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Where to find Yorkshire Valley Farms products

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Where to find Yorkshire Valley Farms products

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Yorkshire Valley Farms offer a pasture of 20 square feet per hen (limited quantities due to weather limitations, offered from late-spring to early fall)

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Yorkshire Valley Farms was founded in 2010 in what started as a 2-farm operation by Tony Ambler and Tom Ahrens and now has grown to a 35 multi-generational family-run organic operation with about 14,000 acres in Ontario. They are one of the leading producers in the Canadian organic chicken market.

Their organic eggs and poultry are produced by small family-run farms.
Some of the family run organic poultry farms are:
- The Simpson family (certified organic since 2007)
- The Joye Family (farming organically for over 10 years)
- The Ambler Family (one of the founding members; have been raising organic chicken over 10 years)
- The Pronk Family (farming organically for over 30 years)
- The Roes Family (certified organic since 2011)
- The Poechmen Family (certified organic since 1989)
- The Thompson Family (raising organic chicken since 2011)

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What is feed for the chickens & hens

Feed is certified organic and consists of corn for energy, roasted soybeans for protein, and fiber is a mixture of oats, barely, wheat, and rye all sourced from their farms. Crops do not use any herbicides or pesticides, they use their own compost and fertilizer for the production of their feed.

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Chickens have a designated area where they eat and drink together inside the barn, while the chickens are growing, the floor in the barn is re-bed to ensure that it is dry and correcting the height of the water lines to ensure less stress for the chickens. Floors in the barn must follow the organic standards: either being a sand floor, dirt floor, or a solid floor with bedding such as wood or straw shavings. This gives warmth and comfort for the chickens and promotes scratching, foraging, and dust-bathing behaviours. Chickens must have daily outdoor access by the time they are at least 25 days old if the weather permits.

Yorkshire Valley Farms chickens have access to natural sunlight and ventilation in the barn (artificial light is not used), chickens have outdoor access which allows them to roam as they please once they reach a certain size and age. Farmers plan around Ontario’s varied climate , they monitor the weather and temperature to ensure the chickens wellbeing and health to provide a good living environment.

Organic policies require the barns to have double the space compared to conventional poultry production. This allows the chickens to display natural behaviours like dust bathing, scratching, and spreading their wings.

The barns have no cages which allows them to roam freely, and the farm does rotational grazing to give the birds fresh grass. Nesting boxes are used in which the hens lay their eggs and at night they will roost on perches and doors are closed to keep out any unwanted predators.

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All Organic Farms have to follow policies by the Ontario Organic Standards and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Chickens have to be raised without antibiotics, hormone and steroid free.

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Slaughter and Packing facility

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Yorkshire Valley Farms: Ahrens Family Farm Visit

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Yorkshire Valley Farms: Ahrens Family Farm Visit

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Yorkshire Valley Farms: Ahrens Family Farm Visit

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Admin. (2018, July 30). Canada's premium brands takes
stake in Chicken Processor Yorkshire Valley Farms. Just Food. Retrieved January 20, 2023, from
https://www.just-food.com/news/canadas-premium-brands-takes-stake-in-chicken-processor-yorkshire-valley-farms/#:~:text=Yorkshire%20Valley%20Farms%20was%20founded,processing%20facility%20in%20Harriston%2C%20Ontario.

Farms. FoodBev Media. Retrieved January 20, 2023, from
https://www.foodbev.com/news/premium-brands-acquires-majority-stake-in-yorkshire-valley-farms/

Muller, R., & By. (2017, August 4). Yorkshire Valley Farms:
Organically grown food at its best: City Life Vaughan Lifestyle Magazine. City Life Vaughan Lifestyle Magazine |.
Retrieved January 20, 2023, from
https://mycitylife.ca/people/health/ontario-organic-farming-yorkshire-valley-farms/

Organic
Poultry Production in Ontario. ontario.ca. (2022, October 27). Retrieved
January 20, 2023, from https://www.ontario.ca/page/organic-poultry-production-ontario

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One of the founding farmers of the Yorkshire Valley Farms. The Ahrens farm was founded in 1990 in the Peterborough area with 6 generations of farmers.

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Why consumers should choose Yorkshire Valley Farms?

Non-GMO Grain feed, raised without antibiotics, pesticide and herbicide free, and no animal-by products.

Yorkshire Valley Farms grow their own crops which allows the farmers to have quality control and to be transparent with their customers as this increases confidence as customers are able to see the conditions and environment the chickens and raised in.

Customers can order products such as eggs, meat & poultry, prepared foods like chicken pot pie and pantry items like chicken bone broths from their online store and deliveries are made via Fed Ex with dry ice to keep food safe.

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Yorkshire Valley Farms Production
1. Begins by planting non-GMO seeds
2. Organically grown crops, with the promotion of cover crops, crop rotation, and use of fertilizers and compost
3. Birds are fed are mixture of vegetable-grains (free from any animal by-products)
4. Day old chicks are brought to the farm
5. Chicks live in free-range barns
6. Seasonal outdoor access
7. Chickens are transported to the 40,000 square foot processing facility located in Harriston, Ontario which is federally inspected where they prioritize the chickens well-being by minimizing injury, stress, and suffering by ensuring that the chickens have a safe and well kept environment
8. Chickens are processed in an air-chilled environment using Controlled Atmosphere Stunning (CAS) which is one of the most humane slaughter methods
9. Poultry is packaged using environmentally sourced recyclable material
10. To the Consumer: customers are able to find products at their local grocery store looking for the Yorkshire Valley logo or purchase online at https://shopyorkshirevalley.com/

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Yorkshire Valley Farms annual sales are approximately $65 million CAD (~44.7 million €) (White, 2018)

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Yorkshire Valley Farms hopes by 2025 to have over 30,000 acres of land that is organic certified.

Giving back to the community: The Eco-Scholar Award gives away $10,000 CAD to all residents of Canada who are full-time students 16 years or older that have a passion for agriculture. To apply you need to create a video or an essay that answers the question of "what role do you hope to play in the organic regenerative movement". First place receives $5000 CAD, 2 awards are given for second place valued at $2000 CAD, and third place receives $1000 CAD.

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Yorkshire Valley Farms Guiding Principles 

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Yorkshire Valley Farms Guiding Principles 

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"An Organic Regenerative Revolution in the Making"
Their guiding principles are: Fair, Accessible, Respectful, Mindful, and Sincere.

They are members of the Canadian Organic Trade Association, Organic Council of Ontario, and Regeneration Canada.