Elkins turkey farmers find satisfaction in the demanding business

Turkey farming is anything but easy. But that didn’t stop Jeff and Gloria Lindsey of Elkins from giving it a try. The couple signed on as turkey growers for Cargill in June 2011. They bought a 72-acre farm and have settled into the business while also raising their young granddaughter, Heaven.

Jeff said he was looking for a quiet farm life, knowing it would be regimented but something he could build for himself after nearly nine years of work abroad trying to solve problems for other people and governments. Before that he worked for the Springdale Police Department and spent 17 years in the United States Marine Corps.

“As a contractor I spent two years in the Balkans helping to rebuild Kosovo. Then I worked security in Iraq for 2.5 years. I thought it might be a little safer in Afghanistan at that time, so I went there and worked another 3.5 years. After all that I felt like I might be rolling the dice with my safety if I went back. Farming looked good to me even though I had never done it,” he told Talk Business & Politics.

Fortunately for Jeff, his wife Gloria grew up on a farm and her family had previously grown turkeys for Cargill’s Honeysuckle White brand.

“We began to look at farms in 2011 and quickly saw a lot of broiler farms on the market, which was a red flag for me. We found just three turkey farms and Gloria’s family had experience with turkeys so we dove right in.” he said.

The couple invested around $500,000 on the family farm but have fallen in love with the business that almost never stops. The Lindsey farm has three turkey houses, one for brooding and two grow-out houses where they raise 27,000 turkeys each 12.5 week growing cycle.

They built a modest home on the 72-acre farm and are gradually trying to grow a small herd of Angus cattle. When asked what they liked best about the farm life the couple said after being apart so many years the farm and the heavy workload has brought them closer.

“We love it here after all those year we had to live apart,” Gloria said.

His and hers ATV trackers (blue and red ) sit outside the brood house which 2-year Heaven points out during a recent farm tour. Jeff said the couple is able to spread most of the litter generated in the turkey houses on its own acreage but they closely adhere to a nutrient management plan on file with the county and federal agencies.

“We sell some of the litter, but only if they also can provide a nutrient management plan showing they can use it in accordance with the guidelines,” he said.

When asked if Gloria’s family helps out around the farm, the couple said they don’t trust anyone to the do the work but themselves, given their high level of investment.

“We have learned the business and my family was helpful with that, but when it comes to tending to the turkeys, that’s our job and we do it. We have to make sure it’s done right,” Gloria said. “We are proud to be Cargill growers of Honeysuckle White, it’s a job we take very seriously.”

The Lindsey’s are one of 700 turkey growers across the country who contract with Cargill for the Honeysuckle White brand. The turkey raised by the Lindsey’s and 160 other area farms are processed in Springdale, a plant that employs 1,100, according to corporate spokesman Michael Martin. The local turkey processing plant is running at full capacity this time of year. The plant has a slaughter capacity of about 250,000 turkeys each week and processes more than 250 million pounds of turkey annually — that’s enough to feed 1 billion consumers a turkey dinner.

Lindsey had a load of turkeys delivered to the Springdale plant early last week. The turkeys on his farm now are about 4.5 weeks old and will soon be split up and moved into grow-out houses where they can have more room. The couple is now mulling over an additional investment in their houses that would be eliminate having to move the birds at 5.5 weeks old. They did not say what that might cost, but the majority of the cost is at their expense, while Cargill will pick up some of the cost and extend a contract sufficient for the them to get bank financing.

Jeff said so much of the money made goes into paying down the debt on the farm, it’s the cows that provide the nest egg when extra money is needed for things like car repairs or a new refrigerator. Despite the confinement of the business, Jeff said he gets satisfaction in knowing he’s providing a healthy food source for thousands of people.

TURKEY PRODUCTION
Turkey is often seen as a forgotten protein, except for Thanksgiving and in deli sandwich meat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports nearly 4 billion pounds of turkey was processed in the first eight months of this year, up 7% from 2015.

The increase was largely based on continuing recovery from the 2015 loss of more than 7 million turkeys due to avian influenza (HPAI). The 2016 production was expected to be the first year-over-year growth since 2012 according to USDA forecasts released in October. The Lindsey farm did not see any major hiccups from the Avian Influenza outbreaks last year.

Through September prices for whole birds at wholesale remained above the trend prior to the 2015 HPAI outbreak. The September price for frozen turkey hens was $1.24 per pound, about 14% higher than the average September price in the 3 years prior to 2015.  Retail prices for whole turkeys in 2015 and 2016, however, did not generally experience a similar increase, and the 2015 annual average was the lowest since 2010.