PHOTOGRAPHS BY JIM GIPE
It’s mid-February at Reed Farm, and Kat Chang and Peter Reed Laznicka are preparing themselves for a transition that will change the trajectory of their Sunderland farm, and more broadly, poultry-processing in Massachusetts and beyond. Reed Farm was already one of just two state-inspected poultry processing farms in Massachusetts, but a long-awaited USDA grant of inspection will make them the first USDA-inspected poultry farm in the state. That’s a big deal. “I really can’t overstate the impact this is going to have for our region,” says Jake Levin, local food systems program manager at Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV).
The USDA stamp will allow Reed to sell their chicken out of state and will raise the current cap on their processing. “20,000 [birds] is the limit with our current license,” says Chang. “With USDA, the sky’s the limit.” Reed has a flock of several thousand broilers but also processes chickens for other poultry farmers, who also stand to benefit from Reed’s upcoming USDA grant of inspection. Increased capacity at Reed will mean that farmers can keep their processing closer to home, making it easier and more economical for them to expand their existing operations or start new ones. “It will give farmers more options for selling their products,” says Laznicka. “As we grow, they can grow.” And perhaps most importantly, consumers will have greater access to chicken that’s raised locally. That’s a pretty significant impact for two first-generation farmers.
When the two first met, Chang had a flock of backyard layers and was working as an administrative assistant in a science department at University of Massachusetts Amherst. She had lifelong love of animals and a deep respect for the science around food and agriculture. Laznicka was raising meat poultry on his mother’s farmland in Amherst and already dealing with the challenges of processing his birds. There was no state-inspected poultry-processing operation nearby, and the closest USDA facilities for poultry were out of state, in Rhode Island, Maine, New York, and New Jersey.
Laznicka decided, around 10 years ago, to start his own mobile poultry-processing operation, driving his equipment to whatever farm needed its birds processed. He quickly discovered that it was a heavier lift than he had anticipated. “The equipment was not meant to be on the road, and there were too many different setups at each location,” recalls Laznicka. He quickly realized that processing onsite was the way to go. “It’s also better for the birds to have a more local option,” he says.
AN EYE TOWARD THE FUTURE
In 2018, Laznicka purchased the couple’s current 13.75-acre property in Sunderland and set up an on-site processing facility in a fully equipped 40-foot shipping container inside an empty barn. That first year, he processed a batch or two of chickens, just to test the process and to find out what needed to be tweaked. The next year, the operation was in full swing, and that’s when Chang came on the scene. They married in 2019.
Early on, Reed Farm became a state-certified and -inspected poultry- processing facility, but the couple always had their sights set on a USDA grant of inspection, so every business decision they made was informed by that goal. In 2021, they secured a state infrastructure grant to help finish their barn’s raw space by adding insulation, a walk-in cooler and a freezer, bathrooms, and a shower for the farm crew. A second grant helped them build a new thermostatically controlled building to house broilers. Layers, explains Laznicka, can handle the cold and live in hoop houses in the winter. Each improvement has helped them get closer to their USDA goal while also improving food safety and worker retention.
As the farm grew, so did Chang and Laznicka’s ties with the community. A few years ago, they began supplying chicken to UMass Amherst Dining, a relationship that compelled them to offer halal-certified meat. “There’s not a lot of local meat that’s available as halal,” says Chang, “so UMass is a big customer.” River Valley Co-op orders chickens weekly, and local farm stores, such as Long River Produce Market, Brookfield Farm, and Mountain View Farm are frequent customers, as are local restaurants such as 30 Boltwood in Amherst and Homestead in Northampton. Homestead chef/owner Jeremy Werther drives from his Northampton restaurant every Thursday to pick up chickens—a weekly trip that he’s made ever since Covid. “We want the freshest products in our space,” Werther tells us from his car on the way to Reed. “Today, I’m picking up 16 whole chickens, 25 pounds of extra carcass and 6 pounds of feet for our stock.” The local connections matter to customers, he says. “I’ve had people switch from one dish to the chicken dish because they see it’s from Reed. The Reed name carries pretty solid weight here in our little region.”
