Local Jericho Business Lays off 1,500

JERICHO, VT – Jericho Settler Farm lays off 1500 and they all left town!

Interview with Christa of Jericho Settlers Farm. 

The population in Jericho took a nosedive this past November. For a number of years, once per year, Jericho Settlers Farm purchased chicken pullets - 14 to 16-week old hens from a farm in Pennsylvania. The chickens arrived at the farm via truck. 

This reminds me of C.W. McCall's song titled Wolf Creek Pass. Listen to it here. He sings/talks about a truck carrying eighty-five crates of USDA-approved cluckers through Wolf Creek Pass up on the Great Divide. Chickens were stacked to thirteen-nine, while the tunnel sign said clearance to a twelve-foot line. You perhaps can guess how it all goes from there. Guess that is why chickens coming to VT are shipped from this side of the Great Divide. 

Just the same, I bet those chickens from Pennsylvania were overjoyed to arrive safely here in Vermont, and in particular to eat the pasture food under loving care at Jericho Settlers Farm. 

JSF always ran two age groups in their flock in order that one group would replace the older group as their egg production slowed down at about two years old. JSF never had any morning wakers (roosters) in the flock.

Daily egg production fluctuated seasonally and in relation to the age of the flock. Egg production generally ran about 1100 eggs per day ( 92 dozen) for a 1500 hen flock. 

Bacon8egg - Jobs Scrambled!
In November of 2019, Jericho Settler Farm's 1500 Solar Chickens flew the Coop. The hens were [laid off] sold to Maple Wind Farm to allow JSF to focus more on vegetable production.  

Christa concluded, As we refocus our farm into more vegetable production, Maple Wind Farm is doing the opposite, discontinuing their vegetable production and upping their livestock production. They have always raised their livestock in grass-based systems, on pasture, as we have done, so it is a great partnership for us to be able to offer their meat products in our CSA and farmstand as we discontinue our meat and egg production. In the future, we will use the hoop house that housed the chickens for vegetable production. 

While we may miss the chickens from time to time, right now we are not missing having to do winter livestock chores!

Time to hibernate, before the sun returns to grow vegetables again!

Check out Jericho Settlers Farm CSA and other vegetable offerings at their farm stand at 22 Barber Farm Road, and see their offerings on their website at http://www.jerichosettlersfarm.com/

Read about Maple Wind Farm @ https://maplewindfarm.com/about-our-farm

Read about how some of your local farmers are affected by and are dealing with climate change at https://jerichovermont.blogspot.com/2019/11/climate-change-and-local-farms-jericho.html

Read about Jericho Settlers Farm new business - Photovoltaic chicken and Electro Syrup at https://jerichovermont.blogspot.com/2019/04/jericho-adds-jolt-to-maple-syrup.html

Jericho Vermont

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