The Browders.
The idea of sustainable farming interested us. We liked the pastured livestock model that Farmer Joel Salatin was preaching at Polyface Farms in Virginia. Research led us to organizations like the Peconic Land Trust and their Farms for the Future Initiative. We became aware of enough farmers who were making a go of it by selling organic produce/livestock locally direct to customers. There seemed to be substantial demand and limited supply. That’s a formula we understand – perhaps this was worth a try after all!
With no agricultural experience, Chris first became an apprentice at Garden of Eve Organic Farm in Riverhead, NY. He’s been told that he wasn’t their oldest apprentice, but he hasn’t met anyone older in that position. While at Garden of Eve, he raised, processed and sold broiler chickens on pasture. Ted Lee, co-author of the Lee Brother’s Southern Cookbook, was our first customer while vacationing on the North Fork. We officially launched Browder’s Birds in 2010 with a lease from the Peconic
Land Trust for a 5 acre parcel of preserved farmland in Southold. Over the years we continued to grow and in addition to broilers, we raise laying hens, ducks, turkeys and a flock of sheep. In 2012, we purchased our 16-acre farm and home in Mattituck. Our farmstand is open every weekend. We process our own poultry on-farm in a licensed, mobile facility. Our poultry is Certified Organic by NOFA-NY. We sell nearly everything we raise on the East End.