We try to recycle and repurpose as many things as possible on our farm. Our operation includes an eight-house broiler farm (broilers are chickens raised for meat). We bring in recycled wood chips that are repurposed for wood shavings. The shavings are spread across the floors in the broiler houses. After several flocks of broilers are raised, we clean out all the shavings and litter from the houses. Once the houses are cleaned out, we spread the litter on our agriculture fields. The litter provides valuable nutrients for our row crops (corn, soybeans and other field crops), and also allows us to scale back on some commercial fertilizer inputs. New shavings are then brought back to the broiler farm, and the fun starts all over again!

Ask a Farmer: Corey Cox

Corey Cox works with his dad at Cox and Cox Farms in Onslow County. They raise broilers, and grow corn, soybeans and sometimes cotton and wheat. Corey also works for Coastal AgroBusiness as a Solutions Advisor for Sales.

See more: Ask a Farmer: Why Did You Decide to Turn Your Farm Into a Vineyard?

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North Carolina Field & Family Spring 2026
Flip through the pages of the Spring 2026 edition of North Carolina Field and Family magazine. In this issue, impress your guests with creative yet easy spring holiday recipes, learn how farmers face challenges planning the future of their farmland, meet some North Carolina beef producers raising the steaks, start your engines with eight reasons to visit Richmond County, get crabby with Sheri Castle’s Deviled Crab recipe and much more.

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