Building New Poultry Houses: An Interview with a 5th Generation Farmer

Jeff Thomas is a 5th generation farmer and 3rd generation chicken farmer. He’s building two more poultry houses on top of the six he already has. Watch below to learn why!

Growing a Farm Business

Jeff’s plan to add more poultry houses to his farm is strategized. In 2017, he tore down four old poultry houses. He built four new houses in 2019. A few years later, he added two more. And now in 2023, he is building two more, bringing him to a total of eight houses. He supports his grown children and himself with both jobs and profit with his current houses, and plans to grow further by building two more houses. This will grow his business and keep putting money back into his family.

In Jeff’s experience, it works like this:

If you have two houses, profits from one of the houses can pay the mortgage for both of them. The other house can pay the utility bills and leave you some money to spare.

Now, imagine doubling this with four houses. You can still pay the mortgage and utilities, but you have even more money left over. The same theory applies when you have six and then eight houses.

Jeff notes that while you may not be getting rich, by using this method he’s made enough to have a good country life and support his family. He’s gained more margin as he’s grown, and feels confident in his ability to pass on both the farm and the land to his family one day. 

Jeff’s best advice on growing a poultry farm business? Someone needs to be on the farm at all times. As we’ve mentioned, the best thing you can put on your farm is your own shadow!

Contact Us

Have any questions or ideas for future Poultry Biosecurity videos? Contact Allen Reynolds at allen@southlandorganics.com or 800-608-3755.