New Business Opportunity for Farmers Interested in Joining the Chicken Industry

Aug 27, 2021

Now in its tenth year, the New Entrant Chicken Farmer Program continues to help qualified new farmers enter the growing chicken business. Since the program’s inception, CFO has welcomed thirty-two family-run chicken farms into the industry. The CFO Board initially accepted two new entrants each year when the program was in its infancy. As the chicken industry continued to succeed, the Board recognized areas for growth and expanding market opportunities – as a result, four families were accepted into the program in 2020.

New farmers accepted into the program will benefit from the wide range of support services offered by CFO, including educational resources, on-farm training and other assistance to ensure that every new farmer can make a successful transition into the industry.

Source : CFO

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.