Turkey talk: the art of raising birds
It’s the time of year when families and friends gather to gobble down a Thanksgiving feast, but many people may not know where the turkey part of the turkey dinner comes from.
David Frame, USU poultry extension specialist, said there are some small turkey farms around the state, but by far the biggest producer in the state is Moroni Feed Company, whose brand name is Norbest.
Bob Cluff, Moroni Feed export sales manager, said one unique part of this company is the cooperative relationship it has with local farmers.
“We’re basically a collection of family and individual growers that unite together to market that framework (of raising turkeys),” Cluff said. “Everyone else in the country is a corporation. Since we’re family farms, you’ve got multiple generations, and there’s a lot of expertise.”
According to the Norbest website, there are 47 independent growers located near company headquarters in Moroni, Utah.
“All the growers live here in Sanpete County,” said Heather Owens, the executive assistant for Moroni Feed Company. “(Our business) is also the largest private employer in Sanpete County.”
The company, established in 1938, employs more than 500 people in addition to private growers.
“Another advantage is that the plant is located in the mountains there in central Utah, where conditions are very favorable for growing turkeys,” Cluff said.
Owens said the company makes more than 200 different products, ranging from whole turkeys to drumsticks to deli meats.
“We place 5.4 million poults (baby turkeys) annually,” Owens said. “The families or individuals who are growers bring the grown turkeys back to the processing plant here in Moroni.”
She said 8 percent of the plant’s output is exported worldwide, but the majority of it is sold domestically in the U.S.
“We export to 25 countries outside of the U.S., mostly in Asia and Mexico,” Cluff said. “Inside the United States, our biggest markets are here in Utah and throughout the Pacific Northwest to California, with the exception up in the northeast in the New York area. They have a heavy market for the large turkeys we grow here.”
According to the website, the facility processes millions of pounds of turkey each year, and Frame said some of the turkeys used for testing.
He said before USU’s turkey research facility closed in 2006, Moroni Feed Company worked with the school’s diagnostic lab to conduct special projects.
“It could be anything from health programs to nutrition to management,” Frame said.
One experiment that seemed to impact the general public, he said, was an experiment in which turkeys were fed camelina meal, rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
Frame said the project tested whether or not there was a difference in muscle development in the turkeys. Higher-than-usual amounts of omega 3 fatty acids were also found.
The company has not yet changed its methods of producing turkeys based on these test results, but it’s a possibility in the future, Frame said.
“Now it’s a situation where they invite me to come,” Frame said. “They’ll call me up and ask advice, or I’ll help with diagnostic work in Nephi.”
Frame said his knowledge has grown after years of working with turkeys.
“They’re very sensitive,” Frame said. “It takes more tender love and care to raise a turkey than a chicken, for instance. Turkey hasn’t been domesticated as long as a chicken has.”
He said the turkey has more commonalities with game birds like pheasants than with chickens. He also said they grow at a “tremendously fast” rate.
“If human beings grew at the same rate as the turkey, a teenager would weigh 500 pounds, and an adult would weigh over a ton,” Frame said. “They utilize feed very efficiently.”
Cluff said the demand for turkey is at its highest during November and December, even though turkey production still happens year round.
“The per capita consumption (of turkey) in the United States is just over 16 pounds,” Cluff said. “But Israel has the highest in the world; it’s something like 23 pounds per capita.”
Frame also said he wanted to put to rest the rumors about turkey making people tired on Thanksgiving.
“People say that because the amino acid tryptophan is found in turkey,” Frame said. “Tryptophan makes people drowsy, but turkey doesn’t have a lot more than some of the other meats. In fact, wild elk and goats have more.”
– m.noble@aggiemail.usu.edu