This Saturday, June 27 join fellow farmers, homesteaders and keepers to buy, sell, and trade feathered farm workers. The Chicken Swaps at the Mill Spring Agricultural Center are in their third year of operation and they are always a very unique and interesting way to purchase birds.

Buying your chicks locally has many benefits – getting to know the breeder and the unique attributes of the varieties they sell, securing animals that are acclimated to the environment and temperature range in our region, and building up the local economy of chicken breeders insures Polk’s resiliency.

The swap this Saturday unfortunately also represents our last swap until at least January 2016 due to NC Department of Agriculture suspension of any chicken swaps, public live bird sales, or poultry shows due to the threat of highly pathogenic avian influenza. No cases have been reported in any East Coast state and this strain has not been found to affect human health and does not affect food safety. It is expected that the flu strain will wain during the summer months but could come back in the fall.

If you have any further questions about the chicken swap please feel free to contact the Ag Center for more information at 828-436-0029.

– Submitted by Patrick McLendon