Pastured Turkey
Our turkeys live in a homemade moveable shelter that gives them constant access to fresh grass, leaves, roots and tasty bugs. Their diets are supplemented with local feed consisting of ground seeds and grains. They also enjoy daily offerings from the kitchen and garden. Unlike their chicken cousins, we’ve discovered that turkeys are rather fussy about which foods they will accept. Some days they agree to eat zucchini and watermelon, other days they shun these delights but cheerfully consume tomatoes and spinach. Cajoling them doesn’t seem to help.
We are not certified organic, but can assure you that our turkey flock is indeed raised naturally. They have not been fed hormones, treated with antibiotics or dusted with pesticides as their counterparts are in confined animal feeding operations. Our birds are not only healthier than today’s unfortunate factory-farmed turkeys; we also believe they’re happier. Their eager commentary can be heard across our small farm. They have active social lives with one another, with visiting free range chickens and the family’s friendly dogs.
When the time comes, our birds will be taken to a USDA certified and inspected facility where they will be butchered the same day. Because these birds are raised outdoors and in a small flock we aren’t able to control variables enough to offer certain sizes for our customers. We will try to accommodate requests but please forgive us if your bird is a bit smaller or larger than you anticipated.
Remember, every pastured turkey purchased from a small, local farm is a vote for humane and sustainable animal husbandry. They cost much more to raise than a factory farm turkey for a variety of reasons. For example, the Broad-Breasted White is ready for market several months sooner than the Bronze breed we are raising. That results in a higher price. But you get more for your money than a good conscience.
~Pastured turkey has a significant level of cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid.
~Pastured turkey doesn’t expose your family to the antibiotics, synthetic hormones or pesticides found in turkeys raised in confinements operations. It is also free of the “pre-basting” solution injected into nearly every grocery store turkey that includes such ingredients as salt, phosphate, corn syrup and oil.
~Pastured turkey has 30% less saturated fat, 21% less total fat, 28% fewer calories, 50% more vitamin A and 90% more omega-3 fatty acid than turkey not permitted outdoor access according to the USDA Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education Program.
Please pre-order your holiday turkey. Better yet, order one for Thanksgiving and another for the freezer.
330-667-7647
bitofearthfarm@gmail.com
"As you eat, know that you are feeding more than just a body. You are feeding the soul’s longing for life, its timeless desire to learn the lessons of earthly existence—love & hate, pleasure & pain, fear & faith, illusion & truth—through the vehicle of food. Ultimately, the most important aspect of nutrition is not what to eat but how our relationship to food can teach us who we are and how we can sustain ourselves at the deepest level of being." Marc David