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The Koch Family has been raising turkeys on 60 acres of land in the Lewiston Valley of Pennsylvania for three generations. Duane Koch runs Koch’s Turkey Farm with the help of his three sisters, and together they raise free-range turkeys using an all-vegetarian diet of locally grown corn and roasted soybean. With the feed mill, turkey houses and processing facility all located on the family property near Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, the turkeys are able to live their entire lives on the same land.
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My kids LOVE KOCHS Turkey Breast………..YUM YUM
October 21st, 2008 at 11:50 am
I grew up in Tamaqua ….anthracite coal region…we ate Koch’s poultry my whole life especially with a family of six!!
October 21st, 2008 at 1:22 pm
PLease help me to understand ‘acceptable’ beak trimming.
What farms specifically do your organic turkeys come from?
Can I look them up to see what their humane certifications are?
Why do you feed soybean meal?
November 12th, 2008 at 9:08 am
@gleanna Thanks for your thoughtful questions. Here’s what I’ve pulled together from our folks in the Meat Department. Beak Trimming We allow the performance of physical alterations only when the overall physical and psychological welfare of the flock or herd would be benefited to prevent possible injury and only when conducted by a trained operator in an appropriate manner that minimizes any discomfort. In reference to turkeys, beak trimming is conducted to stop the birds from feather pecking and injuring one another. Only the very tip of the beak can be removed. Organic Farms Many of our stores get their birds from local or regional vendors, so it’d be best to check in with your nearest store to ask which farms their organic turkeys come from. Humane Certification Turkeys labeled as organic need to meet the standards set forth by the National Organic Program. In addition, to get into our stores, all products need to meet our quality standards. Many vendors, such as Koch’s go a step further and seek out humane practices certification from other third parties. At Whole Foods Market, we are working on a meat rating system that encompasses many of these issues. We plan on starting roll out of that plan in mid-2009 and we’ll let you guys know when it’s in stores. Soybean meal Soybean meal is fed to most birds in North America as part of a balanced feed ration and it’s never fed alone – it’s usually mixed with corn, as well as other grains and legumes.
November 13th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I am offended…he holds the turkey like it’s his pet…however, we all know what will happen to that turkey.
November 15th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Waiting on answers to Gleanna’s questions and additionally, please confirm whether or not these turkeys breed naturally.
Thanksgiving purchase hangs in the balance!
November 17th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
@Laura in VA: For more information on Koch’s Turkey Farm’s natural breeding practices, you can refer to the ‘Practices’ section of their website: http://www.kochsturkey.com/practices.html.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
It’s wonderful to see a good family farm that appears to respect their turkeys. I also want to know if they breed naturally and if their beaks are trimmed (I want to say inhumanely like those PETA chicken videos).
I would be more than happy to spend the extra money for this brand knowing the turkey had a good life.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Here is what their website says about ‘practices’:
These guidelines also take into account the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), practical standards for the proper care of and Treatment of Turkeys. In addition to meeting these guidelines, Koch’s scored a 100% on the Turkey Welfare and Humane practices independent audit by Steritech.
Here is the link to the RSPCA’s standards for Turkeys:
http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirect&pg=welfarestandards&marker=1&articleId=1121442811665
November 18th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Hi Everyone.
I’m Ed Cifu, and I’m the meat coordinator for the South Region of Whole Foods Market. I’ve been to Koch’s farm and seen the entire operation, so hopefully I can answer the questions you’ve posed here.
“Acceptable beak-trimming” is conducted to stop the birds from feather pecking and injuring one another. Only the very tip of the beak can be removed, per Whole Foods Market animal compassion standards, and it is done by laser when the birds are a day or two old.
Our organic turkeys are coming from Plainville Farms in Plainville, New York. They are fed Certified Organic feed – the main difference between the two turkeys we offer.
Soybean meal is a part of their feed because it offers additional protein without using animal by-products, like many conventional poultry farms. The Koch family feeds its turkeys a mixture of locally grown corn and roasted soybeans. Duane Koch says, “All our turkeys are all-vegetarian fed, we don’t use any byproducts of any kind – no cooking meal, bakery byproducts, fish byproducts, pet food byproducts – we don’t use anything but an all-vegetarian corn and soybean meal diet.”
The turkeys do not breed naturally. This is a tough process, especially in large groups, as you might recall from Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle!
Thanks for reading and watching!
November 21st, 2008 at 10:23 am
How do you meet the turkey’s amino acid requirements with just roasted soy and corn? Don’t you have a methionine and other protein deficiency in the feed? Usually the animal proteins in a feed ration help make for these amino acids or they are added as supplements to the feed individually. How do you accomplish this?
November 24th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
As Ed mentioned in his previous posting, the Koch family feeds its turkeys a mixture of corn and roasted soybeans. The birds are never fed animal proteins of any sort. To fortify the corn and soybean diet, the Koch family adds extra vitamins and minerals, such as lysine and methionine (both amino acids), to the feed.
November 26th, 2008 at 10:49 am
I grew up in Tamaqua and moved to North Carolina 6 years ago. I have eaten the turkeys all my life. They also have a store to go and buy other products. Two of my sons actually worked for the Kochs on the farm when they were in school.
This area is so beautiful if you ever get an opportunity to visit there are camp grounds close by. This area is still mostly farming.
Last night when watching the news a commercial came on for Whole Foods and showed that they have Kochs Turkeys. Now that I know that don’t need to bring back from PA. when I go home to visit.
December 18th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
“they truly do care about how they raise their animals” – wow this is shocking! Where are the scenes of what really does happen to these Turkeys???
June 20th, 2009 at 8:30 pm