.”
Indeed, he’s planning to increase the
number of turkeys he’s raising from
2,000 last year to 2,400 this year,
while doubling the number of chickens
from 1,200 to 2,400. His first state-
inspected on-pasture chickens were
available in early May.
At Ekonk Hill, turkeys are fenced on
eight acres, and feeders are moved
across the field several times a day.
“Turkeys gravitate to the feeders and
water. We move them around so the
birds will follow,” Hermonot says.
For chickens, open-bottom small-screened pens, or “chicken tractors,”
are moved twice a day. “Meat birds
are not inclined to wander and forage,
plus, since we put them out at about
three weeks of age, they’re more prone
to predator loss, so this system works
really well,” Hermonot says.
Moore is adamant that Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point (HACCP) parameters
be met by any small poultry farm he might OK
for Parkhurst Dining Services. Food safety at
every stage of processing is critical. “I want
to make sure the farmers absolutely have all
critical control points covered,” he says.
Having liability insurance is another of his
requirements. “I say to every farmer I deal
with, ‘I’m not going to move forward with
you if you don’t have insurance,’ and these
farmers are rapidly understanding this.”
block, Moore concedes. “At $1.50 per pound
for regular chicken versus $2.75-$3 per
pound for farm-pastured chicken—that’s
$12 for a 4 lb. bird to put in a rotisserie—it
doesn’t make sense on a board plan. It could
work at a president’s dinner on campus or
at a B&I location, like our Google account in
Pittsburgh, with a larger budget. It depends
on the volume and who we’re feeding. If I had
higher-end restaurants, I think there would
be more demand for it.”
wasn’t yet part of the conversation,” she says.
She aimed to serve food that was sourced,
prepared and cooked with integrity. And,
she figured, “If I was having these thoughts,
others were, too. And farm-to-fork chicken
goes with the entire concept.”
COST CONCERNS
However, after all the safety bases are
covered, price might still be a stumbling
When Martha Hoover, founder/owner of
Café Patachou, Indianapolis—an enterprise
that now includes five cafés, three Petite
Chou venues and an upscale pizzeria—first
opened for business in 1989, “farm-to-table
THE FEED FACTOR
Eventually, Hoover made contact with Miller
Poultry/Amish Country Poultry, Orland, Ind.,
and was pleased to find she was dealing
directly with the farmer. “Mr. [Galen] Miller
runs things the old-fashioned way, and he’s
a man of few words,” she says. “He said,
‘Get up here, and I’ll show you around,’
and I was impressed by what I saw. Now
he’s also selling to several Whole Foods
