November 26, 2025 • 19 mins
This week on American Family Farmer, host Doug Stephan welcomes Dave and Barb Zerbe of Esbenshade Turkey Farm—America’s oldest operating turkey farm, proudly rooted in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Esbenshade Turkey Farm has been a Lancaster County original since 1858, spanning seven generations of tradition, craftsmanship, and family pride. Barb Zerbe represents the fifth generation of the Esbenshade lineage, and together she and her husband Dave continue the legacy built by the family’s beloved patriarch, Bob Esbenshade, who passed in 2020 at the age of 92. Bob’s passion for producing the “best-tasting turkey” and his commitment to customer care helped establish Esbenshade as a gold standard in poultry excellence, earning multiple Grand Champion awards at the Pennsylvania State Farm Show.
Today, the Zerbes carry on that mission by raising their cage-free turkeys from day-old poults and hand dressing each one on the farm using time-tested, proprietary methods. Their turkeys—known for their exceptional tenderness and flavor—are always free of antibiotics and growth hormones and fed an all-natural vegetarian diet of corn and soybean. Customers routinely praise them as “the best turkey they’ve ever tasted,” returning year after year and passing the tradition down through generations.
Esbenshade turkeys are available fresh during Thanksgiving and fresh or frozen year-round directly from the farm. Offerings include whole turkeys, turkey breasts, legs & thighs, wings, giblets, ground turkey, and their locally loved turkey pie.
Join us as Dave and Barb share the rich history of this remarkable family farm, their dedication to responsible agriculture, and how they are keeping a 167-year-old legacy thriving in the modern world. Learn more:
Esbenshade Turkey Farm – esbenshadeturkeyfarm.net
Website: AmericanFamilyFarmerShow.com
Social Media: @GoodDayNetworks
Esbenshade Turkey Farm has been a Lancaster County original since 1858, spanning seven generations of tradition, craftsmanship, and family pride. Barb Zerbe represents the fifth generation of the Esbenshade lineage, and together she and her husband Dave continue the legacy built by the family’s beloved patriarch, Bob Esbenshade, who passed in 2020 at the age of 92. Bob’s passion for producing the “best-tasting turkey” and his commitment to customer care helped establish Esbenshade as a gold standard in poultry excellence, earning multiple Grand Champion awards at the Pennsylvania State Farm Show.
Today, the Zerbes carry on that mission by raising their cage-free turkeys from day-old poults and hand dressing each one on the farm using time-tested, proprietary methods. Their turkeys—known for their exceptional tenderness and flavor—are always free of antibiotics and growth hormones and fed an all-natural vegetarian diet of corn and soybean. Customers routinely praise them as “the best turkey they’ve ever tasted,” returning year after year and passing the tradition down through generations.
Esbenshade turkeys are available fresh during Thanksgiving and fresh or frozen year-round directly from the farm. Offerings include whole turkeys, turkey breasts, legs & thighs, wings, giblets, ground turkey, and their locally loved turkey pie.
Join us as Dave and Barb share the rich history of this remarkable family farm, their dedication to responsible agriculture, and how they are keeping a 167-year-old legacy thriving in the modern world. Learn more:
Esbenshade Turkey Farm – esbenshadeturkeyfarm.net
Website: AmericanFamilyFarmerShow.com
Social Media: @GoodDayNetworks
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The American Family Farmer podcast, sponsored in part by Caldron,
The Safe Proven Way to Lose weight. Check it all
out at toploss dot com. I'm Doug Stephan. This is
the American Family Farmer. As it is the weekend before Thanksgiving.
We're going to focus on turkey farming with a husband
and wife team in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Dave and Barb Serby.
