Conferences
Empowering Underserved Urban Farmers: Integrating Poultry Production
Eric Meusch
Summary
In urban areas with limited access to fresh food, small-scale farmers face unique production, marketing, financial, legal, and human resource risks. Many are first-generation producers from socially disadvantaged groups, historically underserved by USDA programs, and work on minimal acreage with limited technical guidance.
This USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement funded program, Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program, led by MU Extension and local NGOs, offered specialized hands-on workshops to integrate poultry production into urban farming operations. Participants learned practical techniques in flock health and husbandry, humane on-farm processing experience—including scalding, plucking, evisceration, and further cut-up—and gained insights into navigating regulatory frameworks. The workshops also addressed marketing strategies, permitting requirements, and community engagement, ultimately fostering greater sustainability and resilience.
Participant survey data indicated significant improvements in poultry processing knowledge and skills, which translated into meaningful practice changes and creating new production and marketing opportunities. Farmers reported greater confidence in processing poultry for personal use and expressed interest in direct-to-consumer sales. These outcomes reflect an enhanced capacity to diversify urban farming enterprises, mitigate production risks, and strengthen local food systems.
By empowering underserved urban producers with targeted, scale-appropriate education, this initiative demonstrated a viable model for improving multiple dimensions of agribusiness risk management. Conference attendees will learn how this integrative approach can help small-scale producers overcome barriers, expand product offerings, and bolster the financial, production, marketing, legal, and human aspects of their operations—ultimately supporting more resilient and sustainable urban farming.
Details
| Conference | 2025 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference |
| Presentation Type | Poster |