Chicken At It's Best!
Meet Our Local Farmer in Fort Plain, NY
Small Farms Providing
Quality Products
We Promise to Deliver Quality Meat at an Affordable Price
Know Your Farmer. Know your food.
Each and every chicken is cared for by family members. And during warmer seasons they are raised outside on rich NYS pasture and sunshine. When it is too cold to be outside, they will spend their happy days in a warm, spacious barn located on the Family Farm.
On the day of Processing, Each Flock of birds is humanely handle and crated by their farmer before the sun comes up, then loaded and shipped to Morning Star poultry LLC on the scheduled day. Close record is maintained on each flock, and Morning Star Poultry has a record of every flock's contract (see Contract) Each bird is inspected by USDA for sickness and other food safety concerns. Approved birds are then dressed and put in the air chiller for 4 hrs, cooling properly in blasts of cold air. After they are chilled to 38F, which gets checked and documented and recorded with each and every flock, they will then be pieced/ground ect. and packaged and labeled with USDA approved labeling. Next the meat goes into the freezer, awaiting shipment.
The Farmer Has Next to ZERO Loss
One of the Great things about having local community connections as farmer/processor is that our birds spend only an average of 30 minutes travel time! By that we're Eliminating a huge amount of DOA's due to travel stress (DOA stands for Dead on Arrival) that other processing companies through-out America cannot do. The farmer has next to ZERO loss and the bird is not stressed out. It is a win-win for everybody.
Farms May Be Available By Request For A Visit. Contact Morning Star Poultry To Find Out More.
And Know that with every valued purchase you make you are "Supporting" these Family Farms. And in turn you have finally ended the search for YOUR FARMER!
Meet Your Great Team Of NYS Certified Family Farmers With Their Exciting Careers!
The Majority of this information has been supplied by each individual family, then compiled by Morning Star Poultry LLC, as they work closely and observe each Family Farm.
Paris Hollow Farm
Amos King and his wife wife Emma plus 3 children like to farm in any way they can. They like to keep the farm at a level where the entire family can help and enjoy their share. They moved from Lancaster County PA to New York in pursuit of a farm to call their own, where the can grow their own food and start a farming career. They are excellent chicken farmers and also milk a herd of grass fed dairy cows. Amos is a strong believer in giving animals the richest life- Out on grass in fresh country air! The Children love when baby chicks arrive and are eager to help with caring for them.
Chicory Acres Farm
Roy and Naomi Fisher have 12 children and 25 grand children! They are active in family life and great with farming. Roy is a professional poultry grower and pays attention to detail. Although a lot of Roy's time is spent at Morning Star Poultry LLC where he manages the packaging, he cannot quite let go of farming, and raising chickens during his time at home with his family is a great fit for him.
Shem Peachy Farm
Shem & Rhoda Peachey with 5 children live on a nice farm in the beautiful mountainous area of Cherry Valley NY. Shem Is active in raising top chickens. He is a detailed and experienced farmer and knows his work.
John King Farm
John & Susan king with three Children are happy to be raising pastured chickens at home with their family. John says that the biggest benefit of raising birds outside on pasture is they have fresh air and lots of room., a very good point. John and his family own a 26 acre farm where they also graze some beef cows and grow produce in a productive green house during summer.
Walnut Hill Farm
Jonathan and Lydia Smucker along with five children are creative farmers, exploring different areas of agriculture. While raising Chickens is a big priory on their diversified farm, they also milk A2A2 Jersey cows and provide fresh milk products to a happy customer base. Laying Hens also play an important role on their farm. Their farm is located on the outside edge of historic Sharon Springs and consists of 180 acres.
Petersheim Poultry Farm
Ivan and Esther moved from Lancaster PA to NY in 2010. They welcome their second child recently. One thing Ivan mentions that he likes about NY is that the summers don't get so warm and humid as in PA. Ivan And his family operate a 58 acre farm amid the woods and wildlife. They are highly qualified as poultry producers and rank among the top farmers. Ivan is enthusiastic about a community operation with the connection of farmers/processors and consumers. It creates more jobs locally and is beneficial to the public to know where their food comes from.
Wilcox Family Farm
Rob & Megan Wilcox and their two daughters are full-blooded farmers. They own & operate a large farm in West Edmeston NY Rob will go the second mile to make sure his birds are properly cared for. He also has a large cow/calf beef operation, producing high quality beef. Rob has farmed all his life, he is a hard, honest worker and knows all the pros and cons of farming.
Oak Grove Farm
David Peachey & Linda Peachey and their two children are farm enthusiasts. Along with raising top of the line pastured meat birds they also have sheep and also ponies as pets for the children. If you stop in on their farm on a nice summer day you're sure to see their entire family outside enjoying the animal activity. David is also a farrier and shoes trotting horses.
Hidden Spring Acres
David and Fannie Beiler moved to NYS in 2008 and bought a large 170 acre farm. David and his wife and energetic children grow chickens and they love it! They are the adventurous farming type of family. In addition to raising Meat Birds they also raise and sell beef, pigs, and eggs. They allow customers to visit their farm to make purchases. David is a go-getter and has helped Morning Star Tremendously.
Andrew Byler Farm
Andrew and Katie with their children are dedicated farmers and raise high quality birds. Andrew pays attention to detail and is an important part of the production chain.
Daniel Stoltzfus Farm
Daniel and Katie Stoltzfus have a 90 acre farm shared with 9 children under the age of 19. Two of their older boys have started their own families & homes and Daniel is a proud grandpa to two little grandsons. Daniel is a very aggressive poultry grower. He knows the needs of his birds and that results in a quality tasting chicken dinner! Daniel is an innovator and comes up with great ideas! A much needed individual.
Melvin Miller Farm
Melvin and Mary Miller with 5 children, 4 going to school and one preschooler, are active farmers during their time spent at home. Melvin is a pro at raising chickens and has been a strong encourage to fellow farmers. He and his family also grow multiple different kinds of unique hanging flower baskets in their greenhouse during summer seasons. These are sold on his Farm.
Windy Top Farm
John and Hannah and their large family live on a 190 acre farm, and as the name indicates, on top of a Windy hill in the town of Canajoharie. they have gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains. John and his wife are grandparents to a set of cute twin girls. Besides growing a lot of meat birds, they also plant & grow butternut squash and pumpkins each summer/fall. John and his oldest son, Noah are much needed in the poultry farming world. Noah works part time in a fabrication shop where he welds and fabricates movable poultry housing frames, used to grow chickens outside on grass. Each movable house will provide adequate space for 200 chickens. Noah and his dad, John, are qualified poultry growers, and John especially pays attention to small details of the birds. Noah sees a career in growing poultry and is stepping towards it.
Windy Hill Acres
Melvin and Rebecca Glick with 8 children are active community members. With their children working at multiple different enterprises and a farming focus they have done a lot. Melvin is a farmer at heart and does very well growing chickens. They own a 100 acre farm with rolling hills of rich grassland, making quality hay each summer. Melvin says they are excited to be part of a local network to grow and process quality chicken.