Stacyville is a small town in Iowa, just a few miles from the Minnesota/Iowa border. Since 2021, it has been home to Stacyville Poultry Processing, and in just a few short years, business has increased substantially.
Delicia Garcia Hernandez is the Stacyville Poultry Processing manager. The facility opened for business towards the end of 2021, and processed about 5,000 birds in that period. Until they begin processing year-round, their current seasons typically run from May through November. During that time frame in 2022, the facility processed about 38,000 birds. In 2023, the number climbed to just under 58,000 birds. This total includes chickens, turkey, and capon (a male chicken that has been castrated and fed a special diet for the purpose of taste).
“Last year was a good year,” Garcia Hernandez stated. “This year we are looking for more farmers, more customers.”
The facility was approved earlier this year to additionally process geese and ducks. Their application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture was also approved to offer ground products, and they are currently working to secure the required equipment. Garcia Hernandez added the facility is able to provide services for farmers with organic certification, as well.
Stacyville Poultry Processing is a division of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, a non-profit organization that is part of an even larger ecosystem. “We’re based in Minnesota, and we were founded by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin,” explained Diane Christofore, the non-profit’s executive director.
Christofore has an educational background in Food System Studies, and shared, “I’ve always found food to be a great way to get people to think about things differently.” She has held a variety of roles within the industry, and through her prior work with Birchwood Cafe — a farm-to-table restaurant — she connected with Haslett-Marroqin.
Haslett-Marroquin immigrated from Guatemala, and came to Minnesota with his wife, Amy. “They started farming, and pretty quickly they realized there was no system in place for a small/mid-size farmer, especial [an] immigrant farmer to connect into,” Christofore stated.
Christofore explained Haslett-Marroquin designed a poultry-centered regenerative agriculture model. She described the work includes de-risking and incubating new enterprises within the supply chain to transform regional food systems.
Birchwood Cafe was one of the first customers of Haslett-Marroqin’s Regeneration Farms chicken, now called Tree-Range Farms. “Through my time getting to know Regi and understanding his ability to think through a systems’ lens, I got really excited about what was happening here in Northfield,” Christofore stated, referencing the alliance’s office location.
The Tree-Range Farms’ system involves slower-growth broiler chickens spending six of their ten weeks outside ranging underneath a canopy of trees and native shrubs. The paddocks offer a natural environment for the chickens, protection from the elements and predators, and the integrated crops (primarily hazelnut and elderberry) can serve as an additional product to market for the farmers. The chickens, in turn, support soil health.
“Currently there are nine farms that are raising chickens according to this agroforestry model,” Christofore stated, adding that totals to about 40,000 chickens being raised in the system.
“Stacyville is one of the first enterprises that the nonprofit undertook the development of,” Christofore said. RAA’s website states, “The availability of affordable, custom processing services is one of the greatest barriers to entry for independent poultry farmers. The Poultry Processing Facility in Stacyville, Iowa was developed to bridge that gap and prides itself on being a model for small, independent meat processing plants nationwide.”
Christofore noted farmers do not have to be part of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance to have their poultry processed by in Stacyville. It’s important to them that small farmers can receive USDA inspected processing services, and they hope to build relationships and community among these farming operations.
Christofore stated the building had previously been used as a capon processing facility, and so it provided an opportunity for the alliance to begin with a currently existing infrastructure. The facility currently serves 47 small to mid-size farms and expects to employ 14 to 16 full-time employees during the 2024 season.
Garcia Hernandez emphasized the importance of a good work environment. “We take care of our people,” she stated, noting they hold weekly meetings where thoughts and concerns can be brought to the table.
Garcia Hernandez grew up in Mexico and graduated with a degree in Food Science. She has experience working with a variety of farm sizes, as well as within the swine industry. Knowing the work farmers put in to raising their animals, she explained it’s important to their facility that they process the product carefully.
“I really like to work in my field, because I feel passionate about food safety,” Garcia Hernandez stated. She elaborated on the emphasis put on following protocols and regulations, as well as ensuring the poultry are treated well. The facility’s website provides the recommendation to farmers that poultry are gathered after dark to minimize stress on the animals. They also establish the expectation that the poultry are transported cleanly and humanely. Garcia Hernandez and Christofore both emphasized the importance of ensuring that the care and the integrity of the system is held all the way through the process.
Amid their recent accomplishments, Christofore continues to look ahead. “The goal of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance is to provide the backbone services so that one day success looks like transforming five percent of the broiler and egg production in the United States,” she stated. “And so in order to do that, the non-profit has a vision of having 10 of these regional hubs, and Stacyville’s the first of those when it comes to the processor.”
Makoce Agriculture Development is an operating partner that is currently integrating the model on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. They raise chickens and utilize a mobile processor.
Christofore also added the alliance will continue to look for additional market opportunities to provide more product for customers and increase the value of each bird. In turn, the wealth can be circulated back to the farmers and to the workers in the system.
The following websites provide additional information about the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, the Stacyville Poultry Processing facility, Regenerative Poultry, and Tree-Range Chicken:
https://www.regenagalliance.org/
https://www.stacyvillepoultryprocessing.org/
Source: The Land
