The Man Behind Poultry Biosecurity

For years, viewers of the Poultry Biosecurity YouTube channel have known Allen Reynolds as the guy asking the questions. He’s interviewed growers, industry experts, and poultry professionals about everything from flock management and biosecurity to litter and ventilation. But in this video, the roles are reversed.

Alabama poultry grower and longtime friend Jason Jackson sits down with Allen to find out who he is, how he got into the poultry industry, and what drives his passion for helping growers.

From ministry and youth camps to feed mills and poultry farms, Allen’s path to Southland Organics is anything but typical. Today, his favorite part of the job is helping growers solve problems, improve their operations, and find practical information they can put to work.

A Different Path to the Poultry Industry

Allen didn’t set out with a career in poultry in mind. He grew up in a pastor’s home around the Atlanta area and later moved to Tennessee. Both of his grandfathers were pastors, as are both of his brothers, and Allen spent years working in ministry.

He attended a Christian school and eventually earned a degree in psychology, believing that whatever career path he followed, it would involve working with people.

His connection to poultry began through another part of his life: a youth camp his grandfather started in 1961 for unchurched kids.

Allen eventually ran the camp for about 11 years, and during that time, he developed relationships with poultry growers who supported the camp. Those relationships gave him an opportunity to get hands-on experience around poultry farms.

Learning Poultry From the Farm Up

Allen’s early poultry experience was anything but sitting on the sidelines. He helped hang curtains, install equipment, and walk the lines to hang J-hooks for pulleys and drinker lines. He also helped with flock work, including catching chickens and walking houses to pick up mortality.

At the same time, Allen was working with a contractor in South Georgia on projects involving feed mills and poultry operations, giving him another look at the industry and the infrastructure behind it.

Those experiences gave him something that can’t be learned from a textbook: firsthand exposure to what growers deal with every day.

A Longstanding Connection to Southland Organics

Allen’s connection with Southland Organics goes back much further than his role with the company. Southland Organics owner Mike first met Allen when Mike was a teenager and Allen was his youth pastor in Tallahassee, Florida, during Mike’s 10th, 11th, and 12th grade years.

Years later, their paths crossed again. In 2014, Allen was preparing to leave South Georgia and return to the area when Mike asked him to help grow Southland Organics. That conversation ultimately led Allen to the role he has today.

Why Helping Growers Became the Mission

When asked about his favorite part of working in poultry at Southland Organics, Allen’s answer is simple: helping growers.

That focus is also what led to the creation of the Poultry Biosecurity YouTube channel. Allen remembers hearing from growers who were being asked to windrow litter as part of antibiotic-free production but weren’t always sure how to approach the process. One of those growers was Jason Jackson.

After Jason used Litter Life and shared his experience with Allen, the two started talking through his windrowing process. That conversation eventually turned into a video filmed on Jason’s farm that walked growers through the process step by step.

The response showed Allen that there was a real need for practical, educational information. Rather than simply talking about products, the goal became finding ways to help growers understand the challenges they face and giving them information they can use.

More Than Products

That philosophy continues to shape the Poultry Biosecurity YouTube channel.

The channel covers a wide range of poultry topics, with many videos focused on education rather than selling anything. Allen’s goal is to share information that can help growers improve their operations, understand industry changes, and find solutions to problems they encounter on the farm.

For Allen, the most rewarding moments are often simple ones: meeting a grower at a poultry or farm show who recognizes him from the videos and says the information has helped. Those conversations reinforce why he continues to make the videos.

A Passion for Serving the Industry

Allen’s background in ministry may seem far removed from poultry production, but he sees a connection between the two. Helping people has been a consistent theme throughout his career.

Today, that means using his experience, relationships, and platform to help poultry growers navigate the challenges of raising birds.

As Jason put it during the interview, growers don’t always feel like they have many people out there trying to help them. For Allen, that’s exactly why the work matters.

The man behind the interviews isn’t just interested in talking about poultry. He’s interested in helping the people who raise it.

Contact Us

If you have any questions for us, reach out to Allen at allen@southlandorganics.com. Until next time!