Celebrate September Chicken Month with this month’s Leaders of the Land® with Ed Rippley, a chicken farmer from Waumandee, Wisconsin.
Introduce yourself and tell us about your farm.
I’m Ed Rippley from Buffalo County. I farm in the hills and valleys of the driftless region of Wisconsin. I am a contract breeder for Pilgrim’s pride. I have been raising chickens for 18 years and we also have goats, oxen and cash crops on our farm.
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability means continuing to farm my family’s land for a third generation. Raising chickens allows our family to continue farming and maintain a versatile lifestyle.
Our family milked cows before moving the farm to raising chickens. We have found up-to-date ways to generate income and effectively manage the land and our resources. Chickens diversify our business and benefit our land by using chicken litter as fertilizer for our crops.
How to keep water pristine?
A stream flows through our farm and is frequently visited by local fishermen. It is crucial that we keep our water pristine so that we can be good members of our community and take care of our resources. I have completed projects to stabilize the streambed due to previous floods. In a drift-free area, we rely heavily on grassy waterways to filter the water that naturally flows downstream. We also grow no-till crops and cover crops on our slopes to hold the soil in place and prevent erosion.
How does technology assist make the farm more sustainable?
In our chicken coop, we employ technology to maintain heating zones. It manages the feed rate of the chickens and measures the amount of water they consume. The system can alert us when something bad is happening in the barn, so we can actively react in the event of damage to the water line or failure of the feed line. This technology helps us manage time more effectively.
Why is sustainability crucial on your farm?
Sustainability is crucial to me because I want our farm to be successful for generations to come. My grandchildren visit me on the farm and I want this to be a place for them one day.
