The Cartanzas Farm field trip was an eye opening field trip to the truths about the poultry industry. I was unaware of the level of biosecurity that goes on at each poultry farm and how each visitor must wear proper PPE to insure that no disease or contaminants are brought on to the farm. Since this field trip I have also noticed many poultry farms in the area having no visitors or no entrance signs outside their drive ways; which no makes sense due to us having to wear proper PPE and to keep the farm safe. I found it very interesting to see the changes that had to be made for the chicken house to meet organic standards. When we first arrived I would not have known those were key components to growing organic chickens until we learned that windows and doors to grass fields were all required to grow organic chickens. My biggest take away from the poultry farm field trip was the misconceptions that many associate with the poultry industry. I found it sad that pictures couldn’t be taken inside the chicken house because people would edit or perceive them in the wrong way due to lack of knowledge.
I have found there to be huge differences between perception and reality in modern farming, most of it unfortunately negative.
Appreciably it is hugely difficult to visit modern poultry farms because of the bio security in place . perhaps persuading the broiler industry to show live feeds of it’s sheds on their websites might be a start.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. You raise an issue that poultry growers and industry are in fact discussing. Transparency is tantamount to building trust. You are correct, with the necessary shelter and bio-security in place that protects birds from predators and disease, there is an unknown to what goes on inside a poultry house. Most of the families who grow poultry are like Georgie – conscientious and caring. Being able to share that ethic via technology would be a good thing. Thanks so much for writing! – Michele (TA for the class).