Raising chickens is an increasingly high-tech business, with chicken-houses monitored and controlled by a variety of networked devices. Green Country Farms, located in Westville, Oklahoma, is now able to take full advantage of that technology thanks to internet connectivity provided by OzarksGo, said Jim Pigeon, the company’s general manager.
The company has 154 chicken houses across 16 farms. Ten of those farms now have connections through OzarksGo, Pigeon said, and he’s looking forward to connecting all of them as OzarksGo construction progresses.
Green Country’s maintenance staff set up and maintains electronic control units that can monitor and control temperature, water, feed and more at each of the chicken houses.
Before OzarksGo brought fiber-optic connectivity to the area, the company used a combination of cellular services and dial-up modems to access the control units remotely, Pigeon said. That meant limited functionality due to slow speeds, and access was only available at the office, Pigeon said.
Now farm supervisors can call up detailed data for each house with a few clicks, and even access the system from a smartphone or at home.
“It’s very handy to be able to do that,” he said. “If someone’s having a little bit of a problem at night when we’re at home, we can pull it up and see what’s happening.”
Easy access to the data also makes it easier to maintain animal welfare and spot potential problems early, Pigeon said. For example, if water consumption in a house suddenly drops, it may mean the chickens in the house aren’t feeling well. A heater running more than usual may indicate a cold spot in a house.
“It really means that we’re able to better monitor and manage our investment,” Pigeon said. “We can make sure conditions are such that it’s a good, healthy environment for the chickens.”