Growing pastured poultry
RedC Farms home to ducks, chickens, turkeys
By Emily Breth
STAFF WRITER
CALEDONIA — When Kim Klees and her husband, Terry Cushman, started raising backyard chickens for fresh eggs, they did not intend for it to flourish into a business of pasture-raised poultry while working full time jobs off the farm.
“We do it because we like to know where our food’s coming from, and we want to provide the same to the community,” Klees said. “I know the majority of our customers appreciate that they know their food is being raised to have a high nutritional profile.”
The couple raises the majority of their poults on the Cushman’s family farm near Caledonia, where they have 15-20 acres set aside for pastures. At RedC Farms they raise mainly ducks with some chickens and a few turkeys.
Their business originated from a small flock of backyard chickens they got for fresh eggs when they were expecting their first child.
“We wanted to raise (the kids) around animals, and then the backyard chickens just took off,” Klees said.
Now, on average, the couple has been raising between 1,000-1,500 ducklings and poults a year — about 800 ducks, 600 chickens and 100 turkeys. Last year, however, was different because the couple took in 1,500 chickens from Wisconsin that would have otherwise been euthanized.
With the additional chickens, the couple had the opportunity to turn a charitable idea into reality.
“We raised chickens for donation,” Klees said. “We received funding and donations from organizations or people so that we could then move chicken to local food shelves as a meat source. We try not to say ‘No’ when people ask for help.”
The couple did this in partnership with Southeast Minnesota Food Rescue and Redistribution. Close to 300 of their personal stock was donated, and the remaining 1,200 chickens they took in through the food rescue were partnered with local farmers to prevent waste and to distribute chicken to food shelfs as well as lower income families.
“I am on the board for that nonprofit,” Klees said. “Our goal is to prevent food insecurity in underserved communities. We help farmers prevent waste by moving product that they may not have an outlet to sell. We want to help small farmers succeed and serve the community.”
An example of this is taking the extra meat and bringing it to a school or food shelf and still paying the farmer a fair wage for the product through a variety of grant programs and other initiatives, Klees said. She said a lot of the chicken they donated this year was through the partnership with the food rescue.
“It is also something that we do ourselves for our Christian beliefs, so we donate what we can when we have it,” Klees said. “Part of our overall Christian belief is to give back to our community through servant leadership however we can.”
The rest of the poultry products are sold at farmers markets and online orders with pick-ups in Winona. Klees attends the La Crescent and Rochester farmers markets. This year, they have started looking into providing wholesale for restaurants, co-ops and schools when they are able to expand their flock numbers.
“Our plan for the farm moving forward is to grow a little bit bigger so that we can provide more meat year-round,” Klees said. “I really would like to be able to consistently provide to anyone that is looking for quality poultry.”
The couple wants to utilize as much of their poultry birds as possible. One way they do this is by taking parts not utilized by most people and turning them into pet treats via freeze drying.
Klees said she would also like to grow their duck egg operation. She said if they were able to support 200–300 ducks for laying, they could provide duck eggs more consistently. As of now, they have a couple chickens and ducks for laying that are mainly for their own use unless they have a surplus.
She said a hope for this year is to make their way into Wisconsin and sell at the La Crosse and Onalaska farmers markets as well. They also plan on adding in regional shipping along with an on-farm store in the future.
“Right now, we are really focusing on drop-offs,” Klees said. “I have no problem meeting people, and they can always call me for drop-offs and delivery versus having to wait for a market, especially in wintertime, since markets are only once a month.”
All their birds are processed through Stacyville Poultry Processing out of Stacyville, Iowa. They used to do their own butchering up until they wanted the meat to be U.S. Department of Agriculture certified.
“(Stacyville) is about an hour and 40 minutes from us, but it’s definitely worth it,” Klees said. “They’re a smaller processor, but they’re USDA (certified), so … (the meat) can be sold pretty much anywhere, even over state lines and online.”
The couple brings poults to be processed 8–10 times a year. With their processor, they are able to offer a variety of packages to be more convenient for families. To fulfill their orders, the couple get flocks of around 200-300 ducklings or poults at a time from April through November.
“We really are doing (all of this) for the community,” Klees said. “We are doing it to put good food on our plates and make sure quality, nutritious food goes on everyone else’s plates as well.”
She said they have seen an impact in the community, especially since they have been able to donate more poultry to their local food shelves.
