ST. PAUL — Erica Sawatzke, a sixth-generation turkey grower with
Oakdale Farms in Douglas County, said her family used to travel the state to “show” turkeys in the ’30s when the business first came to Minnesota.
The practice of showing turkeys has since dwindled, but Sawatzke’s family has stayed in the business as it’s climbed to national dominance over the decades. Her dynasty is just one of 600 turkey farms across the state that work to produce the birds year-round, not just for Thanksgiving.
In 2024, Minnesota produced 34 million turkeys, accounting for 16% of all turkeys produced in the U.S, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Minnesota’s turkey production accounts for 14% of the state’s total agricultural production and generates roughly $1 billion a year, according to MDA.
“That is significant,” said Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen. “One farm supports ... the veterinarians, truck drivers ... all kinds of different workers that are in and out of there, the feed companies, energy companies ... there’s a lot of economic activity” involved.
Climbing to the top
Jake Vlaminck, manager of Fahlun Farms in Lake Lillian, said three names come to mind when he thinks of the turkey industry’s growth: Earl B. Olson, Albert Huisinga and Alvin Norling.
In 1940, Olson founded Jennie-O — named after his daughter — with headquarters in Willmar. The company was purchased by Hormel in 1986 and merged with The Turkey Store (formerly Jerome Foods Inc.) in 2001. It is now known officially as Jennie-O Turkey Store Inc.
Petersen said Jennie-O “really put Minnesota on the map,” but Jennie-O Turkey Store is just one of the top turkey processing companies in the state, along with other big names like Turkey Valley Farms in Marshall and Northern Pride Inc. in Thief River Falls.
Huisinga, Norling and Herman Nelson started one of the largest turkey hatcheries in the industry, now called the Willmar Poultry and Egg Company, in 1945.
“Willmar Poultry did a lot of the work to supply and support all the independent farmers that got Earl B.’s business going,” Vlaminck said. “We have a lot of individual farmers who raise turkey still today, and I think that’s what got it going. It’s just having a number of independent contractors who are willing to take the risk and innovate and bring turkey to the next level.”
In the late ’50s and ’60s, growers adopted the Clinton pole barn, a post-frame building that allowed growers to raise turkeys inside, Vlaminck explained.
“When they first started moving into the buildings, they were using Quonset huts ... but then the pole barn that was invented in the ’60s and marketed to turkey farmers ... was really .... a step in the right direction, was able to get turkeys raised all year-round, get in a climate-controlled environment,” he said.
Sawatzke, of Oakdale Farms, said her great-great-grandmother used to raise one flock of turkeys per year. Now, she raises eight flocks per year, a change she credits to the fact that she can raise them year-round.
The innovation emerged from weather challenges and catastrophic events like the 1940 Armistice Day Blizzard, in which over a million turkeys perished, according to National Weather Service archives.
“I mean, we live in Minnesota, so you’re always kind of up against the weather,” Sawatzke said. “There are lots of predators, tons of coyotes and skunks. Around Kensington, which is in Douglas County, there’s a lot of water, so we had a lot of waterfowl. And so with that came lots of disease challenges.”
Investing in pole barns paid off. Minnesota became the nation’s top producer for the first time in 1959, according to the Minnesota Historical Society.
Another factor in the industry’s success is increased access to feed for the birds.
“The other good thing about Minnesota is we grow our own feed,” Petersen said. “We grow corn, we grow soybeans, we grow the things that the turkeys eat right here, and we don’t have to truck it very far, and so that helps hold that cost down.”
Minnesota is third in the U.S. for soybean, spring wheat and canola production and fourth for corn, dry beans and flaxseed, according to MDA. Corn accounts for 32% of Minnesota’s total crop production, soybeans 20%.
Petersen, Vlaminck and Sawatzke all credit organizations like the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association (established in 1939) and the University of Minnesota’s partnership in researching disease and educating about how to safely and effectively raise turkeys.
“When it comes down to it, it’s the people, and here in Minnesota, we have some — and have had some — great researchers at the University of Minnesota that have done a lot of research that have helped us on the farm,” Sawatzke said.
“We have the Minnesota poultry testing lab in Willmar,” she added, “so the infrastructure that we have in Minnesota has been built up over the years, by the right people.”
“When it comes down to it, it’s the people, and here in Minnesota, we have some — and have had some — great researchers at the University of Minnesota that have done a lot of research that have helped us on the farm.”
Facing challenges
The first case of avian flu in Minnesota was confirmed in 2022, and there have been periodic outbreaks since, according to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.
The most recent outbreak, in September, affected more than 30,000 birds in Kandiyohi County, 61,000 in Stearns County and 92,000 in Meeker County, according to the University of Minnesota. It came just a few weeks after the state had been declared free of avian flu since April.
Sawatzke said avian flu and metanumo virus are the two diseases that have “wreaked havoc” on the industry.
“The aftermath of it is tough because it makes you second-guess everything that you do on your farm in terms of, like, how you manage your turkeys ... because what you saw was extremely devastating and emotional,” she said. “It’s still in our environment. … It keeps you on your toes.”
She said the million-dollar question is “How did I get it?” because most farmers don’t know how it got into their barns.
Vlaminck said metanumo virus is usually not a total loss, with anywhere from 10% to 70% of a flock surviving it.
“When it comes to the other big one,” he said, referring to avian flu, it’s a “total loss,” as growers are required to euthanize the whole flock.
“Disease pressures have definitely been a challenge, especially in the last few years with avian influenza. We’re getting hit particularly hard right now,” Petersen said. “It’s a curse and a blessing to be the Land of 10,000 Lakes during the bird migration season.”
‘The queen of protein’
Petersen said one of the upsides to the industry now is that turkey is an affordable source of protein.
“As meat prices are high, we see a lot of interest from foreign countries in importing turkey, whether that’s like Colombia or India,” Petersen said, adding that a delegation from Taiwan has also expressed interest. “I think in the years to come, we’re going to see continued growth” in purchases of turkey.
Average turkey consumption in the U.S. is 15.3 pounds per person per year, according to MDA. And, according to the National Turkey Federation, 87% of Americans polled who celebrate Thanksgiving eat turkey on the holiday.
But while turkey is most closely associated with Thanksgiving, Vlaminck wants people to remember it “all year round.”
“It’s very low in fat, very high protein,” he said. “We refer to it as ‘the queen of protein.’ As far as animal proteins go, this is about the most nutritious protein you’re gonna find.”
And Sawatzke wants to assure consumers that Minnesota-produced turkey is still safe to eat despite recent avian flu outbreaks.
“Every flock that leaves the farm — they’re tested before they go on the road. There’s such a high level of surveillance or monitoring that is being done that it’s not a food safety issue,” she said. “And I truly hope that people don’t shy away from eating turkey because it helps support families like (mine) in the industry that are out there, day and night, raising turkeys.”