For many American families, preparing a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner is an unwavering tradition.
According to the National Turkey Federation, the United States is the largest producer and exporter of turkey products in the world. In 2021, 5.1 billion pounds of turkey was consumed in the United States, and about 46 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving. So with all those plucked and golden-roasted birds on the table this holiday, where are they coming from? And what is the life of a turkey really like?
Amanda Cannon, who runs Autumn Frost Farm in Mason with her husband Matt, knows that not all turkeys are equal.
“The difference is in how they’re raised,” Cannon said. For an average grocery store turkey, “bulk is the key word,” she said.
Some turkey farms raise thousands to tens of thousands of turkeys a year. Often, Cannon said, they spend their entire lives inside. In contrast, Autumn Frost Farm raised around 50 turkeys for this year’s Thanksgiving season, and for the majority of their lives, they are outdoors.
The turkeys come to the farm in March or April.
“For the first few weeks of their life they are in a brooding box because they need heat,” Cannon said. “They live in there until feathering out – when they have feathers enough to keep warm,” which varies depending on the weather and how cold it is.
When they are ready, the young turkeys are moved to a chicken tractor inside an enclosure. This provides them with a shelter to keep warm and will protect the birds from predators.
“After four or so weeks in there, we have a three-sided coop to roost and rest in at night,” Cannon said. The turkeys have a quarter- to half-acre enclosure to roam in, where they grow until it’s time for slaughter. They put no more than 50 birds in one enclosure and would set up another one if they had a bigger flock.
“They spend their day foraging through grass and leaves. You see them fly into trees, run and chase each other,” Cannon said, “It shows in the taste of the meat.”
Cannon and her husband started Autumn Frost Farm because they wanted to produce meat they felt good about eating. They don’t use antibiotics and aim to give their animals the best quality of life they can.
“We pride ourselves on ethically sourced meats,” Cannon said.
The species of turkey the Cannons raised this year was called broad-breasted bronze turkeys. It is the same kind that someone would find in a grocery store.
“The difference is how they’re raised,” Cannon said.
Sometimes they raise heritage-breed birds. These turkeys, Cannon said, are like the “wagyu” of turkey, referring to the Japanese beef.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 49 million birds, including millions of turkeys, have died of avian flu in 2022 in 46 states. Cannon said their flock fortunately has not been affected. But “due to the avian flu and larger facilities being shut down and quarantined, it has affected cost,” Cannon said. The baby turkeys, or “pullets,” were more expensive this year and feed has cost more.
Cannon said they’ve been lucky to make the numbers work and haven’t had to raise their prices, but it has been a struggle for many small-scale farms. And “every time I see a goose now I chase it out,” Cannon said.
Next year they are considering keeping a few male and female turkeys to breed themselves so they won’t have to rely on getting babies from an outside farm.
Cannon attends the Peterborough Farmers Market on Wednesday afternoons and was a vendor at the Jaffrey Farmers Market, as well. She has seen an increase in people interested in eating locally and sustainably in the last couple years.
“People definitely want to know where their food is coming from,” Cannon said. She believes this is due to national supply-chain shortages and people being more conscious of their food. And once they realize there’s a big difference in taste, Cannon thinks it’s hard for people to go back to just any ordinary turkey.
Autumn Frost Farm’s turkeys typically range from 18 to 25 pounds. They are available for pre-order now for next season.
They may have a couple turkeys left for this Thanksgiving, and they raise and sell chicken, eggs and pork as well. Cannon can be reached on the farm’s website, autumnfrost.farm, or called at 603-706-2971.