NRCS Tours State-of-the-Art Poultry Houses

by Randall East, Beth Chastain, and Joyce Nicholas

Beth Chastain, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) District Conservationist for Butler County and other NRCS and District employees took advantage of the opportunity when Mr. Charles Kilpatrick hosted an open house on his farm in the Forest Home community. "Impressive" was the general statement from those attending, especially as they made their way around the new state-of-the-art poultry houses that were open to the public.

Over 200 farmers and agricultural professionals were present at this meeting, held on August 2 at the newest poultry operations installed by Koch Foods in Butler County. The informative meeting was to show the latest in broiler production technology and discuss the opportunities that are available to local farmers and landowners in regard to poultry production facilities. While Koch Food is well known, it is a relatively newcomer to central Alabama poultry producers. The company is making strides to expand broiler, breeder, and pullet growers in central and southwest Alabama counties.

The open house featured facts and figures on the financial estimates and gave data covering the expected income from production. Numerous component suppliers for poultry were in attendance including incinerator manufacturers, feed and water suppliers, and heating suppliers. Representatives from financial lending institutions and insurance companies were available to discuss possible options with new producers.

The new broiler production facilities feature the newest in confined animal agriculture. The new broiler house buildings are 66’ wide and 600’ foot long. The capacity is 44,000 birds per house; growing a 7.5 pound bird and five batches of birds per year, with an average mortality range of three to five percent. These houses feature state-of-the-art cooling systems featuring improved airflow ventilation and cooling with evaporative cooling systems. Oversized evaporators, sized for these large buildings are essential to broiler production. Cooler supply pipes rotate for ease of maintenance and assure full wetting of the evaporative surface. Equally important is keeping the birds warm during our Alabama winters. Featuring radiant tube heaters, removal of cold spots is assured with the spacing and infrared floor monitoring provided by the installer. Power usage is monitored with a digital readout that is capable of transmitting all manner of data to the integrator and the farmer. This system allows the producer to minimize electrical inputs while providing a central panel for medication, ventilation and feeding.

Mr. Kilpatrick is one of 48 poultry producers in Butler County. Of those, 43 are broiler houses; the remainder are breeder and pullet producers. It is estimated that over 25 million birds are grown in Butler County per year. National Agricultural Statistics Survey (NASS) has Butler County ranked as number 24 in broiler production for the state of Alabama.

NRCS was happy to assist Mr. Kilpatrick in developing a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan and the Butler County Soil and Water Conservation District helped register the expanding operation with Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).

All in all, it was an impressive field day. A meal was provided—we had a delicious lunch of—you guessed it—chicken!

< Back to Success Stories