(00:22):
It's espen Shaded Turkey Farm in Lancaster County. And I
know I'm pronouncing that correctly because I've had connections to
Lancaster County for a long time and I unfortunately, or
maybe now I'm fortunate because we're making the connection with
the Zerbis to tell the story of turkeys.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I mean, what better time have you to be telling
a turkey story?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Right?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Just Thanksgiving weekend? So let's talking about operations. You've been
around to your family. Is this something that you bought
from somebody else or has this been in the family
for a long long time. I'll start with day if
you want to start, or you can hand it over
to Barb.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Okay, the turkey farm has been in existence here at
this location since eighteen fifty eight.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
We say we are the oldest turkey farm in America.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
What's the significance of espen Shade.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, we think it's the quality and the taste of
the product that we produce. And we're following, if I
may say, over a century old tradition and process of
dressing and packing.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
The birds and getting them ready for the consumer.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So how did the two of you work together? How
does this coupling work in terms of the farm.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Well, it's more of a family.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Our daughters involved, our son in law as well, and
you know, and chewing grandchildren. But you know, Barb's parents
were you know, the how do I want to say,
the enterprise for g sixty seventy eighty years till they passed,
and then it came down to Barb and so being
(02:08):
her husband and I decided to we would end up,
you know, joining the operation because that's how we had
to pass.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
It down from her dad to us.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
And he he lasted until he was ninety two in
nineteen ninety and now two thousand and twenty twenty, he
died due to COVID and then her mom was ninety
five when.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
She passed just a year ago. So they basically ran
the farm and as a son in law.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
I just I just helped, but was here for forty
five years helping them, so you.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Know, we shared duties and responsibilities.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Barb handles a lot of the office pieces and so
forth and sales side of it, and I'm out helping
to raise the birds and manage that process with my
son in law and daughter.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Okay, but it's quite a family business.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Langas to County a great place for this, is there
something in the soil, is just something about the airs,
there something that makes it a better place to raise
turkeys than perhaps many other places.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Well, Leancster County is really known for its fertile soil
and top soil that you know is fairly sufficient, and yes,
crops and things do very well in this community. I
don't know that that contributes necessarily to the growth of turkeys,
but I know that we have custom feed formulas that
(03:31):
we use to raise our birds with, and we think
that contributes primarily to their you know, production and taste.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Let's talk about that as we continue here. We're talking
to the folks who run the Esben Shade Turkey Farm
in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Dave and Barb Zerby Elizabeth Miller
comes to us from the folks at Caltron. This is
the time of year when I advise people to be defensive.
The best way to not weight is to get on
Calendrin now and not wait until you've already put the
(04:04):
weight on.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
If you just have questions about Caldron, the product itself,
we are right here in America again, so you can
call us talk to us. We even like to follow
up with our customers after you order by email. If
you want to do text, you can text or call us.
Keep us posted with how your progress is going, because
we want to ensure that our customers are having success.
This is not just something you buy off the shelf
and say good luck. Never say you again. We've got
(04:25):
real life on support, email support, tech support, whatever you
need to help make sure that you are seeing the
results with this awesome product.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
One of the best ways of getting the best out
of Caldron is as you check out to use the
DOUG code DOUG.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
On all orders. You'll be able to have.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Free shipping and you also get the best deal at
that moment, no matter what it is. Here taking care
of use Doug at top laws dot com. It's Thanksgiving
week and Thus the conversation with the folks who run
has been Shaded Turkey Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
David Barbserby as has.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Been in the family for a long time, and I'm
wondering how many birds a year are you folks responsible for?