“We will keep doing that in a heartbeat,” Klees said.
By Emily Breth
STAFF WRITER
CALEDONIA — When Kim Klees and her husband, Terry Cushman, started raising backyard chickens for fresh eggs, they did not intend for it to flourish into a business of pasture-raised poultry while working full time jobs off the farm.
“We do it because we like to know where our food’s coming from, and we want to provide the same to the community,” Klees said. “I know the majority of our customers appreciate that they know their food is being raised to have a high nutritional profile.”
The couple raises the majority of their poults on the Cushman’s family farm near Caledonia, where they have 15-20 acres set aside for pastures. At RedC Farms they raise mainly ducks with some chickens and a few turkeys.
Their business originated from a small flock of backyard chickens they got for fresh eggs when they were expecting their first child.
“We wanted to raise (the kids) around animals, and then the backyard chickens just took off,” Klees said.
Now, on average, the couple has been raising between 1,000-1,500 ducklings and poults a year — about 800 ducks, 600 chickens and 100 turkeys. Last year, however, was different because the couple took in 1,500 chickens from Wisconsin that would have otherwise been euthanized.
With the additional chickens, the couple had the opportunity to turn a charitable idea into reality.
“We raised chickens for donation,” Klees said. “We received funding and donations from organizations or people so that we could then move chicken to local food shelves as a meat source. We try not to say ‘No’ when people ask for help.”
The couple did this in partnership with Southeast Minnesota Food Rescue and Redistribution. Close to 300 of their personal stock was donated, and the remaining 1,200 chickens they took in through the food rescue were partnered with local farmers to prevent waste and to distribute chicken to food shelfs as well as lower income families.
“I am on the board for that nonprofit,” Klees said. “Our goal is to prevent food insecurity in underserved communities. We help farmers prevent waste by moving product that they may not have an outlet to sell. We want to help small farmers succeed and serve the community.”
An example of this is taking the extra meat and bringing it to a school or food shelf and still paying the farmer a fair wage for the product through a variety of grant programs and other initiatives, Klees said. She said a lot of the chicken they donated this year was through the partnership with the food rescue.
“It is also something that we do ourselves for our Christian beliefs, so we donate what we can when we have it,” Klees said. “Part of our overall Christian belief is to give back to our community through servant leadership however we can.”
The rest of the poultry products are sold at farmers markets and online orders with pick-ups in Winona. Klees attends the La Crescent and Rochester farmers markets. This year, they have started looking into providing wholesale for restaurants, co-ops and schools when they are able to expand their flock numbers.
“Our plan for the farm moving forward is to grow a little bit bigger so that we can provide more meat year-round,” Klees said. “I really would like to be able to consistently provide to anyone that is looking for quality poultry.”
The couple wants to utilize as much of their poultry birds as possible. One way they do this is by taking parts not utilized by most people and turning them into pet treats via freeze drying.
Klees said she would also like to grow their duck egg operation. She said if they were able to support 200–300 ducks for laying, they could provide duck eggs more consistently. As of now, they have a couple chickens and ducks for laying that are mainly for their own use unless they have a surplus.
She said a hope for this year is to make their way into Wisconsin and sell at the La Crosse and Onalaska farmers markets as well. They also plan on adding in regional shipping along with an on-farm store in the future.
“Right now, we are really focusing on drop-offs,” Klees said. “I have no problem meeting people, and they can always call me for drop-offs and delivery versus having to wait for a market, especially in wintertime, since markets are only once a month.”
All their birds are processed through Stacyville Poultry Processing out of Stacyville, Iowa. They used to do their own butchering up until they wanted the meat to be U.S. Department of Agriculture certified.
“(Stacyville) is about an hour and 40 minutes from us, but it’s definitely worth it,” Klees said. “They’re a smaller processor, but they’re USDA (certified), so … (the meat) can be sold pretty much anywhere, even over state lines and online.”
The couple brings poults to be processed 8–10 times a year. With their processor, they are able to offer a variety of packages to be more convenient for families. To fulfill their orders, the couple get flocks of around 200-300 ducklings or poults at a time from April through November.
“We really are doing (all of this) for the community,” Klees said. “We are doing it to put good food on our plates and make sure quality, nutritious food goes on everyone else’s plates as well.”
She said they have seen an impact in the community, especially since they have been able to donate more poultry to their local food shelves.
“We will keep doing that in a heartbeat,” Klees said.
