Processing

Our chicken processing has evolved over the years. When we started doing pastured poultry for sale in 2015 we rented a mobile processing trailer with all the equipment needed. We continued to rent that trailer for a few more years as we figured out what we wanted. The long drive to pick up the trailer made it a hassle (not to mention the extra expense) so we knew we needed to figure out something more long term. 

In 2018 Luke found a good deal on big commercial stainless steel sinks and countertops at an auction at old Fort Dodge. They were upgrading their cafeteria and we were able to pick up the pieces at a decent price. So we were halfway there. That year we made do with our outdoor stainless work space but it still wasn’t ideal. The next year, 2019, Luke became fascinated with military kitchen trailers and spent a good deal of time researching them and thought they would be perfect for chicken processing. He started stalking online military surplus auctions and finally found what he’d been looking for within driving range- a MKT99 Kitchen Trailer. It still had most of the equipment inside and was in great shape. 

Fast forward to now, and we have fixed up this military kitchen trailer with our stainless steel sinks and counters, outfitted the old military diesel hot water heater for scalding, and added our own plucker to the mix. We are able to use the attached kitchen cabinets and counters for our bagging station and storing supplies. It is a great setup and we like it even better than the trailer we used to rent. 

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