PREPARING FOR GROWTH
With increased demand, the farm will need to expand its flock and hire more people. Last year, the couple purchased a new 40-acre property in Amherst, which is now home to 3,000 layers producing pasture-raised eggs. When the weather warms, the farm’s broilers will also be pastured at the new location, which is less than 10 minutes away from Sunderland. The Amherst location will also house an ambitious value-added operation that will make good use of nearly every part of each chicken. Birds will continue to be slaughtered in Sunderland and then sent to the new facility, which will contain a bigger freezer, a commercial kitchen, and a retail store. “We’ll be able to do broth, dehydrated treats for pets, maybe grinding for pet food, and sausages,” says Chang. “We built everything to grow into. Our physical processing facility, and our cooling space—we’re using maybe 10% to 15% of our capacity right now.”
Growth and expansion are exciting but not easy, especially when it comes to working with live animals and food items that must be produced with the utmost care before they reach our dinner plates. To make sure they had all their ducks in a row, Chang and Laznicka worked with Jake Levin of BAV who connected them with Good Roots, a consultancy that provides technical assistance, and with consultant Nicole Day at Agriforaging Compliance Services, which helps food and agricultural businesses navigate government regulations and set up systems that are safe and in compliance. “She’s been amazing,” says Chang of Day. “She’s helped with our USDA application, served as a liaison, and did our HACCP training.” HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point—a documented system that ensures food safety. “We’ve provided them with loan funding to actualize some of this work,” says Levin of BAV. “So, it’s been a really comprehensive, in-depth relationship for the past three years, and very rewarding for Berkshire Agricultural Ventures.” The feeling is mutual. “BAV has been wonderful to work with,” says Laznicka. “They’re awesome.”
In the midst of all the changes, Chang and Laznicka have held fast to their deeply held beliefs on raising animals. “There’s so many factors that go into their health, and a healthy animal will grow big and survive right up to the time you process them to become food,” says Chang. Reed’s broiler chickens feast on non-GMO feed, and layers get certified organic feed, fresh bedding every day, and winter housing space that goes far beyond the requirement for Certified Humane. Additionally, on-site processing eliminates the need for transporting the birds, which reduces their stress. While Reed is not certified organic, Chang says “we meet or exceed what you would need to certify for organic. Raising livestock humanely is not cheap, and while growth will create some economies of scale for Reed, Chang concedes that “there’s a fine line between how big you can get and still pay attention to quality and the care you’re giving.” That’s a line they’re clearly not willing to cross.
CLOSING THE LOOP
As Chang and Laznicka grow their business, it’s more important than ever for them to focus on an often problematic component of poultry farming: waste. Their plans for value-added food products address that, as does a new composting operation that’s in the works. “No animal products are going into landfill,” says Laznicka. “People eat it, dogs eat it, or microbes eat it.” Last spring, the farm received a grant for a compost bagger, a piece of heavy equipment that portions out and seals 50-pound bags of compost that contains chicken manure—“ the gold star ingredient for compost,” says Chang. “We also put our processing waste in there as dead stock. It closes the loop and starts creating another useful product.” Reed’s neighbor, Kitchen Garden Farm, bought 40 yards of compost last year, and Chang hopes to start doing retail sales of compost this year.
On the cusp of the big changes to come, Chang reflects upon her journey as a farmer. “Leading up to this was me realizing that I can make decisions about where our food comes from,” she says. “Especially in an area like the Pioneer Valley, we’re so lucky that there are so many farmers who are so passionate about what they’re doing. Everyone does it a little differently because of what they feel is important, it’s just fascinating, and it results in delicious food. And food is everything—it brings us all together.”
Reed Farm
136 Russell St. | Sunderland
413-397-3069
reedfarmpoultry.com
Hours by appointment
