DECATUR, Ark., June 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Cooks Venture, one of the leading pasture-raised poultry and heritage breeding companies in the country, announces the planting of a large silvopasture, over 20,000 trees, of hazelnut and fruit trees throughout their network of poultry farms. Through this initiative, the company is advancing their commitment to regenerative agriculture and working to create a better food system for the future.
 
Within the practice of agroforestry — mixing trees with agricultural production — silvopasture integrates trees, pasture, and forage into a single system. Incorporating trees particularly improves land health and significantly increases carbon sequestration.
Cooks Venture worked with the visionary Mark Shepard from Restoration Agriculture Development (RAD). He and his RAD team worked with Cooks Venture to plant 20,000 young hazelnut trees across their network of chicken farms. "Hazelnut is one of the few plants that can tolerate the quantity and quality of nutrients that is in poultry excrement, and the poultry love hanging out in the shrubs, eating the hazelnuts and all the insects associated with these bushes," states Mark Shepard. The Cooks Venture project was the largest tree planting on a poultry operation by their organization. "We’re proud to work with Cooks Venture and anticipate transforming many more chicken farms in the near future."
"We are on a mission to improve the food system across every dimension — for farmers, animals, people and the planet through regenerative agriculture. This initial silvopasture planting is just the start. We’ll continue to plant trees on an annual basis on both our farm and our network of poultry farmers, as it’s a key piece of our regenerative program," states Cooks Venture CEO and Founder Matthew Wadiak.
Research suggests that pastures strewn with trees sequester five-to-ten times as much carbon as those of the same size that are treeless, storing the carbon in both biomass and soil. These new plantings will sequester over 960,000 pounds of carbon in the coming year. Carbon aside, the advantages of silvopasture are considerable, including aerial predator protection, sun and heat protection, biodiversity and pollinator habitats, and forage from fruit and nuts, as well as increased insect activity.
Cooks Venture breeds and raises a proprietary slow-growth, heirloom chicken, taking into account the health of the animal and the health of the environment. "As with everything we do, it all comes back to the breed. Our chickens are bred to thrive outdoors, spending their lives on pasture eating insects and native foliage and soon, hazelnuts," states Wadiak.
At the end of 2020, Cooks Venture also planted nine small orchards including pear, stone fruits, and the rare, heirloom Arkansas black apple alongside hazelnuts and chestnuts on their 800-acre farm in Northwest Arkansas.
Learn more about Cooks Venture at www.cooksventure.com
ABOUT COOKS VENTURE
Cooks Venture is a vertically-integrated food, heritage breeding and agriculture company committed to regenerative agriculture and a truly transparent supply chain for the future. Founded by Matthew Wadiak, the company is built on the well-documented scientific principle that sequestering 1% more carbon into the soil on agricultural lands could mitigate climate change. Cooks Venture aims to improve the overall agricultural supply chain, while promoting regenerative agriculture at all levels, providing consumers with responsible food choices that are exceptional in quality and taste while also being completely transparent in process.
Cooks Venture is a Global Animal Partnership Step 4 certified company, which is an animal welfare certification recognized by the ASPCA® Shop With Your Heart program, Certified Humane and verified Non-GMO. Learn more at www.cooksventure.com and follow the company on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook .
Media Contact: Elizabeth Matthews press@cooksventure.com
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SOURCE Cooks Venture