And then we'll get into the nitty gritty about how
they're raised.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
But what's the volume of.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Traffic that you have on the farm for the Is
it all Thanksgiving or do you have business all year along?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
What's the give us the routine.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah, we raise approximately six thousand turkeys a year. We
dress them all for fresh to you know, focus on
the Thanksgiving market. And you know, we have a number
of employers that buy them for their employees and then
we have a significant number of individuals that will buy
one or two or three. It all depends and range
(05:52):
in sizes anywhere from ten pounds up to we have
a thirty six thirty seven pounder this year. So some
people call us and they want the largest turkey we have,
but that's where our market is. And then we do
we do sell turkeys at Christmas, but everything then is frozen.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So you run the whole idea of Thanksgiving in turkeys
and all that stuff. It's almost a corny story at
this point, but it is a good story because people
are you know, they're focused on it.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
So all year long, the folks come around.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Are you in the place where people can come and
visit and see what goes on on the turkey farmers
of that kind of a place?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Well, yes, and no.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
If if we didn't have to deal with the what's
the avian flu? Okay, then you know, we have some
restrictions on where people can go. But once our turkeys
are dressed, then we don't have that restriction. So presently,
right as of today, anybody can go anywhere that they want,
(06:59):
and they like to see how we do things. We
do everything by hand here, so we you know, we
dress the birds by hand. We have a scalder, we
have a picker and so forth. But then we eviscerate
the birds by hand as well. And please excuse on
the phone calls while we're right in the middle of
a busy season and following.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Apologize for that.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
No worries.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So in terms of the avian flu, that's something's been
on people's minds for a long time. I was talking
on one of the other programs that I do this
week about the cost of Thanksgiving and how I have
some stats from both the National Farmers Union and the
American Farm Bureau Federation the annual cost of the birds
(07:48):
and what the farmer gets out of it. Whether it's
you doing the wholesale bit or whether it's people who
are growing large numbers for the wholesale market, it still
continues to be.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
In my mind a problems.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
And I'm in the dairy business, I'm in the cow business,
and it's the same thing. And it annoys me to
see how every year people like you are having to
argue or figure that you have to explain yourself when
it comes to how much you charge. Is this something
(08:27):
that you've been in the business. The families had the
farm running for a long time. So I'm guessing that
either you do other things besides turkeys, or you make
it work under the circumstances at the right price.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Well, presently we do. We only do turkeys. We have
about fifty acres. And you know, my father in law
years ago would raise its own hay straw and do
things like that. So he had a business where he
did you know, crops, and then he did turkey so
he did one thing in this spring, in summer, another
(09:01):
thing in the fall.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Sure, we're presently just doing turkeys, okay, and so so
that's sustaining us in our operations.
Speaker 6 (09:12):
Here.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
The whole business about how you raise them, people, I'm
sure are concerned because there's lots of talk about how
to responsibly raise chickens and turkeys and cattle and all
those things. I'm, for one, don't use any hormones or
any antibiotics, and I understand that's the way you do
(09:33):
your business as well.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
That's correct.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
We have no antibio archer hormones, and they're not free range.
Your birds are not free range, but they're in a
large covered house okay, which they have plenty of room
to run, but they're not out on the field roaming,
you know, picking their own food.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
How has your business changed from year to year in
terms of how you raise what you feed the animals.
Has it been consistent since your father in law ran
the business or have you added to my ideas to
sort of change the way the animals are brought to maturity.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Yeah, we haven't changed that process much. The only thing
we've done is modernized the feeding and watering systems.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Rather than having them more manual.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Okay, in the years past, he would he would drive
an auger wagon through and fill up the feeders that
were gravity fed, you know, so it falls to the
bottom and a trough and that's that's a pretty.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
Hard process.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
So we three years ago we modernized put some automatic
waters and feeders in.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
So that we have feedbinds outside.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
And it pools with an order pools the feed in
and that kind of thing. So they get to they
see that feed you know, along maybe thirty or forty
different dishes on two sides of each side of the house.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
So and then water is equally distributed. But yeah, then
we just maned. I've got a.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Computer system in there that can you know, if something
goes wrong with the water or the feeder, it sends
me a text or an alarm and I can get
up in the middle langa down and fix it if
that's a problem. But whereas in the past there was
no technology whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah, and it makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
There are a lot of people, are a lot of
farmers even that are going to AI and things that
are more robotic. I can't imagine that that would be
the case in an operation like yours. But who knows,
you know, how things are changing.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
There's a lot of hands on work with it. But
it's not robotics. Let's put it that a.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Way, right, So what under the circumstances, what's the average
lifespan of the turkey? And do you have a hatchery there?
