How Minnesota became the state that produces the most turkey in the U.S.
It is the food that is top of mind right now, but did you know more turkeys come from Minnesota than anywhere else in the country?
But why is that? Turns out, it's a nature-nurture situation.
"There's roughly 8,000 turkeys in (my) barn," John Zimmerman, of Northfield, said. "I am not saying they smell like roses, but we do minimize any odor."
That's just one of the many tasks a turkey farmer tackles.
"We are so good and efficient in providing food to the consumer, I think they sometimes forget the work it takes," Zimmerman said. "It's great that there's this holiday that's dedicated to our industry and turkeys, but we do this day in and day out. There's always a demand for turkey sandwiches."
No one answers that demand better than Minnesota.
"We are the number one turkey-producing state. North Carolina is number two and we fight back and forth a little bit," Zimmerman said.
As for the reasons, he says climate control comes into play.
"Barns like this, it can be 40 below outside and we can keep them comfortable at 55, 60 degrees inside, has allowed us to grow birds year-round efficiently," Zimmerman said.
There's also the landscape.
"We are in farm country, so we have access to corn and soybeans, which are the prime feed ingredients, so we have a competitive advantage because the feed is close by," Zimmerman said.
There's also strong agricultural support at the University of Minnesota.
"One of the more important things is the people. When the turkey industry started around World War II, there were a number of people who wanted to raise turkeys and had that ambition, that foresight to set up that industry, set up all the auxiliary businesses we needed to set up a successful industry here," Zimmerman said. "Earl B. Olson, with Jennie O, Willmar Poultry Company, they had the foresight that they saw a future demand for turkey meat and a better way of growing those birds."
Just like that, Minnesota gobbled up the market.
Last year, then-President Biden pardoned two of Zimmerman's turkeys, Peach and Blossom.
