It’s often said that Ben Franklin advocated for the turkey to be our national bird. To say that the turkey is not the most beautiful or noble looking bird is an understatement. Can you imagine its bald, wrinkly head gracing the presidential seal? Or for that matter, the arms of countless veterans? However, the turkey shines when it comes to meat production and it has therefore earned a spot in the center of American holiday tables. According to Storey’s Guide to Raising Turkeys, between 250 and 300 million turkeys are raised in the U.S. each year. About 45 million of those are destined for Thanksgiving tables.

Yet most consumers when reaching for that frozen “Butterball,” do not think about how that turkey was produced. Much of today’s turkey industry is what is called “vertically integrated.” That is, large companies own all or part of the following enterprises related to turkey production: breeding, hatcheries, growing facilities, feed mills, processing plants, and hauling. This allows for control of the entire process from start to finish.

Local farm-raised turkeys are often raised outside on pasture where they can forage for bugs, and exhibit other natural behaviors. Photo Courtesy of Howmars Farm.

A typical confinement facility might, for example, have two brooder houses measuring 50 x 500 feet with a capacity of 25,000 young turkey poults each and five growing houses measuring 50 x 500 feet with a total capacity of 50,000 birds. As turkeys are no longer produced seasonally, one facility may brood and grow up to 250,000 birds per year. Due to the density of birds in a given area, medicated grain is continuously fed in order to prevent widespread disease. The Union of Concerned Scientists states that 70 percent of the total amount of antibiotics produced in the U.S. annually are fed to livestock (potentially contributing to antibiotic resistance).

Cannibalism is a common problem in turkey flocks, especially when the birds are raised in close confinement. Large scale operations usually practice beak trimming as a way to prevent the birds from pecking each other to death. Smaller scale operations may avoid cannibalism by providing adequate space, food and water, as well as ensuring the right lighting, temperature, and nutrition levels.

Several breeds have been developed from the wild turkey over the last century. According to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, beginning in the mid-1920s and extending into the 1950s, turkeys were selected for overall larger size and greater breast width. This resulted in the development of the Broad Breasted Bronze breed. In the 1950s, poultry processors began to seek broad-breasted turkeys without dark pinfeathers, which were considered unattractive in the dressed bird. By the 1960s the Large or Broad Breasted White had been developed, and soon dominated the marketplace. Approximately 99.99 percent of the supermarket turkeys available today are Broad Breasted Whites.

Today’s commercial turkey is selected to efficiently produce meat at the lowest possible cost. It is an excellent converter of feed to breast meat, but the result of this is also a loss of the bird’s ability to successfully mate and produce fertile eggs without intervention. The Broad Breasted White turkeys require artificial insemination to produce fertile eggs. Genetics and industrial management practices have also led to a compromise in flavor. Consumers may not be aware that many supermarket turkeys have been injected with saline solution, vegetable oils, and “flavor enhancers” to add back some taste to an otherwise bland bird. These birds are labeled as “basted” and “self-basted.”

Thanks to the “Slow Food” movement, the pre-industrial heritage breeds are gaining attention. What defines a “heritage breed”? A heritage breed turkey must have a slow growth rate, be naturally mating, and breeding animals must have a long productive life span (5-7 years). Heritage breeds take longer to reach market weight, usually 26-28 weeks. Compare this with the non-heritage confinement turkey that reaches market weight in just 12-14 weeks. When standard broad-breasted turkeys are raised on non-confinement operations they can take up to 24 weeks to reach market weight. This, of course, contributes to why local, farm raised turkeys cost more than your standard frozen store-bought version. However, as the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.”

As consumer interest in food production grows, many people are searching for locally raised turkeys that can be purchased right from the farm, either fresh or frozen. Local farm raised turkeys are often raised outside on pasture where they can forage for bugs, and exhibit other natural behaviors.

John Clark, Jr. of Applecheek Farm in Hyde Park raises about 200 turkeys every year. He and his family operate an organic dairy farm, but over the years they have diversified their operation to include chickens, eggs, turkeys, ducks and even a few emu. They have established their farm as an agri-tourism destination and also operate a farm-based catering business.

John says his turkeys are raised outside and moved to fresh pasture each day. Polywire net fencing allows for easy movement to fresh grass. He also has portable housing so that the turkeys can have shelter each night from predators. John raises the Giant White, which is a standard broad-breasted breed, and also raises two heritage breeds, White Holland and Standard Bronze. John points out that while the heritage breeds take longer to reach market weight, they are more aggressive foragers and they are able to mate naturally, traits that standard turkeys have lost through breeding for meat production. This gives him the option to keep some breeding animals and hatch-out the eggs to keep his flock going. Their foraging ability gives them a diverse diet which increases the flavor of the meat.

John says customers must pre-order their turkeys to have them fresh for Thanksgiving dinner. Customers usually arrive at the farm a day ahead to pick up their birds, which can range anywhere from 10-30 pounds.

It may not be too late to get a Vermont turkey this season. Before you reach for that frozen supermarket bird, consider a trip out to a nearby farm. Or if it’s not nearby, make a day of it and pick up some pumpkins, apples and cider along the way. Use this holiday season to enjoy the great food our state has to offer and bring the flavor back to the table.

Cheryl Bruce works for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. For a list of farms that raise organic turkeys, visit NOFA-VT’s website www.nofavt.org. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture also lists farms raising turkeys at www.vermontagriculture.com/buylocal/buy/turkey.html.