So you're starting from scratch with each bird.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
We don't have a hatchery.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
We buy our pulse that are one day old, and
then we raised those birds from that's to say, July
to the early part of November, and we'll get we
get them in and we order them so they arrived
at different weeks intervals, so then we have different sizes
(12:23):
of birds. So the last flock we get in would
be the smaller birds, and the third flock would a
little bigger, and the first second flock bigger, in the
first flock the biggest. So that's the way we do it.
So so our birds are here a matter of four months,
maybe four and a half at the most.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
And is the being young keep them tender?
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Is that one of the things you I wonder We
have on my farm a lot of wild turkeys and
one of the fellas I dressed off a few of
them a few years ago and made a lasagna out
of it. It was the toughest Yeah, the toughest meat
I've ever tasted because.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
They are old birds in they're they're not raised for eating.
But is it an age.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Thing as much as anything else, you mean, for the
tenderness of the meat. Yes, yeah, Well again.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Without disclosing any secrets, we think that the way we
dress the bird, which is by hand, it's not shocked,
and the way we we keep it for a night
in water helps to tender eyes. Okay, there's there's a
process there that we do. We ice them down. A
(13:38):
lot of the farms that we visited, they will dress
their birds in the morning, then pack them up in
the afternoon, and under USDA guidelines, they just have to
get that body temperature down to somewhere around forty degrees
and then they can pack it up maybe thirty eight.
We take our birds down to you know, probably below
(13:59):
thirty you know what I mean, you know, right around
thirty We get them good and cold before.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
We pack them up.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
It sounds like it makes a lot of sense, all right,
hold on for a second, or I having your conversation
with Dave and Barbe. I haven't heard from Barbe, but
I want Barb to speak up here from esben Shade
turkey Farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I want to know what
else they have and how typical a turkey farm it is.
Plus we're talking about what turkeys cost this year. It's
(14:25):
all right front and center because it is Thanksgiving weekend,
a reminder about Thanksgiving and Christmas and.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
New Year's and eating and eating and eating. I have
not taken my own advice. For the last month. I've
been saying, get on caltrin and stay there. It'll keep
you from gaining weight. I have. I got off.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Caltrin a few months ago because I was down to
the weight that I wanted to be, but not anymore.
I've been enjoying birthdays on Taboro birthdays and Tarboro birthdays,
so I put on four or five pounds, and I
like to keep myself at what they call it a
good fighting weight. I'm generally pretty comfortable between one's sixty
five and one seventy for my height. But now I'm
(15:08):
going back on caldron because I don't want to put
on any more weight. As a matter of fact, I
want to knock this off as I can. And if
you're in that same frame of reference, you don't you
want to eat and enjoy the holidays, but not think
about your weight, then get on Caldrin right now. Go
to top loss dot com, see how the program.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Works and order what you need.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
As a matter of fact, this weekend you can buy
three and get three free.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Is a Calitrin sale.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Going on right now, and all you have to do
is go to top loss dot com and get a
hold of the first choice for people who want healthy
weight loss.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
It's here, it's now, so.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Don't miss out big savings at top loss dot com.
Use the DOUG code on all your orders and you
get free shipping as well, plus the best deal of
the day. And it's a good one for a Thanksgiving
weekend tren at toploss dot com.
Speaker 7 (16:02):
Gauged Diamonds has a secret for creating something stunning, something forever.
It's our skilled ring designers. Tell them about your favorite
ring styles, show them your inspirations. Together you'll make magic.
Schedule your in person or online appointment. Gauge specializes in
(16:22):
exceptional lab grown diamonds. Financing available. Visit Gauge Diamonds dot com.
We're engagement's middle name.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
All right, so we didn't hear from Dave's been doing
all the talking.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Bar were you there?
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Do you want to throw in a little bit of
throw your weight around a little bit so the day
doesn't get all of the credit. What role do the
two of you play in all the activity that Dave
has explained?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
How do you divide responsibilities?
Speaker 6 (16:55):
Well, it's not only just the two of us, but
like Dave said, it's fat.
Speaker 8 (17:01):
Run and operate and then over Thanksgiving time we have
about fifty employees that also help us. Wow, we are
I'm the fifth generation and then our grandchildren would be
the seventh generation. So we're proud of that.
