I was very sad to not be able to attend the field trip to see Georgie Cartanza’s poultry operation. I think it would have been very interesting to see how her operation ran and looked, compared to my poultry operation back at home. After hearing about the field trip I thought it was really cool how Georgie kind of fell into the poultry industry, after working for Perdue. Today, it seems like a lot of producers/farmers usually go into the industry because of family ties. So it was cool to hear that. Also, it was really interesting hear that her one piece of advice for someone who wanted to enter the poultry industry was to take business classes. This particularly stuck out to me because in trying to decide my post high school plans, it was the fact that many farmers in my area strongly encouraged a business education before returning to the farm. So it was really cool to hear that Georgie also recommends this and that it is an important thing to have. Those two pieces of the field trip were what stuck out to me the most. Despite not actually being there, it sounded like Georgie runs a top notch operation!
Category Archives: Poultry
Georgie Catanza’s Poultry Farm
On this field trip our class had some prior knowledge to the poultry industry from Georgie’s guest lecture, but going to her farm and seeing the actually process is the best way to learn something in my personal opinion. I have experienced chicken farms all throughout my life and have had the opportunity to go into to chicken houses multiple times, but never have I seen the chickens at 8 weeks of age getting ready to leave the farm. This is one reason I really enjoyed this field trip because I had the chance to see the chickens at full age and better understand what they look like and how they act when they are full grown. I also learned a little more about the process of disposing of the mortality and I had the chance to learn about how much liter 4 houses produce a year. The ecodrum that Georgie invested in to compost her dead chickens I thought was very interesting and efficient. Then coming from a family farm where we spread around 1000 tons of chicken manure a year I thought it was interesting to learn how much her chicken houses actually produce, which showed me how many chickens are needed for my families farm production needs. Overall I thought Georgie’s farm was top quality and really enjoyed the first saturday field trip.
Poultry Farm Fieldtrip Hosted by Georgie Cartanza
On Saturday, September 22nd the class went on a field trip to the the Cartanza organic chicken farm. The experience was helpful in gaining a real-life look at how a poultry farm operates. To start, Georgie Cartanza gave us a brief overview of the production process and structure. The chickens on this particular farm stay on location for five weeks. During this time, they are preparing for the end stage of the production, processing. When the time comes to ship out the birds, it takes approximately five hours to catch each house. The workers do this by hand because it is the most efficient, stress-free option for the chickens.
The Cartanza family grows for Coleman, an organic integer that is apart of the Vertical Integration system. Raising organic birds is much different than conventional routes. First off, all chickens must have access to the outside. While we were on site, you could see approximately 15 hatches that lead outdoors. Consumers like the idea of their protein seeing the light of day, but in reality few birds seek the outdoors. In addition to outdoor access, organic farmers provide ‘toys’ for their animals. These objects help in keeping the chickens happy and entertained throughout their stay in the houses.
The visit to the Cartanza poultry house was very educational and entertaining. With that, I cannot wait what we will learn on our next field trip!
Poultry Farm Tour September 22
Touring the poultry farm of Georgie Cartanza was so fun, even if it didn’t smell too good! It was really interesting seeing the chicken houses and learning about how an organic chicken farm was run. The most interesting thing that I learned was that the dead birds are actually composted and then the compost is sold to a local vegetable farm! It makes complete sense, but the thought never crossed me that most of the dead birds get composted; it’s really good though because there isn’t any waste and the bird gets made into something useful for the soil. There is 1 ton/ 1000 chickens/ flock of manure that is made as well that also gets sent to a dairy farm to be used as fertilizer. The biggest cost to an organic poultry farm is actually the feed cost which gets imported from Turkey and Argentina. I love how Georgie isn’t uneducated about organic and nonorganic and understands how to use various methods to sustain her farm while making money and doing what she believes in.
Field Trip to Georgie’s Farm
On Saturday (9/22), we went on our first field trip to Georgie Cartanza’s poultry farm. From growing up on a farm I knew a little about raising poultry for consumption. On my neighbors farm where he grew broilers we had two watering stations for 20-30 birds and a box fan that was lifted off the ground to help regulate the temperature of the birds. But to be able to have an insight of it from a much larger standpoint like Georgie’s farm was a great experience to be a part of. What I didn’t know is how much more time, money, and research that goes into having a big poultry farm like hers. This includes everything from ways to compost the dead birds by also helping the environment, having mechanical/ gravity fed feeders and watering stations that are able to be raised up to the ceiling to have access to the birds when catching, and even having the ability to access a control panel that is linked to her phone to tell her what the temperature is of each of the houses. One of the most fascinating things that I found out was that when the birds are getting ready to be loaded into the creates to be brought to the processing plants, the workers who load the birds still have to catch them by hand. And when catching they are usually able to grab 3-4 birds per hand. I that’s what my brother, my neighbor, and myself do when we’re getting ready to prep the birds for slaughter. I figured with all of the technology we have today there would be a much faster and easier way to catch each of the 148,000 birds that Georgie has instead of doing it by hand. Another thing that is nice to know is that the poultry industry is a huge influence for the community. Georgie was saying that for every one job in the poultry business it creates seven jobs within the community which I thought was great. And we also had the opportunity to meet Georgie’s dog!
