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Michael G. Pastore
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Park Farms: Helping Chicks
and Kids to Grow with Agriculture
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Michael G. Pastore
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Park
Farms is a family owned and operated business with a tradition of producing high
quality products and customer service. The fully-integrated operation includes a
hatchery, grow-out farms, processing plant, distribution operation, and delivery
fleet. The concept is that the high quality control will allow Park to
consistently deliver the best product and value to their customers.
Agriculture Advancements:
Recent advancements include the retooling of the 
processing, sizing,
and
further processing operations. Park Farms has taken several measures to reduce
bacteria, improve overall production efficiencies, and provide consistently high
quality products and packaging. Their facility is one of only a few plants in
the United States to incorporate the most recent technologies in chicken
processing.
Community Benefits:
Park Farms participates annually in 4-H county fair programs in Stark and
neighboring counties. Chicks are donated to interested members, seminars are
held on how to care for the chicks and chickens, and members of Park Farms
attend county fairs auctions to buy back several pens of chickens. This is a
good chance for children to learn about agriculture, care for their chicken
project, and earn a few extra dollars for their hard work.
Additionally,
Park Farms has a school program tailored for each grade level to teach the
development of the chick within the egg and the growth cycle of young chickens.
Incubators with fertile eggs are left in the classrooms for young students to
see first-hand the hatching process. They also facilitate field trips for local
school children to visit the hatchery, a grow-out farm complex, and the
processing plant. These tours serve to help students make the connection of
where our food supply actually comes from.
Farming Philosophy:
Park Farms is a people oriented organization committed to producing quality food
products for our customers to fit the consumer’s ever-changing lifestyles. We
recognize the need for us to enjoy fulfilling this commitment and the need to
maintain profitability, growth and innovation.
Quote/Unquote: “Our people make all the difference. You can have the best technology, the best equipment and the procedures available, but the right people help the end product live up to our standard of excellence.”