Speaker 6 (17:20):
Like da said, started about eighteen fifty eight, that's Civil
War time.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Do you have people calling for other things? Like do
they want do some of.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Your customers want complete meals or are they satisfied with
the fact they can get very the whole turkey turkey breasts.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
I'm guessing you can separate them out right. Some people
don't want the whole bird.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
Well, that's funny you asked, because yesterday we had a
lady call and she's asked if we cook the whole
entire Thanksgiving meal, and we said, no, we do not
do that. But we have plenty of turkeys, whole turkeys
we sell, We sell skinless breast thiey drumsticks, and then
(18:05):
this year we just started a brand new turkey pie
and they're delicious. We're getting all kinds of really favorable
feedback on those. The crust is wonderful, the turkey is great.
The vegetables are peas and carrots, celery and onion, and
(18:26):
that's our new product for this year, and so far
it's a winner.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
I bet. I'm sure it is.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
People want to they like that as part of a service,
and I'm sure you can put that all together and
maybe on your fifty ecres you start growing some of
the things that you can take credit for all of it.
What a great story. I'm very happy that we've had
the opportunity. What a great time of year to talk
about this farm and what you've done there. David barb
(18:53):
Zerbe at Espin Shade Turkey Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Happy Thanksgiving you and I.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Hope that you keep doing this for as long as
a possibly count A great story, Thanks folks for being here.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Thanksgiving.
Speaker 7 (19:09):
This program was produced at bobk Sound and Recording.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Please visit bobksound dot com.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
The American Family Farmer podcast sponsored in part by Caldron,
which is the safe way for you to lose weight
and keep it off
The American Family Farmer podcast, sponsored in part by Caldron,
The Safe Proven Way to Lose weight. Check it all
out at toploss dot com. I'm Doug Stephan. This is
the American Family Farmer. As it is the weekend before Thanksgiving.
We're going to focus on turkey farming with a husband
and wife team in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Dave and Barb Serby.
(00:22):
It's espen Shaded Turkey Farm in Lancaster County. And I
know I'm pronouncing that correctly because I've had connections to
Lancaster County for a long time and I unfortunately, or
maybe now I'm fortunate because we're making the connection with
the Zerbis to tell the story of turkeys.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I mean, what better time have you to be telling
a turkey story?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Right?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Just Thanksgiving weekend? So let's talking about operations. You've been
around to your family. Is this something that you bought
from somebody else or has this been in the family
for a long long time. I'll start with day if
you want to start, or you can hand it over
to Barb.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Okay, the turkey farm has been in existence here at
this location since eighteen fifty eight.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
We say we are the oldest turkey farm in America.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
What's the significance of espen Shade.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, we think it's the quality and the taste of
the product that we produce. And we're following, if I
may say, over a century old tradition and process of
dressing and packing.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
The birds and getting them ready for the consumer.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So how did the two of you work together? How
does this coupling work in terms of the farm.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Well, it's more of a family.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Our daughters involved, our son in law as well, and
you know, and chewing grandchildren. But you know, Barb's parents
were you know, the how do I want to say,
the enterprise for g sixty seventy eighty years till they passed,
and then it came down to Barb and so being
(02:08):
her husband and I decided to we would end up,
you know, joining the operation because that's how we had
to pass.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
It down from her dad to us.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
And he he lasted until he was ninety two in
nineteen ninety and now two thousand and twenty twenty, he
died due to COVID and then her mom was ninety
five when.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
She passed just a year ago. So they basically ran
the farm and as a son in law.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
I just I just helped, but was here for forty
five years helping them, so you.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Know, we shared duties and responsibilities.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Barb handles a lot of the office pieces and so
forth and sales side of it, and I'm out helping
to raise the birds and manage that process with my
son in law and daughter.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Okay, but it's quite a family business.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Langas to County a great place for this, is there
something in the soil, is just something about the airs,
there something that makes it a better place to raise
turkeys than perhaps many other places.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Well, Leancster County is really known for its fertile soil
and top soil that you know is fairly sufficient, and yes,
crops and things do very well in this community. I
don't know that that contributes necessarily to the growth of turkeys,
but I know that we have custom feed formulas that
(03:31):
we use to raise our birds with, and we think
that contributes primarily to their you know, production and taste.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Let's talk about that as we continue here. We're talking
to the folks who run the Esben Shade Turkey Farm
in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Dave and Barb Zerby Elizabeth Miller
comes to us from the folks at Caltron. This is
the time of year when I advise people to be defensive.