Georgie Cartanza ~ Poultry Farm
When we had arrived at Mrs. Cartanzas poultry farm on Saturday the 22nd, she had given us an overview on the poultry industry and what made her want to go into the industry itself. For Georgie to put her chicken houses up it cost 1.5 million dollars to just put them up, thats not including any of the other things she needed to keep her houses up to par. Georgie had invested in something called an eco drum to help with her farm. This eco drum is a more effective way to take care of manure, with this drum it has decreased her risk of bio-security by a lot. Georgie had said that she has a big list of new things she would like to invest in for her farm which included solar panels this of course will be after she pays off her chicken houses. She also plans to use these chicken houses to help pay for her childrens college education.Georgie had told us about how chickens are such and economic impact, the value of birds sold are at $3.2 billion dollars. The annual feed bill is $997 dollars this includes, 85.4 billion bushels of corn and 35.5 billion bushels of corn.
I would like to thank Georgie for the amazing time at her poultry farm, she definitely showed me the major differences between organic and conventional and she answered all of my unanswered questions. 
Organic Poultry Farm Field Trip with Georgie Cartanza
On a sunny Saturday in September, the AGRI 130 students travelled to Georgie Cartanza’s broiler farm in Dover Delaware. We started the experience by sitting outside of the houses and learning about organic farming, broiler production, and other poultry related concepts. Then we put on disposable coveralls, plastic booties, and hairnets. My fellow classmates and I had the opportunity to step inside one of Cartanza’s chicken houses and see what a USDA organic certified poultry farm looks like. Organic chickens are fed organic feed, are antibiotic free, and are given access to an outdoor area, and other special accommodations. Despite there being 37,000 chickens within the house, it did not smell bad because of the ventilation system installed. Industrial fans are used to circulate air through the house. The house is also equipped with nipple waterers, gravity powered feeders, and a control room to monitor and manage the environmental conditions within the house. The broilers start life in the center of the house on starter feed. As they get older, more of the house is opened until the birds have the run of the whole area. After eating starter feed, the chickens are given two different grower feeds and a finisher feed. Once the chickens are ready to be processed, they are collected by hand at night. This reduces the stress level of the flock. The individuals not picked up for processing are humanely euthanized and placed into the ecodrum for compost. An ecodrum is a plastic structure that aerates and rotates compost material to aid in the decomposition process. The manure produced at Cartanza’s farm is collected, stored in manure sheds, and sold to a local dairy farmer as fertilizer. The processes used for compost and waste management is a piece of the nutrient management plan for the farm. The plan is implemented to ensure that the farm practices are not negatively impacting the environment. At the end of the tour, I had the opportunity to hold a chicken and have my picture taken. Thanks to Georgie Cartanza for giving AGRI 130 students an opportunity to visit her farm.
Delaware as a Food Shed- Ed Kee
Delaware’s former secretary of agriculture Ed Kee visited our class and shared with us some valuable information regarding the work he has done throughout his career. His lecture kept my attention because he was once a student in the same classrooms in Townsend Hall that we are all in and eventually had the ability to share his knowledge from UD with the world in countries such as Ukraine. His words were inspiring and introduced me to a lot of things I was unaware of about Delaware and the world. Kee referred to Delaware as a food shed because we are an eight hour drive from 1/3 of the entire Unites States population. That statistic alone was enough to get me thinking about how important the Delaware agriculture system is and how the work we are doing and the knowledge we are obtaining now is going to have an impact on future generations to come.
Georgie’s Poultry Farm
Class Field Trip 9/22/18
My visit to Georgie Cartanza’s farm was certainly an educational experience. I value the fact that I’ve had the opportunity to hear Georgie lecture to my sorority last year, as well as coming into our class for a guest lecture. Having the background knowledge of the poultry industry before the field trip was really worthwhile. I love that Georgie is so passionate about educating and agvocating, especially to students. I also love how Georgie describes her career as a journey. It’s comforting to see someone who is driven by their passion for their industry, and who has become very successful in doing so.
Being a food science student, I always look at the industry through a food safety lens. I thought it was incredible that it’s standard to suit up before entering the chicken houses in order to keep the birds safe. Something that also stuck out to me is how expensive a chicken house is to put up. It seems daunting especially for young farmers to make the choice to take the risk of getting into the industry. I also commend Georgie for always striving to better herself and her farm. I can’t say that this trip has changed my mind about exploring a career in the poultry industry, but I certainly learned a lot and understand why people like Georgie love what they do.
Poultry Farm Field Trip
Growing up heavily involved in 4-H, I have been on my fair share of farms. However, the trip we took to Georgie’s organic poultry farm was entirely new to me. It was amazing to see the five house farm and the insides of the hen houses. I was shocked to see how clean, smooth and hands-off the whole process was. Despite the fact that the hen houses are only entirely cleaned annually, the inside was far tidier than I had imagined. I also found it amusing that due to consumer demands and society’s perception of poultry farms, all organic productions are required to allow the chickens outside; and yet, the hens have absolutely no interest in leaving the houses. Perhaps the most interesting part was that Georgie does what she can to keep her farm as environmentally friendly as possible. She composts all of the deceased chickens, either traditionally or by using an eco drum. The eco drum cost every bit of $50,000 and is a more environmentally sensitive way of disposing of the chickens. Furthermore, she hopes to invest in solar panels in the future, which would not only help the environment, but her finances as well, potentially cutting her electric bill that is currently about $35,000. All in all, the visit to Georgie’s farm was a highly educational experience that I enjoyed very much.
