In Spite of COVID-19, Virginia Poultry Producers Press On
In partnership with: Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Virginia’s poultry farmers were well prepared to protect the health of their workers, birds and environment while maintaining production during the worldwide pandemic. Their existing best practices allowed them to continue feeding the world while staying safe.
Thomas Family Farms, LLC
Nick Thomas and his wife, Jessica, own and manage 18 chicken houses and farm 400 acres of small grains in Atlantic. Thomas says many of their day-to-day operations on the farm remained the same despite the pandemic.
“The new COVID-19 practices for human health are extremely similar to the practices that poultry farmers have had in place for years already,” Thomas says. “We call it biosecurity. Our COVID is the avian flu and similar viruses, which result in extremely high mortality rates in poultry.”
Because poultry farmers are already cognizant of the risks associated with viruses, they maintain regular practices like changing clothes and shoes from farm to farm, logging visitors, limiting exposure from other farms and poultry, and disinfecting equipment.
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“We even maintain score sheets where we can learn how to better reduce the risk of exposure and transmission of viruses and other diseases,” Thomas says.
According to Thomas, the greatest challenge with the pandemic was the uncertainty. As processing plants began to temporarily shut down, he and his team struggled with the question of whether they would be able to send their birds to slaughter or make other arrangements.
“We made changes to feed, water and light programs to attempt to slow their growth until the plants reopened,” he explains. “The plants did eventually return and we were able to sell our birds again. But so much of the process is scheduled and planned out years in advance. The pandemic definitely threw a wrench in the system.”
Riverhill Farms
Glenn and Sheri Rodes of Riverhill Farms in Port Republic have always prioritized the health of their community and environment.
This is one of the reasons they were selected as winners of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association’s Farm Family Environmental Excellence Award for the Northeast Region of the U.S. in 2016. This annual award is given to family farmers who embody exemplary environmental stewardship in their poultry and egg production business.
“We do a number of things that many farmers do to help protect the environment,” Glenn Rodes explains. “We tend to things like nutrient-management plans, cover crops, crop rotation and reduced tillage. A few unique things we do at Riverhill include burning biomass to help heat a turkey brooder barn and growing oilseeds to produce biodiesel.”
Like Thomas, Rodes says the pandemic didn’t impact his farm as much as some may expect. While they expected a bit of a bumpy ride for the first few months, their actual farm practices remained sure and steady.
“We were already somewhat socially distanced here,” Rodes says. “In addition to our farming responsibilities, we take care of our elderly parents. We were already limiting our trips into town and generally avoiding large groups of people. Also, many farmers already had stocks of masks and gloves, so we weren’t scrambling to find personal protection supplies.”
Their commitment to biosecurity, environmental stewardship and health remained stable throughout the pandemic.
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Safety First
The pandemic has caused many shoppers to question the safety of their food sources. But Virginia customers can rest easy knowing producers in their area are required to meet high standards of cleanliness and sanitation in order to maintain operations. Many farmers not only meet but far exceed these standards, producing the highest-quality poultry and eggs possible.