The best way to not weight is to get on
Calendrin now and not wait until you've already put the
(04:04):
weight on.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
If you just have questions about Caldron, the product itself,
we are right here in America again, so you can
call us talk to us. We even like to follow
up with our customers after you order by email. If
you want to do text, you can text or call us.
Keep us posted with how your progress is going, because
we want to ensure that our customers are having success.
This is not just something you buy off the shelf
and say good luck. Never say you again. We've got
(04:25):
real life on support, email support, tech support, whatever you
need to help make sure that you are seeing the
results with this awesome product.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
One of the best ways of getting the best out
of Caldron is as you check out to use the
DOUG code DOUG.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
On all orders. You'll be able to have.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Free shipping and you also get the best deal at
that moment, no matter what it is. Here taking care
of use Doug at top laws dot com. It's Thanksgiving
week and Thus the conversation with the folks who run
has been Shaded Turkey Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
David Barbserby as has.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Been in the family for a long time, and I'm
wondering how many birds a year are you folks responsible for?
And then we'll get into the nitty gritty about how
they're raised.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
But what's the volume of.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Traffic that you have on the farm for the Is
it all Thanksgiving or do you have business all year along?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
What's the give us the routine.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah, we raise approximately six thousand turkeys a year. We
dress them all for fresh to you know, focus on
the Thanksgiving market. And you know, we have a number
of employers that buy them for their employees and then
we have a significant number of individuals that will buy
one or two or three. It all depends and range
(05:52):
in sizes anywhere from ten pounds up to we have
a thirty six thirty seven pounder this year. So some
people call us and they want the largest turkey we have,
but that's where our market is. And then we do
we do sell turkeys at Christmas, but everything then is frozen.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So you run the whole idea of Thanksgiving in turkeys
and all that stuff. It's almost a corny story at
this point, but it is a good story because people
are you know, they're focused on it.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
So all year long, the folks come around.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Are you in the place where people can come and
visit and see what goes on on the turkey farmers
of that kind of a place?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Well, yes, and no.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
If if we didn't have to deal with the what's
the avian flu? Okay, then you know, we have some
restrictions on where people can go. But once our turkeys
are dressed, then we don't have that restriction. So presently,
right as of today, anybody can go anywhere that they want,
(06:59):
and they like to see how we do things. We
do everything by hand here, so we you know, we
dress the birds by hand. We have a scalder, we
have a picker and so forth. But then we eviscerate
the birds by hand as well. And please excuse on
the phone calls while we're right in the middle of
a busy season and following.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Apologize for that.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
No worries.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So in terms of the avian flu, that's something's been
on people's minds for a long time. I was talking
on one of the other programs that I do this
week about the cost of Thanksgiving and how I have
some stats from both the National Farmers Union and the
American Farm Bureau Federation the annual cost of the birds
(07:48):
and what the farmer gets out of it. Whether it's
you doing the wholesale bit or whether it's people who
are growing large numbers for the wholesale market, it still
continues to be.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
In my mind a problems.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
And I'm in the dairy business, I'm in the cow business,
and it's the same thing. And it annoys me to
see how every year people like you are having to
argue or figure that you have to explain yourself when
it comes to how much you charge. Is this something
(08:27):
that you've been in the business. The families had the
farm running for a long time. So I'm guessing that
either you do other things besides turkeys, or you make
it work under the circumstances at the right price.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Well, presently we do. We only do turkeys. We have
about fifty acres. And you know, my father in law
years ago would raise its own hay straw and do
things like that. So he had a business where he
did you know, crops, and then he did turkey so
he did one thing in this spring, in summer, another
(09:01):
thing in the fall.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Sure, we're presently just doing turkeys, okay, and so so
that's sustaining us in our operations.
