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Video: Sustainability: Costco Local Grower

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Sustainability: Costco Local Grower

Length: 3:09 Added: Dec-5 Views: 71

Video featuring products available on Costco.com.

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Video featuring products available on Costco.com.

[MUSIC PLAYING] When my ancestors came to Nebraska, they could farm and make a living and raise a family on just a few acres of land and just a few head of livestock. As commodity prices started to decrease, and as input prices started to increase, they had to decide on what areas to focus on-- so buying more land or raising more livestock. So back when I was in high school, commodity prices-- specifically corn-- hit $7. And you could raise more corn and not have to raise as much livestock. Now, that cycle is going downwards. And we're cycling back to more diversification. My farm has always been diversified. But now we're having to diversify even more, because commodity prices are staying low. And same way with cattle prices. So by adding a more consistent input cost in chickens, that's a way that we will be able to survive, and also add the next generation back home. So, in December 2016, my parents thought about this opportunity to raise chickens. We don't raise chickens in Nebraska like other states, in the Eastern states. So they explored more. July 2017, they told me, hey, we're going to do this. We're going to expand and diversify the farm. What do you think? January of 2018, I decided I wanted to come back to the farm. I have been a student at the University of Nebraska Lincoln for the last four years, studying agricultural communications, with a minor in entrepreneurship. And I decided I want to come back to the family farm that I was raised on. So on April 31, 60,000 birds showed up to our farm. And our lives have been changed forever. It's been a learning experience. And often, people say, so what's the learning curve been like? Well, it's not been a learning curve. It's been a learning line, straight up, sometimes backwards. But our days have changed, and our routine has changed. At 7:00 AM, lights come on. And I make sure that all the equipment is working and all the lights are on, and everything's going good. And then I make sure everything's feed. And then I come back through the warrants and adjust water lines and feed lines, and making sure that it's the right height for the bird at that age. About 60,000 birds will produce over 5 million broilers. So biosecurity and herd health is utmost importance to us. And that's on my mind every single day. We walk the barns in the afternoon again to look at the bird house, making sure everyone's happy, making sure the air quality is great, and getting ready for the chores the next day. We work very closely with Lincoln Premium Poultry and their service techs to make sure that we're learning things correctly and that everything's going well. These birds are really healthy. And we want them to be healthy. Because when they leave our farm, they'll go to another farm. They'll lay eggs. And those eggs will become broilers that go to another farm. And those broilers will end up in the shelves of Costco.