Poultry Farm Field Trip
The amount of respect I gained from understanding the amount of time, effort, and money that goes into the poultry industry is endless. When we arrived and Georgie gave us a brief overview of her farm and how she got to where she is now, allowed me to see that farming is a jou
rney and doesn’t have an exact destination. Starting a farm from the ground up takes serious dedication and finances. It cost Georgie 1.5 million dollars to put up her chicken houses, just thinking about investing that amount of money in hopes your business works is a risky move. Another thing I found interesting in the financial aspect of farming was the constant investing in order to stay on top of business and to be successful. Georgie has had to invest in things such as the eco drum, in order to better her biosecurity, but won’t ever receive money back on her purchase. In buying the eco drum she bettered her farm, but won’t see money pay off. She has also already planned to have solar panels put in place once she has payed off her houses, in order to cut her current electricity bill of about 35,000 dollars a year. Overall, the insight we were given on this field trip was not only informational, but beneficial to students like me who are hoping to one day have this career. The knowledge gained from this experience was phenomenal, and I loved getting to look around the farm as well!
Ed Kee Guest Lecture
It was very interesting to listen to Ed See guest lecture in class. He spoke a lot about the evolution of Delaware Agriculture as well as the history behind it. Right from the gecko, it was really cool to hear that Delaware has an Ag Land Preservation Program that works towards preserving farm land. In Pa, we have a program that does the same thing and it is cool to see other states working hard to protect agriculture too. However, it was really surprising to see the numbers relating to how much acreage has been lost over the years. I couldn’t believe that between 1950 and 2007 the total acreage in Delaware has decreased 24%. Besides his slides, it was also interesting to just hear him talk about his personal experiences in agriculture locally and globally! It is very cool to hear this and then see how it shaped what he wanted to accomplish. What really stuck out was Delaware’s Young Farmer Program that gives young people a financial gateway to start farming. I really liked this program because I think the only way agriculture will progress is if we give young people the opportunity to get started. Overall, I very much enjoyed listening to Ed Kee guest lecture and am looking forward to his next lecture.
Georgie Catanza Guest Lecture
Growing up around the Delmarva Farming community I have had the opportunity to experience many different branches of agriculture, especially the Poultry industry. That being said I had quite of bit of prior knowledge to Georgie Catanza’s speech; however I did not know about the consumers views the way I do now. In the agriculture community there is a lot of different perceptions of production and specifically around animal production; from nutrition to animal treatment. With these different views Georgie did an excellent job of explaining the ignorance and how farmers can help teach the public that in reality the farmer wants best for their livestock just like the consumers because a happy animal is a productive animal. Georgie explained that most technology in the poultry industry has been developed for the welfare of the chicken such as tunnel ventilation to reach a comfortable environment for the chickens to live in. Then from the nutrition side technology has helped improve the efficiency of growing the chickens healthy with no exposure to hormones. Georgie’s lecture explained that the farmers really do care for their livestock and want to produce the best products for the consumers which is what the consumers want.
Who Grows The Chicken You Eat?
Delaware Farmer, Georgie Cantanza
Georgie has a wealth of knowledge in the poultry industry. As a guest speaker, Georgie was able to inform students on common misconceptions about the poultry industry. Georgie reminds students that the food industry altogether is ever-changing to reduce stress on the animals, farmers, and the environment. While producing a profitable product that consumers want.
Georgie is an organic poultry farmer overseeing and growing out 5 1/2 flocks a year on a four chicken house farm. Georgie was able to explain that although the chickens have access to the outdoors it is not always optimal for the birds health to be outside. The weather and bio security hazards can be reasons as to why the chickens are not always outside on an organic farm. Georgie explained that the houses are set up to the optimal atmosphere that satisfies the chickens needs. I look forward to visiting her farm and to see if there are any major differences in the production of organic vs conventional chickens.
The Delaware Poultry Industry
It’s a common assumption that Delaware’s number one industry is tourism but it is actually the poultry industry. It has a huge and wide ranging impact on Delaware as every 1 job in the Poultry Industry it can create up to 7 jobs in the community. Delaware is also very unique in the opportunities it provides to poultry farmers. In most other states, farmers only have one or two companies that they can contract with but Delaware has six different possible integrators that they can choose. The massive amount of birds has given rise to a booming corn and soybean industry to supply the poultry industry with feed. These industries have benefited from increased technology such as improved chicken houses. Chicken houses are now of the broiler growout model with tunnel fans, cooling pads, with computer systems that allow for total control of the environment to ensure that the birds are more comfortable. The most surprising fact that I learned was how chickens have increased in size about four fold from 1957 to 2005 from an average of 905 g to 4202 g.