Speaker 6 (09:12):
Here.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
The whole business about how you raise them, people, I'm
sure are concerned because there's lots of talk about how
to responsibly raise chickens and turkeys and cattle and all
those things. I'm, for one, don't use any hormones or
any antibiotics, and I understand that's the way you do
(09:33):
your business as well.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
That's correct.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
We have no antibio archer hormones, and they're not free range.
Your birds are not free range, but they're in a
large covered house okay, which they have plenty of room
to run, but they're not out on the field roaming,
you know, picking their own food.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
How has your business changed from year to year in
terms of how you raise what you feed the animals.
Has it been consistent since your father in law ran
the business or have you added to my ideas to
sort of change the way the animals are brought to maturity.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Yeah, we haven't changed that process much. The only thing
we've done is modernized the feeding and watering systems.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Rather than having them more manual.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Okay, in the years past, he would he would drive
an auger wagon through and fill up the feeders that
were gravity fed, you know, so it falls to the
bottom and a trough and that's that's a pretty.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
Hard process.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
So we three years ago we modernized put some automatic
waters and feeders in.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
So that we have feedbinds outside.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
And it pools with an order pools the feed in
and that kind of thing. So they get to they
see that feed you know, along maybe thirty or forty
different dishes on two sides of each side of the house.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
So and then water is equally distributed. But yeah, then
we just maned. I've got a.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Computer system in there that can you know, if something
goes wrong with the water or the feeder, it sends
me a text or an alarm and I can get
up in the middle langa down and fix it if
that's a problem. But whereas in the past there was
no technology whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah, and it makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
There are a lot of people, are a lot of
farmers even that are going to AI and things that
are more robotic. I can't imagine that that would be
the case in an operation like yours. But who knows,
you know, how things are changing.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
There's a lot of hands on work with it. But
it's not robotics. Let's put it that a.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Way, right, So what under the circumstances, what's the average
lifespan of the turkey? And do you have a hatchery there?
So you're starting from scratch with each bird.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
We don't have a hatchery.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
We buy our pulse that are one day old, and
then we raised those birds from that's to say, July
to the early part of November, and we'll get we
get them in and we order them so they arrived
at different weeks intervals, so then we have different sizes
(12:23):
of birds. So the last flock we get in would
be the smaller birds, and the third flock would a
little bigger, and the first second flock bigger, in the
first flock the biggest. So that's the way we do it.
So so our birds are here a matter of four months,
maybe four and a half at the most.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
And is the being young keep them tender?
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Is that one of the things you I wonder We
have on my farm a lot of wild turkeys and
one of the fellas I dressed off a few of
them a few years ago and made a lasagna out
of it. It was the toughest Yeah, the toughest meat
I've ever tasted because.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
They are old birds in they're they're not raised for eating.
But is it an age.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Thing as much as anything else, you mean, for the
tenderness of the meat. Yes, yeah, Well again.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Without disclosing any secrets, we think that the way we
dress the bird, which is by hand, it's not shocked,
and the way we we keep it for a night
in water helps to tender eyes. Okay, there's there's a
process there that we do. We ice them down. A
(13:38):
lot of the farms that we visited, they will dress
their birds in the morning, then pack them up in
the afternoon, and under USDA guidelines, they just have to
get that body temperature down to somewhere around forty degrees
and then they can pack it up maybe thirty eight.
We take our birds down to you know, probably below
(13:59):
thirty you know what I mean, you know, right around
thirty We get them good and cold before.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
We pack them up.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
It sounds like it makes a lot of sense, all right,
hold on for a second, or I having your conversation
with Dave and Barbe. I haven't heard from Barbe, but
I want Barb to speak up here from esben Shade
turkey Farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I want to know what
else they have and how typical a turkey farm it is.
