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Switching gears: Curryville Farms joins growing number of farmers adding poultry to ag practices

By Walt Frank 6 min read

CURRYVILLE -- A North Woodbury Township family has joined the growing number of farmers adding poultry to their mix of sustainable agricultural practices.

Curryview Farms received 82,000 pullets -- young female chickens -- on Monday, during the first of what is expected to be routine deliveries to their farm.

The young birds will be housed in two new 24,452-square-foot barns, each holding 41,000 chickens.

The farm is owned by Keith and Melissa Brumbaugh, who signed a contract with Dutchland Farms of Elizabethtown to raise the chickens for 16 weeks. At that time, the birds will be shipped to a layer house.

"Dutchland Farms owns the chickens and we own the barns," Melissa Brumbaugh explained. The Brumbaughs added poultry as a way to keep the farm operational.

Changing with the times

Curryview Farms had been raising daily cattle since 1939 when Robert Brumbaugh -- Keith's great-grandfather -- purchased a nearby farm.

Keith and Melissa made the difficult decision in 2018 to stop milking.

"It wasn't sustainable to milk 150 cows any more," Melissa said. "It was not profitable to have a smaller milking herd."

Keith admits it was a tough decision.

"It had always been in our family to milk cows," he said.

The Brumbaughs started looking into raising chickens about three years ago, and after meeting with a number of companies, chose to sign on with Dutchland.

"We liked their people and their barn designs. The barns were built to the specifications of Dutchland," Melissa said. "We moved dirt for the barns in early April and construction began at the end of April."

Getting the project off the ground took some work. Not only did they have two long barns constructed, the plan included a 14-by-18-foot utility room and a 3,200-square-foot storage building.

The $2 million project was financed through Reliance Bank.

"As local agriculture continues to evolve, we see many farm families looking for ways to reinvent and diversify their operations," said Valerie Detwiler, senior vice president/senior commercial banker. "The pullet barns were a great option for the Brumbaughs to implement to help bring the next generation back to the farm."

Detwiler said that as a lender, she is always looking for ideas to help families achieve their goals.

"Partnering with companies like Dutchland Farms is a great way for some of them to do so," she said.

A growing industry

The poultry industry has been growing in the state and has now edged out dairy to become Pennsylvania's No. 1 ag sector by revenue, according to USDA's 2022 Census of Agriculture.

At $2.6 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively, birds and cows generate half of Pennsylvania's $10 billion in ag products, according to the most recent census data. Today, there are 7,100 poultry farms in Pennsylvania, with 28% of those in Lancaster County.

Melissa Brumbaugh, who has worked in the insurance industry, said she's not surprised poultry has grown.

"I think that our society is being more health conscious; eggs are an important source of protein," she said, adding that "chickens are small, you don't get hurt as much, you are not lifting heavy animals, there is less strain on the body raising chickens."

Training, certification required

Not just anyone can walk into the pullet barns, Melissa said.

At Curryview Farms, Melissa and the Brumbaughs' son, Thad, are the two charged with maintaining the chickens as they have both been trained and certified. Keith continues to work full time on the road crew for North Woodbury Township.

Melissa said their goal is simple: "One egg per day per chicken and to keep as many chickens alive as possible. The health of the flock is important."

During the 16 weeks the chickens are at Curryview, the birds receive multiple vaccinations, Melissa said, but she and Thad won't have to worry about that.

"Dutchland takes care of sending in a veterinary team and they perform the vaccinations," she explained.

While Curryview Farms is Dutchland's first in Blair County, it's likely not the last.

Dutchland Farms is a subsidiary of The Wenger Group, which in 2016 expanded its feed manufacturing footprint when it purchased the Martinsburg Feed Mill. That acquisition gave the firm new capacity and it began exploring the surrounding area, looking for growth opportunities in both the pullet growing and cage-free layer space, said Michel Hess, director of layer operations.

"Dutchland is actively meeting with family farms in the area surrounding the Martinsburg Feed Mill to explore opportunities for new pullet and cage-free layer facilities," he said. "Many of the farmers we speak with currently rely on off-farm employment to support their families."

Expanding in the Martinsburg area, using the mill and increasing their output and production makes sense, said Michelle Madara, Dutchland Farms spokeswoman.

Other projects in the works

The Brumbaughs' poultry operation will soon be joined by others in the area.

Blair County Planning Commission members recently reviewed plans by Dale Sollenberger to construct two chicken barns in North Woodbury Township. That project calls for development of two 60,000-square-foot barns with a 4,500-square-foot egg packing facility at Sollenberger's dairy farm.

The planning commission also has received information that Marlin Burkholder plans to construct two poultry barns on Piney Creek Road in Woodbury Township, while Montana Gates plans to construct a poultry layer barn on Potter Creek Road in Taylor Township.

This growth was expected by Christian Herr, executive vice president of PennAg Industries Association, an organization which represents Pennsylvania agri businesses. Herr last year said he expected the number of poultry farms in Pennsylvania to continue to grow into areas such as Blair and Bedford counties.

Diversity works

For the Brumbaughs, expanding into chickens is adding diversity to their farm.

In addition to running the pullet barns, they take care of 250 heifers from nearby Pleasant View Farms, whose milking parlor was destroyed in a February 2023 fire. They also raise 60 beef cattle, which they sell for freezer beef, and they rent their fields to Pleasant View Farms.

"I'm excited for what the future holds for the Brumbaughs in this next chapter, Detwiler said.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.

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