These farmers were recognized as outstanding chicken growers during 2016 by the companies they contract with. Outstanding growers were honored at Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.’s Booster Banquet on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Also available: Full gallery of downloadable photos with captions.
Ryan Marshall first ushered birds into his Pittsville, Maryland three chicken houses in 2014, and already plans to add a fourth. He raises about 132,000 birds in each flock for Mountaire Farms.“I’ve been in it my whole life, since I was a child,” Marshall said.
Marshall says he learned the chicken business from his father, Tom Marshall, and father and son now raise chickens down the road from each other. His wife, Rachel, also helps on the farm.
“I enjoy being, pretty much, my own boss,” Marshall said.“It’s hard work, just like everything… People think that it’s easier than what it is,” he said of raising chickens.“That computers control everything. There’s more to it than that.”
Marshall is pictured here with his wife, Rachel Marshall.
Dave Lovell is a two-time recipient of an Outstanding Grower award. On his property, Old Mill Farms, he cares for 330,000 chickens spread over 11 houses, and contracts with Perdue Farms. He started raising chickens in 1991, and says he appreciates the ability to set his own schedule and be his own boss. Lovell, of Melfa, Virginia, is active in shaping environmental issues around the chicken industry, including participation in the Delmarva Land and Litter Challenge. He is also a member of Onancock Baptist Church.
“It’s a pretty good fit for my personality,” Lovell said of the chicken business.“I’m pretty picky, and this is a business of details – the more attention you pay to details, the better you do.”
“I knew I had a good year last year,” Pat Cahall said when we called her to inform her she had been named an Outstanding Grower.“I didn’t know it was THAT good!” Cahall is a third-generation poultry farmer, and displays an old picture of her grandmother, standing outside a small chickenhouse, in her home. Her two active chicken houses are home to 44,000 birds per flock, raised for Perdue Farms. She operates her Frankford, Delaware farm along with her husband, Thomas Cahall(pictured), and her son, Donald Atkins.“It’s a good living, to be able to stay at home,” Cahall said.“I know it’s a good investment…. I like being able to be home, don’t have to travel, be my own boss.”
Three years ago, Choudhry Asif was a limousine driver on Long Island, New York. He got interested in raising chickens after friends in Maryland recommended it as a calmer way to earn a better living. He began caring for his first flock of birds in 2014, and now he and his family operate 8 houses that shelter 325,000 birds under contract for Perdue Farms on their Salisbury, Maryland farm.
“I love the work in a farm and I love what I’m doing,” Asif said when he learned he was an outstanding grower.“I started from scratch. I didn’t know anything about it. But I put a lot of work into it, and I love the work on a farm. I don’t mind going in there and spending time in there. I love what I’m doing.”
Asif is pictured with his sons Shahzad Ali, 18, and Abdullah Asif, 9.
Sherman and Patty Jones have raised chickens for 33 years, and Sherman Jones says for them, the broiler business goes hand-in-hand with growing field crops. Like many of the outstanding growers, they say attention to detail in their Millsboro, Delaware farm’s operation is a key to success. Their three houses can house 57,000 chickens at a time, and they contract with Mountaire Farms. Sherman Jones is also a past chief of the Gumboro, Delaware Volunteer Fire Company.
“We’re in our 33rd year. Evidently I’m getting a handle on it,” Sherman Jones said wryly of the chicken business.“The routine itself is your reason to get up in the morning and get going.” What people should know about chicken growers, he said, is this:“We will live on and protect our land just as well as their properties and their air.”
Burton and Sue Ockels have been raising chickens on the same farm near Seaford, Delaware since 1985, and now operate three houses with a capacity of 60,000 birds under contract for Amick Farms. When he was asked what makes him a good grower, Mr. Ockels replied he’s been told he has a knack for ventilation. They emphasize raising chickens is a round-the-clock job.
“You’ve got to live it,” Burton Ockels said.“You don’t necessarily have to be in there[in the chicken house], but you have to realize what’s going on in there all the time. And for the most part, the birds always have to come first…. it does make you feel good when you have a real good flock.”
Dale Phillips is a third-generation chicken grower in the Georgetown, Delaware area whose father and grandfather have also raised birds. His wife, Kathy, is involved in poultry too, working at the University of Delaware Lasher Laboratory to detect flock illnesses. They operate two chicken houses and care for up to 60,000 birds at a time, raising for Allen Harim. Dale Phillips also is active in the Delaware Farm Bureau.
“My dad and grandfather farmed,” Phillips said. In 2005, he said,“I took over my grandfather’s houses and built a new one of mine. It was a way for me to get back to the farm, where I wanted to be.”
Ruby West began raising chickens in 1974, shortly after she married her late husband. In time, they purchased her husband’s family’s farm and later invested in an additional chicken house. Her two-house farm near Delmar, Maryland now houses 53,000 birds at a time for Mountaire Farms. West is a member of Melson United Methodist Church, and in her spare time enjoys gardening and canning.
“They’ve got a roof overhead, they’ve got feed, they’ve got water, and someone is here on the farm 24/7,” West said of the birds she raises.“And we’re doing the best we can for the environment…. When my company tells me they’re coming back[to place another flock], it keeps me going to know Mountaire wants me. That makes me feel good.” West is pictured here with her grandson, David Allan West Jr.
Chittle Saylor Jr. and Jean Saylor are past recipients of this award, having received it in 2011. They raise 63,000 birds for Allen Harim in three houses on a Preston, Maryland farm they acquired in 1993, and they operate a poultry services business, too. They have three adult children, Ryan, Katie and Leslie, six grandchildren, and are faithful members of Harmony United Methodist Church.
“It’s a good feeling, like you’ve really done something for the day,” Chittle Saylor Jr. said of raising chickens.“It’s kind of a joy to tend to them… and it’s a hard job. People don’t realize that — the hard work you have to put into it.”
Terry and Diana Woodward have been involved with poultry since 1979, raising breeders until 2003, when they began raising broilers. Their 4 houses shelter 73,000 birds at a time under contract with Mountaire Farms. Diana Woodward they like the freedom that farming affords them, and the satisfaction that comes with producing large birds. Their two sons, Jonny and Marcus Woodward, are a big help to them on the farm near Harrington, Delaware.
“I love the little baby birds. Everybody does,” Diana Woodward said.“And when you get big birds, you know you’ve done a good job. Just knowing that you can do that, that it works. You’ve got to have everything just right.”
Pictured, left to right: Terry Woodward; Diana Woodward; Olivia, 4; Zoe, 6; Ivy, 2; Marcia Woodward; and Aryn, 1.
Donald Howard, of Crisfield, Maryland, said he likes raising chickens because he can set his own schedule. He operates three chicken houses with a capacity of 70,000 birds. A grower since 1992, Howard raises chicken for Tyson Foods.
“I like being able to set my own schedule,” Howard said of his livelihood.“I’m able to do things when they need to be done — not tomorrow, but today. I think that counts when you’re competing.”
These farmers were recognized as outstanding chicken growers during 2016 by the companies they contract with. Outstanding growers were honored at Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.’s Booster Banquet on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Also available: Full gallery of downloadable photos with captions.