SUWANNEE COUNTY, Fla. — Long before a Thanksgiving turkey reaches your table, farmers are hard at work feeding the birds, monitoring their health and guiding them from hatch to harvest.
Their efforts help keep one of America’s oldest holiday traditions alive.
For Walter and Brianne Baum, that tradition looks a little different. Their family-owned farm raises heritage Bourbon Red turkeys — a breed that’s been in the United States for more than 300 years, according to the Livestock Conservancy.
“They’re sweet. They’re fun. They gobble all the time, which is hilarious,” Brianne Baum said. Behind that gobble is months of work. The process starts with hens laying 14 to 20 eggs — one per day — followed by a 28-day incubation period.
“It’s actually closer to a nine-month process,” she explained. “People don’t think about the time that goes in ahead of time.” Once the poults hatch, protecting them becomes a full-time job. It’s an investment that doesn’t always guarantee profit.
“We need to cover their feed and their housing… and hopefully get some money back for our time invested,” Brianne Baum said.
For the Baums, raising heritage turkeys is about more than business — it’s about preserving a piece of American history. Bourbon Reds were developed in Kentucky in the 1700s and are now considered endangered.
“They’re very similar to the birds the pilgrims would have celebrated with,” Brianne Baum said. “It’s pretty cool to know the turkey and the holiday both have these longstanding roots in the U.S.”
The tradition has become one of the family’s favorite projects — and a way for their children to learn where food comes from.
“It’s something fun to develop little traditions like that… the kids seeing how they interact,” Walter Baum said. “For me it was a learning experience raising turkeys versus just hunting them.”
As supply chain concerns continue nationwide, the Baums say supporting local growers protects more than traditions — it protects communities.
“If some natural disaster interrupts your food supply chain, you need farmers available locally. And that doesn’t happen unless you support them,” Brianne Baum said.