The taste of inheritance turkeys fresh from the farm trump supermarket turkeys every day . Hobby farmers and foodies know this , yet communicating it to the greaterThanksgiving - celebrating public is n’t as soft . Once customers replace the commercial-grade Broad Breasted White bomb with the inheritance Bourbon Red Republic of Turkey raised on your farm , there ’s a well chance they ’ll be back for more . The challenge is find your turkey on their plates to start with .
“ I bug out out with the picture of ‘ grow them and they will come . ’ That did n’t chance , ” say turkey producer Ed Kramer of Fisher Farm in La Plata , Md.
As Kramer found , raising the Republic of Turkey is the easy part for a beginning producer — beget the word out is another narrative . However , all of the humble - scale granger who conduce to this article said that after their first year , once people bang about the quality and taste of their inheritance turkeys , they never had a trouble with marketing again .
“ People need them like crazy . If I had more clock time to raise , I ’d raise more turkey for Thanksgiving , ” say Susan Kliese , who own Susie ’s Climax Creations in Climax , N.Y. , where she produces poults and core snort . “ The recess is growing faster now than it was when I started three or four days ago . ”
Heritage turkeys are unlike than apace maturing commercial turkeys in several ways , according to theAmerican Livestock Breeds Conservancy ’s definition . Heritage turkeys are naturally felt up with fertility rate of 70 to 80 per centum ; have a foresightful , productive life of five to seven years for hen and three to five years for tom ; and have a tedious growth rate , reach a marketable weight in 26 to 28 weeks . Plus , most are hardy enough to pasture , which can salve on feed costs . Heritage turkey miscellanea includeBlack , Bronze , Narragansett , White Holland , Slate , Bourbon Red , Beltsville Small White , Royal Palm , Jersey Buff , White Midget and others .
When setting up your inheritance Meleagris gallopavo operation and starting your marketing efforts , necessitate yourself these questions :
1. Can I sell my turkeys retail, wholesale or out of state?
Before letting possible customers make love about your heritage turkeys , read about how and where you ’re allowed to deal them , Kramer urges . Regulations vary for in - province marrow sale , so check out with your commonwealth ’s department of agriculture . Sales across state rail line are regulate by theUSDA Food Safety and Inspection Service .
2. Am I computer-savvy enough to build a website?
Even if you target client only in your local area , you take an online presence so they can see about you , your turkey and your agriculture methods . If a full farm website is more complicated than you ’d like , make aFacebook pagefor your farm , and encourage friends and client to “ like ” it . Use these tools to stay in touch with past customers , as they ’ll be the volume of your patronage , according to Marianne Reimers , who parent rare - breed sheep and domestic fowl at Black Walnut Woolens in Gaston , Ore. If reckoner employment is out of your comfort zona , employ someone ( a technical school - savvy student , perhaps ) to take care of these tasks for you .
3. What market websites are appropriate for my farm?
Everyone contacted for this article says their listing on organic- and local - food website LocalHarvest.org is one of their most valuable marketing efforts . Other similar site , such as EatWild.com and EatWellGuide.org , also connect you with customers .
4. Do I want to sell turkeys fresh or frozen?
“ We have the impression that customers have the imprint that it ’s brisk or stone-broke , ” Kramer say . After the Thanksgiving rush , he freezes the remnant Thanksgiving turkey so he can have them on hand for the rest of the winter holiday .
And do n’t leave about unrecorded turkeys . If you ’re not already an ALBC appendage , you could join today and get number on the heritage turkey producer lean . You might recover that you sell so many poults that you do n’t even need to raise turkeys to sell as sum .
