by Leah Bender
For 85 years and across three generations, Ferndale Market has been committed to raising turkeys free-range and without the use of antibiotics. Located in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, this family-owned and operated farm has expanded their business beyond turkeys in recent years, to include an on-farm store that offers a wide array of foods from other small, local farmers.
France 44 has been using Ferndale turkey in our sandwiches and salads for many years, and with Thanksgiving just around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time to get to know the people behind the birds. I spoke with John Peterson about his family’s business, the food industry at large, and what it’s like to be a turkey farmer in the lead up to Thanksgiving.
So I read on your site that you returned to your family’s farm in 2008. What generated this interest and was there a specific a-ha moment when you decided you should use your skills for your family’s business?
I wish I could say it was one aha moment, but really it was more of a gradual process, a culmination of things. It started around when my wife and I had just gotten married and started cooking for ourselves. Before that we were often the ones being cooked for and so we didn’t have to put much thought into what we ate. So in those early years we started to gain some more mindfulness around food: we were reading books such as The Omnivore's dilemma and consuming media similar to that. That was when we began to have this gradual awakening that we could come back to my family’s farm and implement certain things like direct-marketing and local partnerships in addition to what my family had always been doing (like keeping our turkey’s free-range and antibiotic-free).
It also sounds like running your family’s business is really a team effort. What roles do your individual family members play on the farm?
It’s very much a team effort, certainly for our family but also for our staff! We have a truly great team of staff members who are like family to us. My dad and I are probably the ones who are most engaged with the day-to-day farm operations, dealing with the things that need to happen each day and any issues that may need to be addressed. I do a lot of direct selling and a lot of delivering our turkey products to customers and partners (such as france 44). My sister Katy does most of our marketing and communications, which could be anything from posting on social media to designing our thanksgiving brochure.
What breed or breed(s) of turkey do you raise and why?
So we raise one main breed of turkey: the broad breasted white. It’s a pretty standard breed for domestic turkeys. Most turkey farmers raise this breed because it has the right body composition, has a good yield, and a good ratio of light and dark meat in the final product.
Ok this might be a weird one: what does an average day in the life of one of your turkeys look like? What’s their daily routine?
No, it's great! It really depends on a few variables: primarily the age of the birds. When they’re little, our baby hatchlings (poults) start completely indoors in our climate-controlled barn because they need steady temperature and environment, and they can’t handle rain or strong winds. They stay inside for their first month, then we gradually introduce them to the outdoors. They can then roam freely between the indoors and outside, except during the peak summer months when they go completely out to range, because we want them to roam and eat fresh grass. On a day like today in October, (which happens to be exceptionally beautiful weather-wise) all of our birds go out just as soon as the sun comes up. They get really excited!
Why has your family kept your birds free-range for 85 years? What are some of the challenges of raising your birds free-range and antibiotic-free?
I’ll start with the challenges: the biggest of which is weather. When we are working fully outdoors we obviously can't control the elements, which is a big difference compared to large-scale poultry operations that keep their birds confined in climate-controlled indoor spaces. On really hot days in the summer, we always have more work to do because we need to make sure that birds are comfortable. Often that means watering them down to stay cool.
On the plus side, being free-range means that we ourselves have a terrific environment to work in. Personally, I would much rather work outside than be confined, and I know that our turkeys feel just the same. We have continued doing this because we believe it's the right way to do things and because we happen to have the right equipment and the right kind of land to do. The land for our farm was picked 85 years ago by my grandfather and it was a great choice on his part, because the soil here is perfect for turkeys: it’s sandy and it drains well. We’re uniquely positioned to do it because we believe it’s the best way to operate and we have the right land and tools. Despite the challenges, we are definitely sticking with it!
What are some ways you’ve had to adapt your business strategies to the constantly changing food market over the years?
Great question. One of the biggest changes is the push for more convenience by consumers, for foods to be more meal-ready and easier to prepare. In my grandparent’s era, it was totally commonplace to roast a whole turkey on a regular basis, like at every sunday meal. That just doesn't happen anymore. The demand has by and large shifted to just one or two holidays each year. Likewise we’ve needed to be creative about getting people interested in our product. Our turkey hotdogs, ground turkey, and other turkey-based products beyond just whole birds are innovations we’ve created in order to meet our customers where they are. They are meant to offer the kind of quick, easy, and healthy meal options that people are looking for year-round.
So I’m really curious about what it’s like working on your farm in the months and weeks leading up to thanksgiving! What does that look like for your business? Does it get really crazy? Or maybe you have it down to a science?
It gets really crazy! We would like to think that we have it down to a science, that we learn from our mistakes, and that we become more efficient each year…but there’s really no avoiding the chaos. We like to equate it to the superbowl for football or to tax day for an accountant. No matter how prepared you are, how much you’ve dotted your i’s and crossed your t’s, it’s still going to be the biggest challenge of our year. It’s a busy time on the farm in terms of labor, and a busy time at our on-farm market because of all the people picking up their fresh turkeys. It also gets really busy at our warehouse because we’re packing out orders and making deliveries to our partners (like France 44). Everything is happening all at once but we have to rise to the occasion!
Tell me more about the partnerships you’ve built with other local family farms for your on-farm market -- how did that project come about and how is it going?
So the on-farm market came about at around the same time my wife and I returned to the farm. At that point we had an empty building that used to be a hatchery for our poults. I loved the idea of inviting customers right to the place where our turkeys are grown. Our vision then and now was to form partnerships with other small, local farmers in order to bring a unique mix of local food under one roof. We now have over 100 different kinds of foods-- everything from cheese, to charcuterie, to other specialty products. It really gets highlighted on the holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas.
What does Ferndale Market’s trajectory look like over the next ten years or so? Do you have any plans or dreams for the business?
On the one hand we want to stay true to what brought us here in the first place. In a funny way, the practices we had always been using (like raising our turkeys free-range and without antibiotics) are considered innovative today, even though they used to be the norm, simply because other farms have abandoned them. So in that sense we don’t intend for the farm to change too much. From the business strategy side of things, we’ll be developing new products, new convenient options like I mentioned earlier. That’s really where we see opportunities for growth. All the big meat companies are focusing on hyper-processed products at the moment, but we believe there’s space for products that are clean and healthy. People are lacking time to make complex recipes every night, and we’d like to be part of the solution!
Lastly, what are you feeling most thankful for this thanksgiving?
Well I would say that there are probably a lot of different ways I could answer this question. I feel grateful for the job that I have because I love and find a lot of meaning in raising a flock the right way and being able to work out in nature. I also feel grateful of course for our customers, who see the difference in how we do things here, and who recognize the value in how we’ve kept our farming practices the same to this day. It’s never lost on me that we’re not the most easy or convenient option for our customers to get to-- any big box store or grocery chain with mass produced products would be easier. But people come out of their way to come see us, and I’m glad people see the value in what we do. We’re kind of a dinosaur in being an independent poultry farm still doing free-range for our birds!
We’re proud to offer Ferndale turkeys on our Thanksgiving menu! Check out our offerings HERE!