[...] organic chicken is currently the chicken producer's biggest growth area. According to Perdue, organic chicken accounts for about 5 percent of the poultry the company sells today. The organic chicken produced by Coleman Natural — much of it in Pennsylvania — is raised without antibiotics on a diet of organic corn- and soybean-based feed in an environment free of pesticides and herbicides. The birds look just like the chickens raised at the traditional chicken farms here on Delmarva but take a little longer to reach maturity. The birds are kept in chicken houses but are given the freedom to move into outdoor enclosures and have access to "enhancements" such as roosts or hay bales, according to Perdue. Because antibiotics aren't an option, growers have found other ways to ensure the birds stay healthy, according to Forsthoffer. While organic chicken only accounts for about 5 percent of Perdue's poultry sales, it's the fastest growing portion of the company's business. Years ago, when organic chicken first began showing up on shelves, the USDA hadn't yet created standards for it, so shoppers had no federal guarantee that what they were buying was really organic. According to Forsthoffer, getting a farm certified as organic is a lengthy process, as it has to go three years with no herbicides or pesticides before it can qualify. Much of the Coleman Natural poultry ends up in higher-end grocery stores. "Because it's higher priced, it's going to be in areas where people are willing to pay," Perdue said. According to Roenigk, organic chicken costs consumers two to three times as much as conventionally raised chicken does.
Perdue's Next Frontier: Organic
CHARLENE SHARPE, The Daily Times, San Antonio Express-News: World
Sat, 05/24/2014 - 7:12am
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