A new piece of equipment has rolled onto our pastures that marks a big step forward for how we raise certified organic poultry. After months of planning, learning, and watching from afar, our ROVA Barn has arrived at Fresh Valley Farms.
This solar-powered, mobile poultry barn allows us to keep birds on fresh pasture while providing consistent shelter, ventilation, and protection. It supports the kind of rotational grazing system we already use across the farm, and it fits directly into our long-term goals around animal welfare, soil health, and renewable energy.
What the ROVA Barn is, and why we chose it
The ROVA Barn is a robotic, solar-powered mobile poultry housing system designed by UKKÖ Robotics. It is built to move slowly across pasture, advancing the flock to fresh grass on a regular schedule without the need for tractors, fuel, or daily manual dragging.
For us, that mattered. We wanted a system that:
- Keeps birds outdoors yet protected on living pasture
- Reduces labour without reducing care
- Moves gently and predictably across fields
- Runs on renewable energy
- Integrates with our existing grazing plans
The ROVA Barn checks all of those boxes. On-board solar panels power the barn’s movement, ventilation, lighting, and monitoring systems. That means no diesel engines, no extension cords, and no fixed infrastructure tying birds to one spot.
How it fits into our regenerative system
Fresh Valley Farms already uses rotational grazing across beef, pork, and poultry. The ROVA Barn allows us to take that same principle and apply it even more precisely to chickens.
Each move leaves behind manure that feeds soil biology and helps build organic matter. The birds spread fertility evenly as they go, instead of concentrating it in one place. Pasture gets time to recover, roots grow deeper, and forage diversity improves over time.
Better conditions for the birds
Inside the barn, birds have consistent access to shade, airflow, feed, and water. Outside, they have constant access to fresh grass and insects. The structure provides protection from weather and predators while still allowing birds to behave like birds.
Calmer environments matter. Reduced stress shows up in animal health, growth rates, and overall welfare. For us, animal comfort is not separate from food quality. It is part of it.
Powered by the sun, not the grid
The ROVA Barn runs entirely on solar energy. That aligns with the renewable energy work we are already doing on the farm, and it avoids adding fuel use, noise, or emissions to daily chores.
Solar power makes true mobility possible. The barn can operate wherever the pasture is ready, without trenching, wiring, or generators. That flexibility lets us respond to weather, grass growth, and seasonal conditions in real time.
What this changes, and what it does not
The arrival of the ROVA Barn does not change our core values. Birds are still raised on pasture. Feed is still certified organic. Processing standards remain the same.
What it does change is scale and consistency. It allows us to care for birds more efficiently while keeping them outdoors longer and moving more regularly. That helps us plan better, reduce bottlenecks, and keep systems resilient as the farm grows.
You will see the impact in our organic chicken products, our bone broth, and in how reliably we can offer poultry throughout the season.
Technology does not replace good farming. It supports it. The ROVA Barn is a tool that works because it fits into a system built around grazing, observation, and daily decision-making.
We still walk the fields. We still watch the birds. We still adjust plans based on weather, pasture conditions, and animal behaviour. The barn helps us do that work better, not faster at the expense of care.
Looking ahead
As this season unfolds, we will be sharing more about how the ROVA Barn performs across different weather, pasture types, and bird ages. It is one piece of a larger system that includes on-farm poultry processing, careful grazing plans, and direct relationships with customers through our online store and pickup routes.
If you want to learn more about how we raise animals, you can explore:
- Our regenerative agriculture practices
- Our renewable energy approach
- How direct-to-consumer sales work on our farm
For now, we are excited to see this barn moving across green fields, doing exactly what it was designed to do: keep animals outdoors, protect pasture, and support a healthier farm system from the ground up.
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