Gunthorps Raise Pasture Turkeys
Published: Friday, November 16, 2018
Greg Gunthorp of Gunthorp Farms in LaGrange began raising turkeys about 10 years ago. He also raises pigs, ducks and chickens, and got into the meat business 20 years ago. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, the Gunthorps are busy processing turkeys that will eventually make it to many familys' dining room tables.
In 1998, Gunthorp was raising hogs in pastures like his family had for the past three generations. He was not making much money for the pigs, but couldn't give up the family tradition. He soon found a solution to the problem. He sold his first hog to Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Chicago, and the venture only expanded from there.
Today, Gunthorp Farms raises animals for meat in pastures just like Greg did 20 years ago. There is a USDA inspected processing plant on the farm where they harvest, process and package all the animals before shipping them out to restaurants in Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit.
"We started raising a few turkeys for one of our customers in Indianapolis," Gunthorp said. "The first year we did 300. We doubled every year until we got to about 2,500, then we grew a little bit since then."
About 10,000 turkeys are raised and processed on the farm each year, and Thanksgiving makes up half of that number. The turkeys take about 16 to 20 weeks to reach market weight. None of the animals are raised in barns. They are able to roam freely about their pastures. There are shelters placed throughout the fields where the birds can escape the elements, if needed.
The farm is family owned but also has employees. Greg's children also work on the farm. His daughter Kara does the sales and marketing for the farm and his son Evan manages the processing plant. Kara's husband Ed manages the farm.
"The turkey market seems to be very good this year," said Gunthorp. "Not as good as 2015. In 2015 there wasn't enough turkey to go around when the Avian Influenza hit. But this year there's still an awful lot of demand for turkey."
According to Greg, there are around 50 million birds sold just for Thanksgiving Day in the United States. The Gunthorps wholesale turkeys for about $3 to $3.50 per pound. That is about two times the commodity market price for fresh turkey.
"Turkey is a hard one to compare on prices," Gunthorp said. "They're sold for some kind of special to get people in the store to buy the rest of their groceries. You can get turkey some years for as little as just about nothing."
In addition to the 10,000 turkeys, Gunthorps raise and process 125,000 chickens, 2,500 pigs and 10,000 ducks each year on the farm. They have about 250 acres of pasture for the animals.
In the processing plant, there are about four birds processed in a minute. About 250 turkeys pass through the plant in an hour. Gunthorp said it is slow by 2018 standards, but it is good for their farm. A USDA inspector examines each animal that gets processed. After going down the line, the meat is packaged and placed in the freezer before being shipped to the buyers.
The Gunthorps are in the process of adding on to their processing plant. A new freezer will create a more fluid path from the processing line or smoker to the freezers by the loading dock.
"Turkey is probably the most unique niche product," he said. "Lots of people that won't spend the money for pasture raised animals will put a turkey on their table on Thanksgiving. So, it's a good market for us."
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