ON THE FARM

ON THE FARM GOOD GOBBLERS

Pasture-raised turkeys form part of the ecosystem at local farms and ranches

BY KATHRYN MCKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALICIA ARCIDIACONO

Not many people would associate turkeys with sensitivity, intelligence or friendliness—let’s face it, most of us think of them as being big dumb birds.

But the local farmers who raise turkeys say they’re lively, inquisitive and anything but stupid.

“They’re very curious creatures. That makes them fun to work with,” says Martha Skelley, livestock farmer at Paicines Ranch, south of Hollister in San Benito County. The myths that are told about turkeys arise because “humans like to oversimplify animal behavior.”

In fact, when you visit the ranch and hang out with the turkeys, you realize they are, indeed, very intrigued by visitors and not bashful at all. On this particular 90°-plus day, the turkeys are gathered in patches of shade, but still look up quizzically when a new human walks by.

“They’re going to check you out,” says Mary Rowen, manager of event planning and pastured meats at the ranch. “They love anything shiny, so watch your keys.”

As we walk among the white-feathered birds, one of the 400 hens ambles over and gives us the eye, tilting its head to get a better look at the interlopers, and as Rowen predicted, starts pecking at my jeans. “Sometimes they’re super-talkative,” notes Skelley, and the birds will carry on a gobbling conversation with those who care for them.

The Paicines turkeys are moved around every other day, inside a mobile fence where they can forage and scratch on certified organic ranchland, and receive ample water and daily feed. It is a far cry from how the vast majority of turkeys are raised in the United States at factory farms. Not only is this better in terms of the resulting flavor, it’s also better for the land itself—and, needless to say, the turkeys live out their lives in a beautiful place with humane and tender treatment.

It’s all part of the philosophy that guides pasture-raised meats in general—that using best practices for the animals and for the land benefits everyone. At Paicines Ranch, it’s about restoring the soil, increasing biodiversity and encouraging native plants to grow on land that was conventionally farmed for decades.

The ranch uses a unique livestock rotation technique to nurture the soil, which previously had been hard-packed, heat-cracked and full of invasive weeds like thistles and hemlock. Now the ground beneath our feet is richer and darker, with native perennial grasses taking hold. “It’s looking really good,” says Rowen.

On this spread, sheep are first on deck in mobile pasturing, followed by pigs and then the turkeys. It’s a different kind of grazing, says Skelley, where the sheep eat from the top down, pigs scour the bottom, and the turkeys scratch and leave droppings that help build soil health. Skelley says grazing in this rotation builds resilience and fertility.

Paicines Ranch has been an experiment in progress since 2001, when Matt Christiano and Sallie Calhoun purchased the 7,600-acre property and began a regenerative ranching project to return native grasses to the landscape through planned grazing. This has since expanded to working with natural systems to rebuild the ranch ecosystem.

However, as with any outdoor livestock venture, there are always unknowns and variables for the turkeys. Predators like bobcats and coyotes lurk nearby, eagles have been known to snatch a young bird or two and huge California condors also fly by. That’s why guardian dogs now watch the flock 24/7.

It’s not easy finding pastured turkey in the Monterey Bay area. Paicines Ranch, Sol Seeker Farm in south Monterey County and Root Down Farm in Pescadero all have pastured turkey flocks; all typically sell out their supply of whole turkeys in the fall.

Not only are customers interested in the fact that these turkeys are raised humanely, they also value them for flavor. Pastured turkeys have “many flavor notes that one does not experience with conventionally housed birds,” Skelley explains. “The meat is tender and mouth-watering because it is a reflection of our complex pasture plants and nutrientdense feed.

“Pasture adds terroir to the animal like in wine, and they are a reflection of our landscape,” she says.

Unlike most locally pastured meats, turkey is raised mainly for the holiday season, because that’s when there is demand—putting turkey on the table for Thanksgiving and Christmas is a time-honored American tradition.

However, farmers also are observing more year-round demand for ground turkey, which many home cooks have adopted as a lowfat substitute for ground beef. Rowen says they’re hoping to offer more in the future, since it’s a good seller.

Paicines Ranch livestock farmer Martha Skelley says her turkeys aren’t dumb.

“So many people have been asking for ground turkey this year—we’ve been sold out for months,” she says.

What it takes to raise pastured turkeys is space, which is why Sol Seeker’s Edgar Mendoza and Kaley Grimland de Mendoza bought 40 acres of farmland near Lockwood, some 70 miles south of Salinas, and moved their operations from Santa Cruz County in 2020.

The Mendozas typically raise between 75 and 100 turkeys, which is a small percentage of their overall poultry flock, which runs around 3,500 birds. Meat chickens, ducks, Cornish game hens and eggs are Sol Seeker’s mainstays, but for Kaley, turkeys are special.

“The turkeys are my favorites. I start gobbling and they’ll gobble back,” she says.

The Sol Seeker birds get organic feed in addition to eating whole wheat with grit. “It makes an already tasty bird into an even tastier one,” she says.

Sol Seeker has both heritage bourbon red and broad-breasted white turkeys; Paicines Ranch has only broad-breasted whites, but Rowen and Skelley are discussing adding a heritage breed.

These farmers pride themselves on raising high-quality turkeys with love and care, giving the birds free access to the outdoors and green forage. That humane treatment makes a difference to customers who want to support such efforts.

“They have a pretty good life with us,” says Skelley.

Kathryn McKenzie, who grew up in Santa Cruz and now lives on a Christmas tree farm in north Monterey County, writes about the environment, sustainable living and health for numerous publications and websites. She is the co-author of Humbled: How California’s Monterey Bay Escaped Industrial Ruin.

WHERE TO BUY Local pastured turkey can be purchased through the following websites; some packaged turkey pieces and ground turkey may become available via the website stores and at local farmers’ markets.

Paicines Ranch: paicinesranch.com • 831.628.0288 • info@paicinesranch.com Root Down Farm: rootdownfarm.org • 650.879.9921 • info@rootdownfarm.org Sol Seeker Farm: solseeker.org • solseekerfarm@gmail.com

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