Pull into Maureen and Paul Knapp's driveway at their Preble home and you'll be greeted by a rag-tag bunch of clucking chickens and a pair of sassy black goats. This is free-range in the extreme.
The Knapps run Cobblestone Valley Farm, a fourth-generation family farm in the Tioghnioga River Valley and this fall they've been busy raising their popular Thanksgiving turkeys.
For the last five years, the Knapps have reared pasture-raised turkeys for the Thanksgiving market. This year, 60 gobblers will meet their fate at the Knapp's processing plant.
Cobblestone Valley Farm began as a dairy farm and remains such today. But many changes have occurred on the farm since its early days and now the farm is full of animals of all kinds. Turkeys, chickens, pigs, and beef and dairy cattle share the farm with the Knapps and their three boys.
It's this kind of diversification that has helped the certified-organic farm make a name for itself in the region. Their Thanksgiving turkeys are just one part of the story.
Five years ago, Maureen Knapp read about pasture-raised poultry, an idea proffered by Joel Salatin, a pasture pioneer. In his book, "Pasture Poultry Profits," Salatin lays out cost effect pasture-raising techniques as well as the health and
environmental benefits of eating pasture-raised poultry.
Maureen was converted and now she just needed Paul to go along with it.
"I pitched the idea to Paul and he said we should do it," she said.
Conventional turkeys that you can buy at the grocery store for 19 cents per pound are generally reared in confinement sheds and never see the light of day.
There can be upwards of 50,000 birds in one area and the stress of such confinement often drives them to peck and fight. Their beaks are often clipped and they are genetically engineered to grow bigger at an abnormal rate.
The Knapps didn't want to be part of that cycle and set out to raise their birds in sensitive and responsible manner. Their efforts have paid off because all of their birds have sold and there's a waiting list for next Thanksgiving.
"We were more than sold out for this Thanksgiving," she said.
Maureen says the pasture-raising difference is visible in the birds demeanor and in the taste of the meat. Pasture-raising is different than free-range in which the birds only need to have access to the outside. Free-range practices do not guarantee that the birds were treated humanely and allowed to roam free. It's an important distinction as a number of free-range birds are not actually grass-fed and don't have the run of the land.
Meat from birds raised on pasture grass and grain is healthier and has a richer taste. Plus none on the birds are force-fed or have been given antibiotics or other drugs.
"You'd be amazed at how much better it tastes," she said.
The turkeys come in the mail from a farm in Pennsylvania when they are just a day old. The Knapps raise them for 16 weeks before they are processed.
Two times a day Paul or Maureen will feed and water the turkeys, so the birds are fairly low-maintenance. Every week, the turkeys' fencing is moved to another pasture somewhere else on the farm. Maureen says its not a big deal to move the netting around the turkeys pastures and that the birds seem to enjoy a change in scenery and grass. Whatever waste the birds produce goes back into the soil, fertilizing that area of grass.
This practice of rotational grazing give the Knapps the highest efficiency from their pastures. All of the Knapp birds and animals rotate pasture on a weekly basis, even their dairy cows, who pretty much have the run of the land.
The turkeys feed on the pasture grass as well as a mix of different grains. The grains come from Lakeview Organic Grain Mill in Penn Yan and include a mix of soybean meal, corn, kelp and various minerals.
The average Knapp turkey grows to be between 15 and 18 pounds and is sold for $2.40 per pound. That's a far bit steeper than the average grocery store turkey, but Cobblestone Valley Farm's customers don't seem to mind the extra expense.
Today and tomorrow, the birds will be herded on to a trailer and taken to the processing area of the farm. The Knapps then kill, scald, pick, eviscerate and rinse the birds and then package them up for their customers. Those buying Knapp turkeys know where they came from and are even encouraged to have a look around the farm.
"It's so easy to go to a supermarket and pick what you want. There are no consequences. People don't even realize where their food comes from," Maureen said.
Once the Knapps transition to an organic operation in 2001, there was no looking back and they and the animals are happier for it.
"This is a humane process," she said. "It's the way it always used to be done."
For the last five years, the Knapps have reared pasture-raised turkeys for the Thanksgiving market. This year, 60 gobblers will meet their fate at the Knapp's processing plant.
Cobblestone Valley Farm began as a dairy farm and remains such today. But many changes have occurred on the farm since its early days and now the farm is full of animals of all kinds. Turkeys, chickens, pigs, and beef and dairy cattle share the farm with the Knapps and their three boys.
It's this kind of diversification that has helped the certified-organic farm make a name for itself in the region. Their Thanksgiving turkeys are just one part of the story.
Five years ago, Maureen Knapp read about pasture-raised poultry, an idea proffered by Joel Salatin, a pasture pioneer. In his book, "Pasture Poultry Profits," Salatin lays out cost effect pasture-raising techniques as well as the health and
environmental benefits of eating pasture-raised poultry.
Maureen was converted and now she just needed Paul to go along with it.
"I pitched the idea to Paul and he said we should do it," she said.
Conventional turkeys that you can buy at the grocery store for 19 cents per pound are generally reared in confinement sheds and never see the light of day.
There can be upwards of 50,000 birds in one area and the stress of such confinement often drives them to peck and fight. Their beaks are often clipped and they are genetically engineered to grow bigger at an abnormal rate.
The Knapps didn't want to be part of that cycle and set out to raise their birds in sensitive and responsible manner. Their efforts have paid off because all of their birds have sold and there's a waiting list for next Thanksgiving.
"We were more than sold out for this Thanksgiving," she said.
Maureen says the pasture-raising difference is visible in the birds demeanor and in the taste of the meat. Pasture-raising is different than free-range in which the birds only need to have access to the outside. Free-range practices do not guarantee that the birds were treated humanely and allowed to roam free. It's an important distinction as a number of free-range birds are not actually grass-fed and don't have the run of the land.
Meat from birds raised on pasture grass and grain is healthier and has a richer taste. Plus none on the birds are force-fed or have been given antibiotics or other drugs.
"You'd be amazed at how much better it tastes," she said.
The turkeys come in the mail from a farm in Pennsylvania when they are just a day old. The Knapps raise them for 16 weeks before they are processed.
Two times a day Paul or Maureen will feed and water the turkeys, so the birds are fairly low-maintenance. Every week, the turkeys' fencing is moved to another pasture somewhere else on the farm. Maureen says its not a big deal to move the netting around the turkeys pastures and that the birds seem to enjoy a change in scenery and grass. Whatever waste the birds produce goes back into the soil, fertilizing that area of grass.
This practice of rotational grazing give the Knapps the highest efficiency from their pastures. All of the Knapp birds and animals rotate pasture on a weekly basis, even their dairy cows, who pretty much have the run of the land.
The turkeys feed on the pasture grass as well as a mix of different grains. The grains come from Lakeview Organic Grain Mill in Penn Yan and include a mix of soybean meal, corn, kelp and various minerals.
The average Knapp turkey grows to be between 15 and 18 pounds and is sold for $2.40 per pound. That's a far bit steeper than the average grocery store turkey, but Cobblestone Valley Farm's customers don't seem to mind the extra expense.
Today and tomorrow, the birds will be herded on to a trailer and taken to the processing area of the farm. The Knapps then kill, scald, pick, eviscerate and rinse the birds and then package them up for their customers. Those buying Knapp turkeys know where they came from and are even encouraged to have a look around the farm.
"It's so easy to go to a supermarket and pick what you want. There are no consequences. People don't even realize where their food comes from," Maureen said.
Once the Knapps transition to an organic operation in 2001, there was no looking back and they and the animals are happier for it.
"This is a humane process," she said. "It's the way it always used to be done."
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