Northern New York -- To help Northern New York farmers who are increasing their poultry, primarily chicken, production, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of St. Lawrence County is offering a Poultry Marketing, Do We Need to Work Together? panel discussion Friday, January 31 at 7pm. The discussion by a live panel at the CCE St. Lawrence County Extension Learning Farm in Canton, NY, will be broadcast that night to CCE-hosted sites in Malone and Watertown and by pre-registration only in Westport.

“Farmers that originally only raised enough chicken for their families are increasing production and marketing at farmer’s markets and to local restaurants and institutions. As more farmers get into the poultry business it will be important to coordinate the processing and marketing of chicken in and out of the Northern New York,” says Betsy Hodge, a livestock specialist with CCE St. Lawrence County and leader of the CCE Northern New York Regional Livestock Team.
Panel members and their topics include:
·     Lynda Brushett, Cooperative Development Institute, Shelburne Falls, MA: the advantages and disadvantage of working together
·     Sue Rau, North Country Grown Cooperative, Massena, NY: marketing the chickens from the CCE St. Lawrence Extension Farm Hoophouse Project
·     Renee Smith, North Country Pastured, DeKalb Junction, NY: coordinating production to fit USDA mobile processing unit schedule
·     Dan Sullivan, Wholeshare: opportunities with online food marketing
·     CCE St. Lawrence County Agriculture Team Leader Brent Buchanan Livestock and Specialist Betsy Hodge: how the cost of raising chickens relates to cooperative pricing; and selling locally vs. out of the area.
The focus of the evening program will be on producer questions and discussion of the chicken market and whether NNY farmers want to work together to supply buyers or coordinate for processing or purchasing inputs.
The broadcast will also be available by web connection. For more information on the Canton panel, contact Betsy Hodge at [email protected], 315-379-9192; for information on CCE-hosted sites or to request a WebEx link, contact the local CCE office.
This meeting is supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2012-49200-20031, Northeast Extension Risk Management Education. Cornell Cooperative Extension offers equal program and employment opportunities. Learn more online at www.ccenny.com <http://www.ccenny.com> .