Farming Frederick- Raising Turkeys.

I'm Yvette Castillo and before Farming Frederick, I've never been on a farm before. I'm visiting farms across Frederick County, Maryland to learn about local farming. You're watching Farming Frederick. When Thanksgiving comes around the corner, a staple holiday dish is usually turkey. People search the grocery store to find a turkey for the family, but some go to their local turkey farm. Frederick County has about 17 farms that raise turkeys, making Frederick County the leader in turkey farms in Maryland. On this episode of Farming Frederick, I'm visiting Good Soil Farm to learn more about turkeys and how farmers raise them. I just arrived at Good Soil Farm located off Keysville Road in Emmitsburg, and I'm here with owner and farmer Stephen McGinley. Stephen, so I see some turkeys here. Tell me a little bit about them. Sure, Yvette. These are broad-breasted white turkeys. They are the standard commercial breed, but we raise them on pasture, moving their pasture a couple times a week at this age, so that we can allow the turkeys to exercise their natural desires. They want to hunt for bugs. They want to eat grass and clover. They want to be in the sunshine and feel the wind. So we move the house and the fence, which is what we'll be doing this morning with you. Okay. Can I help you? Yeah, please. Follow me. Okay. So, Yvette, what we're going to do is take the electric fence and open it up so that the turkeys can move into the next pasture. And as you'll notice on the electric fence, the horizontal strands have metal wire roped into it. And see, if you see the squares at the bottom or rectangles at the bottom are tighter than the ones at the top because the ground predators, fox, skunk, raccoon, need a tighter weave to not be able to get in. Keep them out. Okay. And again, the fence exists for the protection of the turkeys from these kind of ground animals. Okay. Now you can see the turkeys have moved from their old pasture area to the new pasture. And again, we do this every couple days. Basically, the first thing they go for when they enter pasture is the clover. And if you listen, you can hear them clipping it. Picking it up and gobbling it down. And I was going to ask you, what do, and you just kind of answered that, but you can maybe elaborate a little bit more. What do turkeys eat? Anything, pretty much. They eat bugs, insects, leafs. About 15% of their diet comes off of the pasture, 15 to 20%. So, like us, they're omnivores. They can't live off of grass or off of the hunting in, at least these breeds can't. Obviously, there are wild turkeys that do, but they also will eat mice, voles, moles, snakes. I mean, if there's something in here that they want to eat, they'll eat it. They're going to eat it. So, Stephen, is there a benefit of a pasture-raised turkey versus a mass-produced turkey? Yes. Benefit to the consumer? By having the turkeys move on the pasture, they are helping to build healthier soil. By literally fertilizing it as they move in an amount that the soil can handle. And so, where the turkeys have been, next year, the hay crop is even better. So, this is primarily our hayfield, our first cutting hayfield. The turkeys themselves, because they're on pasture and eating grass and clover and leguminous plants and bugs, have a more varied diet. So, for them, they're less stressed. As you can see, our toms have intact snoods because they're moving. They've got sunlight. They've got wind. They've got pasture. They've got plenty of space. So, a less stressed bird means a better-tasting bird. How big will these turkeys get? The turkeys, by the time they're harvested, will be about 16 to 22 pounds. That's a good-sized turkey. Yeah, yeah. Now, we need to move their house from the old pasture into the new. We need to set out their non-GMO, soy-free feed. And then, once we move the feed troughs, we'll also fill their waters. And then, the last thing we'll do is to set up their solar panel electric box, which is what electrifies the fence. So, let's get started. I'm ready to help. Okay. Okay, so let me reset. Okay. And then, hold it like this. Oh, because he's really pushing it. Okay. Got it. Oh, goodness. Okay, it's got some weight to it. It is heavy, though. I'm not gonna lie, it's heavy. All right, here we go. You fill it all the way to the top. That's good? Yeah, there we go. All right, so this is actually a really important lesson, right? It's not enough just to fill the water. You gotta make sure it's working. I got too cocky. I thought I had it. Okay, all right. See how that makes a big view? Yes. This is the ground rod. And then, the orange on the one on the fence. Got it. So, now they're in their new pasture. They're set. The electric box is on. And that's it. That's a wrap. Stephen, thank you so much for having me on your farm today. Thank you for coming, Yvette. It was a pleasure. I really learned a lot. Be sure to tune in to the next episode of Farming Frederick because you never know what farm we'll visit next. If you would like to know more about Good Soil Farm or any other turkey farms in Frederick County, visit homegrownfrederick.com.