The hooped shelters for the laying hens and turkeys at Afton Field Farm. These structures are easily movable and travel around the Jones' property which stretches to the line of trees in the distance. Continual movement ensures fresh grass for the animals and even fertilizing for the grass.
The study in the Jones' cottage is packed to the rafters with books about every imaginable genre of farming, some more worn than others. When delivering lectures on sustainable farming at Oregon State University Tyler always urges students to start by reading. He explains how it was a book by farmer extraordinaire Joel Salatin that got him started.
Tyler supplements the grass and bug diet of his layers and turkeys with grain, a food that poultry naturally consumes. What don't appear at Afton are processed corn products that don't belong in this food chain.
Open broiler pens out on the pasture after the broilers were caught that morning for slaughter. During the growing process the pens are staggered across the pasture and are moved daily, this pattern gives the birds fresh grass everyday and leaves a thick trail of fertilizer behind.
Tyler gets ready for the last day of broiler slaughter outside of his custom poultry slaughter house. As one of the first farms to seek USDA slaughter certification the Jones' had to jump through many hoops. Slaughter facilities are not supposed to be open air but the eithic on this farm is the complete opposite. To get around this Bradd, Tyler's father and builder, came up with a clever solution; make every wall out of sliding glass doors.
Coffee, cream, and lemon icewater greet every set of hands on butcher day.
Last day of broiler slaughter on the farm. All butchering at Afton is done by hand via two rows of metal cones and anyone, customer or otherwise, is welcome to attend.
After plucking chickens pass through a window on their way to being gutted, trimmed, and bagged.
Alicia plucks the last pin-feathers after Tyler guts. No one is shy about getting their hands dirty here and every process is laid bare for anyone who cares to see.
Boots are what you wear; his and hers.
Tyler and Alicia share a lighthearted moment in the midst of the final day of slaughtering on the farm. After the turkeys are cleaned, bagged, and sold they will be able to take a much needed winter holiday.
Broiler chickens chill in an ice bath.
Bradd Jones, Tyler's father, spends time thoroughly washing every poultry slaughter cone after the very last day of broiler slaughter on the farm. Bradd can be found at the farm almost every single day and finds himself more than happy to be embedded in Tyler's endeavors. When Tyler was young Bradd was the one to encourage him in bee-keeping, livestock-raising, and all around thoughtfulness in farming.
Tyler always has the last word on what happens on the farm but never stops listening either. Here he and Kyle, a local friend, work out where to stake the poultry pens.
Bradd, Kyle, and Derek, a helper for the day, pitch in by moving the the chicken fencing back up to the garden. During the winter months the laying hens will be stationed on top of the vegetable patch in order to give everything a headstart in the spring. The fencing is purposfully lightweight and flexible and gives Tyler complete freedom in how he sets up his farm cycle.
Tyler, Alicia, and two coolers full of chicken take the elevator up to the fourth floor of The Nines hotel in Portland. The restaurant Urban Farmer is based there and gives Afton 100 chickens worth of business a week during the peak season. Urban Farmer cans all of it's own seasonal foods and turns Afton chickens into a variety of delicacies.
Afton Field chicken shows up on the table in a prim chicken salad at Urban Farmer Steakhouse.
Jason French, head chef and co-owner of Ned Ludd restaurant in southeast Portland, prepares a check for Tyler. Ned Ludd's prepares all of their dishes in a woodfire oven and Jason cooks from a strictly local and seasonal menu. Jason tweaks the menu daily if needed and works hard to source all the food he prepares. Because of this he purchases as much poultry and pork for the restaurant from Afton Field and during peak poultry season they deliver to him directly twice a week.
Jason uses every part of the chickens he gets from Afton and feels that his ethic towards eating makes it the only sort of chicken worth buying, preparing, and savoring.
Tyler, Alicia, and Tyler's parents relax in the cottage kitchen after a long morning outside. Lunch will be served soon.
Tyler and Alicia were married right before signing the papers for their new farm. Needless to say, life was stressful the first year on the farm but both say they wouldn't have had it any other way.
A large white erase board pinned to the outside of the cottage contains an enourmous and daunting list of tasks and projects. Tyler and Alicia aren't aiming to simply have a farm, they want for it to be a place brimming with all sorts of life and welcoming to anyone. Alicia sounds giddy when describing the bed and breakfast that the cottage will become and Tyler has seemingly boundless energy for all things farm related.
Alicia graduaded from Oregon State University with a degree in interior architecture and design and exactly zero farming experience. She spoke frequently about the stress involved when trying to fit yourself into an seasoned farming family and how she felt pushed aside. Here she stands inside their bedroom in the estates cottage which is the one room she feels has been transformed by her work. With another entire house to go Alicia feels both excited and overwhelmed when thinking about how to transform the property into their dream.
An upstairs bedroom inside the expansive farmhouse, all details original. Both the farmhouse and the cottage were built in the early 1800's and were remodeled intermitantly. Alicia sees the houses as wonderfully historical material to work with. Tyler knew the previous owners of the estate as family friends growing up and so when many years later he was in the market for a farm he knew exactly where to look. They currently have a unique mortgage that allows them to increase payments as the yield and returns of the farm go up.
Tyler, Kyle, and Derek discuss the finer points of grass seed theory after slaughtering the last of the Thanksgiving turkeys. Every butcher day turns out to be a warm social event in the end with both a homemade snack at ten and then a lunch for all involved at 1. Complete strangers will show up at 5 am to help with the slaughter and by 3 pm they're part of the family.
Before he grew chickens, Tyler tended bees. Brought up in the tradition by legend bee-keeper Oliver Petty of Albany, Tyler spent much of his youth harvesting and selling honey. Afton carries on this tradition and produces honey of it's own as part of the ecosystem at the farm.
In the coming year Tyler and Alicia hope to not only double their poultry and egg production but also move Afton Field even closer to the peak of sustainable farming practice. For now, it's been a good fall.