Plus we're talking about what turkeys cost this year. It's
(14:25):
all right front and center because it is Thanksgiving weekend,
a reminder about Thanksgiving and Christmas and.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
New Year's and eating and eating and eating. I have
not taken my own advice. For the last month. I've
been saying, get on caltrin and stay there. It'll keep
you from gaining weight. I have. I got off.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Caltrin a few months ago because I was down to
the weight that I wanted to be, but not anymore.
I've been enjoying birthdays on Taboro birthdays and Tarboro birthdays,
so I put on four or five pounds, and I
like to keep myself at what they call it a
good fighting weight. I'm generally pretty comfortable between one's sixty
five and one seventy for my height. But now I'm
(15:08):
going back on caldron because I don't want to put
on any more weight. As a matter of fact, I
want to knock this off as I can. And if
you're in that same frame of reference, you don't you
want to eat and enjoy the holidays, but not think
about your weight, then get on Caldrin right now. Go
to top loss dot com, see how the program.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Works and order what you need.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
As a matter of fact, this weekend you can buy
three and get three free.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Is a Calitrin sale.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Going on right now, and all you have to do
is go to top loss dot com and get a
hold of the first choice for people who want healthy
weight loss.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
It's here, it's now, so.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Don't miss out big savings at top loss dot com.
Use the DOUG code on all your orders and you
get free shipping as well, plus the best deal of
the day. And it's a good one for a Thanksgiving
weekend tren at toploss dot com.
Speaker 7 (16:02):
Gauged Diamonds has a secret for creating something stunning, something forever.
It's our skilled ring designers. Tell them about your favorite
ring styles, show them your inspirations. Together you'll make magic.
Schedule your in person or online appointment. Gauge specializes in
(16:22):
exceptional lab grown diamonds. Financing available. Visit Gauge Diamonds dot com.
We're engagement's middle name.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
All right, so we didn't hear from Dave's been doing
all the talking.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Bar were you there?
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Do you want to throw in a little bit of
throw your weight around a little bit so the day
doesn't get all of the credit. What role do the
two of you play in all the activity that Dave
has explained?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
How do you divide responsibilities?
Speaker 6 (16:55):
Well, it's not only just the two of us, but
like Dave said, it's fat.
Speaker 8 (17:01):
Run and operate and then over Thanksgiving time we have
about fifty employees that also help us. Wow, we are
I'm the fifth generation and then our grandchildren would be
the seventh generation. So we're proud of that.
Speaker 6 (17:20):
Like da said, started about eighteen fifty eight, that's Civil
War time.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Do you have people calling for other things? Like do
they want do some of.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Your customers want complete meals or are they satisfied with
the fact they can get very the whole turkey turkey breasts.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
I'm guessing you can separate them out right. Some people
don't want the whole bird.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
Well, that's funny you asked, because yesterday we had a
lady call and she's asked if we cook the whole
entire Thanksgiving meal, and we said, no, we do not
do that. But we have plenty of turkeys, whole turkeys
we sell, We sell skinless breast thiey drumsticks, and then
(18:05):
this year we just started a brand new turkey pie
and they're delicious. We're getting all kinds of really favorable
feedback on those. The crust is wonderful, the turkey is great.
The vegetables are peas and carrots, celery and onion, and
(18:26):
that's our new product for this year, and so far
it's a winner.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
I bet. I'm sure it is.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
People want to they like that as part of a service,
and I'm sure you can put that all together and
maybe on your fifty ecres you start growing some of
the things that you can take credit for all of it.
What a great story. I'm very happy that we've had
the opportunity. What a great time of year to talk
about this farm and what you've done there. David barb
(18:53):
Zerbe at Espin Shade Turkey Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Happy Thanksgiving you and I.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Hope that you keep doing this for as long as
a possibly count A great story, Thanks folks for being here.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Thanksgiving.
Speaker 7 (19:09):
This program was produced at bobk Sound and Recording.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Please visit bobksound dot com.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
The American Family Farmer podcast sponsored in part by Caldron,
which is the safe way for you to lose weight
and keep it off
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.