Within 60: On this farm, they always talk turkey
By Liza N. Beale, Editor
The Pounds family thinks turkey all year round.
Pounds Turkey Farm in Leechburg has been a family business for more than 70 years and, according to Bev Pounds, it has grown into the largest such farm in western Pennsylvania.
Each year, 11,000-12,000 domestic turkeys are raised on the farm. For the past five Thanksgivings the Pounds have sold out their available turkeys. They expect the majority of the birds to again be part of feasts for many families in the Pittsburgh region.
While the main focus of the farm is fresh turkeys, Pounds also rear 30 brood cows and a bull on their nearly 200-acre farm. The turkeys and beef cattle are entirely hormone- and nitrate-free, and contain no sub therapeutic antibiotics. It is just one reason customers flock to the store from as far away as Johnstown, Indiana, Jeannette and Latrobe.
"People like the fact that it's been hands-on by us from start to finish," Bev said. "They know where it came from. "
The late Harry Pounds, who founded the business, grew up in Vandergrift and originally processed and sold turkeys from his basement. The farm started in Indiana County but moved it to its present location in Westmoreland County in 1946. Sons Tim and Rick run the farm today with help from their wives and daughters.
From late April through mid-September, on the day they are hatched, young fowl, or poults as they're called, are trucked in from Michigan. Deliveries generally arrive in the middle of the night as the poults may smother each other as they react to the light.
A mix of male (Tom) and female (hen) turkeys are reared by size and age in three separate buildings. While difficult to spot which is which in a poult, the difference becomes more noticeable as they age. Bev points out that the Tom has a redder neck and will show off more by spreading its tail feathers and puffing up its body.
School children and scout troops delight in tours of the farm which are scheduled throughout the year. Many visitors are surprised to learn that a grown domestic turkey has white feathers rather than the dark feathers seen on wild turkeys. The birds can also be social creatures.
"They're curious, active and interested," Bev said about the animal Ben Franklin had yearned to make our national symbol.
The turkeys are fed a diet of corn, oats, wheat and soybean. All but the soybean is grown on the farm. During peak times, the turkeys will drink 2,000 gallons of water daily.
Bev said theirs is not a factory farm where the growing process is sped up for mass production. Rather, the growth process is slowed down on the Pounds farm to allow time for the animal to mature and become healthier. At the end of their life cycle, the turkeys get additional corn to add fat and, ultimately, more flavor to the bird.
"Young turkeys grown quickly are not the size of what nature intended," Bev said. "It may be good for the grower but not the consumer."
A turkey raised on the Pounds farm will not taste the same as a commercially-bought bird which can be steeped in brine. While there is not the gamey taste found with a wild turkey, Bev said there will be a difference.
"We don't add anything when it's being processed - no salt or butter flavors," she said. "Some people may miss that saltiness. We get a lot of comments on the flavor of the turkey. Once they try us, they are a customer for life."
Turkeys are sold by the pound, which is based on the age and size of the animal. There should be no taste difference because of size or sex.
"A well-grown hen and a well-grown Tom should taste the same," Bev said. "The Tom grows faster."
The most difficult task is processing, Bev said, particularly during the busier part of the year. At Thanksgiving time, additional staff is needed to help with the 1,100-1,200 turkeys which are processed daily.
During the two-day process from coop to plant to completion, a machine will pick the feathers and four to five workers double check each bird. No complete bird with feathers or bruising or other noticeable marks may leave the plant. Instead, it may be cut and sold in pieces.
"We're very finicky," Bev said.
About 8,000-9,000 turkeys are sold during Thanksgiving time. About 2,000 are shipped to specialty and family-owned stores in the Pittsburgh region. Locally, orders for Pounds turkeys can be placed and picked up at Trax Farms in Finleyville and The Springhouse and Eighty Four Packing in Eighty Four. The remaining is sold wholesale through the store on the farm's property.
They sell 1,200-1,300 turkeys at Christmastime.
"Christmas is so much slower," Bev said. "We do a lot of smoked turkey then."
A wide variety of turkey and meat products, all from the farm, are offered in the store, which is open year-round. Selections include turkey breast steaks, ground turkey, turkey sausage, turkey jerky, six different kinds of deli meat, bacon and kielbassi.
There's a variety of ready-to-serve frozen products, too, made from family recipes or from recipes which Bev has modified. A ham loaf recipe developed by a relative who once owned a butcher shop has now been adapted for turkey and is a popular deli item. Customers can also choose homemade pot pies, cranberry sauce, turkey and gravy, and even turkey bar-b-que.
Despite the long hours, Bev said she can not imagine not preparing a turkey for holiday meals.
"If I didn't cook a turkey at Thanksgiving, I feel like I would have missed something," she said. "I could eat our turkey every day. I don't get sick of it. It tastes so different."
Pounds Turkey Farm is located on Melwood Road in Leechburg. Call 724-845-7661 or log on to www.poundsturkeyfarm.com.