Our Story:
USA Duck Team was founded in 2020 by Corinna West, a Kansas City urban farmer, federal grants specialist, and published advocate for people with disabilities. The organization grew out of a simple observation during COVID-19: “The food system was fragile, local poultry production had nearly disappeared, farmers were being left out of mainstream agricultural support.” Ducks are native to the Midwest and more productive than chickens in most conditions. Growing more ducks is an obvious answer to increase sustainability.
What started as a small backyard flock in Kansas City, KS has grown into a network of 25 farms across Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana, with an NPIP-certified headquarters hatchery, a nationally competitive show flock, and a North Central SARE Farmer/Rancher Grant funding our scattered-site hatchery research.
Who We Work With:
Almost all of our farmers are people with disabilities, veterans, Hmong community members, urban producers, and beginning farmers — people who are systematically underserved by conventional agricultural extension and lending. We use USDA-recommended best practices for supporting disadvantaged farmers and have documented outcomes showing significant increases in farmer business capacity, marketing skills, and production knowledge over four years of network operation. Our methods have been recognized by SAMHSA as part of a federal grant award for mental health outreach to disadvantaged farming communities.
Our Genetics Program:
Our headquarters Cayuga flock is anchored by the Dempsey Plus Lemonade line of Cayuga ducks, developed over four years of selective breeding for show quality, meat production, and egg laying performance. Mr. Lemonade won Best Old Drake at the 2024 APA National Show. Thing 1 won Best Old Hen at the Missouri State Fair. Austin Noah, a network member from Raymore, MO, won a Junior National Championship with Romeo and Juliet, Cayugas from our breeding program. We also breed pedigreed American Rabbits that are ranked 19th nationally.
Our Mission:
We believe ducks are the most underutilized livestock animal in the American food system. They are more productive than chickens in wet climates, resistant to Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu, compatible with gardens and silvopasture systems, and capable of producing meat, eggs, and ducklings simultaneously from a backyard operation. Our slogan — Best Genetics to Homesteaders — is both a promise and a philosophy. The best genetics should not be locked up in show barns. They should be distributed widely, improving flocks and food security across the region in flocks of six ducklings at a time.
Corinna West, Founder:
Corinna holds an MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences from UMKC and has managed federal grant projects for over 15 years including CDC, SAMHSA, and PCORI awards. She is a 1996 US Olympic Judo Team member, a published poet and Mad in America author, an urban cyclist, and a photographer documenting Kansas City’s industrial edges. She has been an urban farmer for 15 years and a duck farmer for five years. She lives and farms on a quarter acre in Kansas City, KS, with a slogan, “What can you do on a quarter acre?” A lot.