How Kat Chang is Putting Massachusetts Poultry on the Map
Across the Northeast, women and nonbinary farmers are leading the way in adopting practices that build resilience, starting with the soil. AFT staff worked with local writer Jacquelyn Voghel to capture the stories of women and non-binary farmers in Massachusetts that highlight their relationships with soil health, stewardship, and conservation. In the face of mounting challenges, their stories show why investing in equitable, soil-centered conservation programs is essential to the future of farming. Women and nonbinary farmers lead with care, creativity, and resilience, protecting both the land and the communities that depend on it.
Learn more about the project: Stories of Women and Nonbinary Farmers Leading the Way in Conservation in New England
The profiles were made possible through funding from the Massachusetts Humanities Council, NRCS Massachusetts, and an anonymous donor.
As the co-owner of one of just two state-inspected poultry processing farms in Massachusetts, Kat Chang has taken a leading role in transforming how the Bay State as a whole cares for and consumes chicken.
This influence holds particularly true in western Massachusetts, where Kat, who co-owns Reed Farm in Sunderland with her husband Peter Reed Laznicka, encounters “not only ... people who have been raising chickens for years and are excited to have a local processor, but (also), people coming who are saying they're starting (new poultry farms) now because there's a local option.”
Whether she’s advising people who raise just a few chickens to support their household or those who raise several thousand in a year, Kat serves as a reliable source of professional wisdom: Reed Farm is licensed to process up to 20,000 chickens annually as a state-recognized poultry farm.
Despite this track record and a strong base of local customers, Kat has noticed that even people who know she works on a farm are often taken aback by her day-to-day responsibilities.
“I think people are often surprised when they realize that I also work in the plant,” Kat said. “I'm not just doing the paperwork and taking the checks. I’m also wearing an apron, and I sometimes get covered in guts, and I'm putting my hands in a chicken.” And the reason for this surprise, she notes, “is because I'm a woman.”
Even within the farming community, the lower incidence of women farmers — and even more so, women farmers of color — has always stood out to Kat.
“When I was starting out, it was very clear that the person leading a workshop or giving a presentation was probably a white, older gentleman,” Kat said. “And that's ..., maybe not obvious to all other farmers — because that's the norm.”
But through her farmwork, Kat consistently works to challenge norms, whether they’re based on identity, chicken farming standards, or the state’s poultry processing profile.
Sowing Knowledge
Kat did not come from a family of farmers, but always had a deep appreciation for animals. She started her farming journey as a homesteader in Massachusetts, growing her backyard flock to include both layers and meat chickens.
When Kat met Peter, he ran a mobile processing unit and raised a large flock on his mother's farm in Amherst. After a few years of running the mobile unit, Peter realized that the paperwork and certification involved were not sustainable, though their community had a high need for this resource.
So, when they started their own farm, both were committed to creating an education-oriented farm and processing facility that would give back to the community in multiple ways.
This education involves not just advising people on how to raise and process chickens, but teaching them about where their chicken comes from, how the animals are raised, and the role that local processors play in ethical food production and consumption.
“It’s incredible how little people know about what is happening to their food, and it’s just accepted because that’s how it is,” Kat said. “If they did, maybe they would think more about what they’re buying.”
While Kat would like to see an increase in awareness, she also talks to customers who appreciate Reed Farm’s transparency. One customer, for example, asked whether Reed Farm used bleach during processing. When Kat explained they didn’t, the customer replied, “I will continue to buy your chicken.”
Putting Massachusetts Poultry on the Map
The well-being of Reed Farm’s chickens plays a central role in its mission and success.
“Having that connection to your food and the earth, I feel like it's really circular and it's really powerful,” Kat said.
Fostering that connection means upholding standards like giving chickens plenty of space, using as much of the animal as possible, and closely monitoring their well-being.
“Because we only do chicken, we can pay really close attention,” Kat said. “Being able to pay such close attention to them is what enables us to have a really high-quality product.”
Reed Farm manages about 1,500 chickens at any given moment and has an outsized reach in the Pioneer Valley. Kat estimates much of the local chicken in the area is processed at their facility.
Still, she’s looking ahead. Reed Farm is applying to become the state’s only USDA-certified poultry farm, which would allow them to sell poultry out-of-state and raise their processing cap.
“That’s the general overarching goal—more local chicken that’s accessible and affordable for everyone,” Kat said.
Spotlight on Soil
While consumers may not associate chicken processing with soil health, Kat sees them as deeply linked. The farm depends on healthy pastures to support livestock and is planning to develop a composting system.
Early in her career, Kat only had a general sense of soil health. But she’s continued learning through workshops, community groups like CISA (where she now serves on the board), and online forums.
In 2022, Reed Farm received an American Farmland Trust New England Farmer Microgrant to help expand their operations to include sheep, allowing them to better utilize all areas of their land.
Soil health, Kat said, is “about respect for where that land came from first—and then not only maintaining it but striving to improve it.”
Follow Kat’s journey here: https://www.reedfarmpoultry.com/
Kat and her farm were also awarded a 2023 grant from AFT’s New England Farmer Microgrants Program (NEFMP), through the Western New England Regenerative Livestock Farming Grant. The funds helped them purchase a dump trailer to support their compost program, making it easier to move compost ingredients, spread compost on their own fields, and share it with neighboring farms.
And one more exciting note: they’re very close to becoming a USDA certified processing facility!
