Farming is an act of faith.
“My name is Shannon, and this is my Southland story.” He farms in Comer, Georgia, with his wife and two sons: about 42 acres, cattle, and five poultry houses. Both of his grandfathers farmed. Grandfather Hayes had an Allis-Chalmers tractor dealership — that’s where Shanon learned to run a tractor and a plow.
After he and his wife married, they looked at farms and the timing wasn’t right. He felt called to ministry and pastored instead. Years later, driving the country road he still lives on, he saw a sign on this place.
“I pulled in thinking that there’s no way this could all work out. Just a few months later, I was a poultry farm.”
The step was not small:
I invested my family farm that my grandfather gave me. I put that whole farm up for collateral for this. I risked all of my inheritance. A farm my grandfather gave me to be able to purchase this, and so I put it all up for it. So it was a huge step of faith.
“Farming is almost an act of faith,” he says. “You’re just taking a chance on producing a good chicken. We put those chickens out in that chicken house that they’re going to grow and they’re going to live and come out a good way, and everything’s going to work out good.”
Has his faith been tested as a farmer? “Sure it has.”
Dead birds can kill a farm.
December 2014. About the fifth week of a flock, almost-full-grown birds started dying by the hundreds. Nobody had diagnosed it yet. They finished that flock, evaluated, and grew another. That one rocked along fine — until week five, when the same thing happened.
They finally determined it was dermatitis in the house. People said try one more flock. He was a young poultry farmer who had never seen anything like it. He said okay. The same thing happened again.
There’s no way. I can’t raise one more flock in this house. We cannot financially make it. I can’t mentally make it. Something’s got to give here. I was at panic mode.
The three dermatitis flocks ran about 8%, 7%, and 10% mortality — all losing big birds. He had Allen Reynolds from Southland Organics on the phone about treating the floor. They cleaned out down to the dirt and treated heavily with Litter Life.
The next flock, around day 35, he found a few birds that looked like they might have something. The next morning, everything was clear. Mortality on that flock was right at 2%. “I went from almost 10 percent to 2 percent mortality rate after treating the floors and cleaning out the house.”
People had told him dermatitis is in the litter and in the dirt — that you can never really get it out of a house once it’s had it. After Litter Life, 15 months with no recurrence.
“I believe the Litter Life product helped. Southland has been exceptional. Getting the product to me when I need the product… I need it, I got it, and it’s taken care of my birds and the farm.”
The man he bought the farm from had told him there would be days he’d ask why he ever looked at a chicken farm, and other days he’d go out there and wouldn’t do anything different. “And it has come true.”
Maybe you know this story because you’ve lived it — or you’re in the middle of it. If you need help, connect with Allen Reynolds at 800-608-3755 or allen@southlandorganics.com.
Check out our Grower Spotlight on mom, wife, wedding venue owner, and poultry grower, Tiffany Hodges on another Grower Spotlight.
Full video transcript
My name is Shannon, and this is my Southland story. I've been a poultry farmer for three years. We're located in Comer, Georgia. I live here with my wife and two sons, and we have about 42 acres. I run cattle and have five poultry houses. Yes, it always was a desire to own a farm, to be a farmer. So this was kind of fulfilling a dream that I had as a child. Well, both my grandfathers had farms. My grandfather, Hayes, he had an Alice Chamler tractor dealership, and we always hung around with the tractors. That's where I learned how to run a tractor in a plow. I loved going and working on the farm with them and just always wanted to do that. And it just never worked out. My wife and I, after we got married 27 years ago, we looked at a few farms thinking that might be the direction we wanted to go. And this timing wasn't right, and thought, well, you know, we had some cows. We had a little bit of a farm, and I felt the call to the ministry to be a pastor. So I guess the reason we didn't buy one of those didn't work out for one of those farms is because Lord had other plans at that time in mind. I knew that my time was up at the last church I was pastoring, and was driving down actually this country road that we're on right now. And drove by our farm and saw a sign and said, wow, you know, what about this? So I pulled in thinking that there's no way this could all work out. Just a few months later, I was a poultry farm. It was wonderful to be able to drive on to this piece of property and drive to the back and see the 30-acre pasture back there and say, you know, that's ours. ♪ I invested my family farm that my grandfather gave me. I put that whole farm up for collateral for this. I risked all of my inheritance. A farm my grandfather gave me to be able to purchase this, and so I put it all up for it. So it was a huge step of faith. Farming is almost an act of faith. You're just taking a chance on producing a good chicken as far as poultry farm. We put those chickens out in that chicken house that they're going to grow and they're going to live and come out a good way, and everything's going to work out good. Has my faith been tested as a farmer? Sure it has. Well, back in December 2014, I didn't know what was going on, but in about the fifth week of raising a flock out, the birds just started dying. I didn't know what it was, but it was just a large amount of birds, almost full grown birds by the hundreds, and didn't have a clue. Nobody had diagnosed what the problem was at the time, so I went through that flock, got away from that flock, we evaluated, we said, "Well, let's grow another flock." So we grew another flock, and everything rocked on just fine. Then all of a sudden, you hit that five week and had the exact same issues. So at that time, got some people involved, finally determined that we had dermatitis in the house. They said, "Well, let's try it. Let's raise one more flock. Maybe it won't have a problem. Me being young, a young poultry farmer, not having a clue, never seen anything like this." I said, "Okay, we'll try it." Well, the same thing happened again. And I said, "I can't make it if this happens again." In desperation, I said, "I've got to do something." So got my integrator out here, got the supervisor, the managers out here, and we were looking. And I finally decided, "Well, we need to clean out, treat the floors." One person standing there said, "No, let's raise one more flock." And I said, "There's no way. I can't raise one more flock in this house. We cannot financially make it. I can't mentally make it. Something's got to give here." I was at panic mode. I had come into panic mode. I had to do something. At that time, I had been in touch with Allen Reynolds with Southland, and he was telling me of a product to treat the floor. So we cleaned out down to the dirt, and then we put litter life and treated the floors pretty heavily. The next flock, almost 35 days, I found a few birds that looked like they might have something, but then the next morning I got up, everything was clear. And at that flock, my mortality rate, at the end of the flock was right at 2 percent mortality rate. The three flocks that I had dermatitis, one flock was at 8 percent, one flock was around 7 percent. One flock, I know, was at 10 percent. And these were all losing birds, big birds. After treating the floor with litter life, we went to 2 percent. So I went from almost 10 percent to 2 percent mortality rate after treating the floors and cleaning out the house. People have told me dermatitis is not only in the litter, but it's in the dirt. It affects the whole thing, and they said you can never really get that out of a house once it's had it. After using the litter life, 15 months, I have not had any reoccurrence of dermatitis. I believe the litter life product helped. The Southland has been exceptional. Getting the product to me when I need the product and whatever the product is, whether it's a big old bird or whether it's a litter life. I need it, I got it, and it's taken care of. And it's taken care of my birds in the farm. The guy I bought the farm off of told me, he said, "There'll be days that you'll go, why did I ever look at a chicken farm?" But then there'll be other days that you'll go out there and you'll go, "Wow, that wouldn't do anything different." And it has come true.
