Our 2014 Turkeys Have Arrived

[PVF1799]

Here are the new arrivals at Pleasant View Farm. This year we're pleased to announce all our feed has been custom ground using NON-GMO grain. 50 Birds in total this year. Last year we sold over 30, leaving just enough for ourselves.

Our Little Red Turkey Barn

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Little Birdie

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More Birds

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[tmays]

Like that you're using NON GMO grain. We do also, or so we're told. I sometimes wonder about non GMO, organic, etc labels.

[PVF1799]

Like that you're using NON GMO grain. We do also, or so we're told. I sometimes wonder about non GMO, organic, etc labels.

The company that custom grinds our feed provides proof that the grain they use is certified non-gmo. We have to drive over 1 hour to the mill to get this kind of food. One of the clues that it is non-gmo is the protein content. The germ size is much larger than GMO Round-Up laced products from Monsanto. We did a lot of checking on suppliers with a pretty sound due diligence process before selecting this mill.

Ken

[Stanton]

Looks great, Ken.

Are your birds going to free range or be in a pen once big enough to leave the coop?

[PVF1799]

Looks great, Ken.

Are your birds going to free range or be in a pen once big enough to leave the coop?

They are free range on grass - they are only locked up at night to keep the coyotes away. Their shelter is moved every day so they are always on a clean area.

Thanks for the "Looks Great"

[Super A]

A friend is in the process of putting in his own press to process soybean meal for his hogs as well as my dad's. Whole Foods wants all animal products to be fed gmo-free feedstuffs within, I believe it is, 5 years.

They both planted all conventional corn and beans this year.

Al

[Don McCombs]

I don't want to start an argument or lengthy debate here, but to maybe clear up some misconceptions about GMO plant systems. Roundup Ready seeds, whether they be corn, soybeans, etc. are not "laced" with Roundup. Rather, the plants are genetically modified to provide tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate, which is the chemical compound used in Roundup and many other agricultural and non-agricultural herbicides. To put it simply, when glyphosate is sprayed on a field containing GMO (Roundup Ready) plants, all plants except the GMO plants are killed. Can the plants take up the chemicals in the glyphosate? Certainly. But, so can a non-GMO which has been seeded into a field sprayed prior to planting. So, if you don't spray with glyphosate, either pre- or post-planting there's no chemical in the end product. Having said all this, there are some real health and nutritional issues with GMO's. Some scientifically proven, some not.

[Don McCombs]

Ken, do you market these dressed or "on the hoof"?

[PVF1799]

We sell them processed w/giblets in BPA Free heat shrink bags. We could sell them on the hoof if requested to do so. We also offer a service where the turkey can be deboned and rolled - White and Dark meat only - No Bones. The video below is a time lapse of my son doing one.

[Super A]

I don't want to start an argument or lengthy debate here, but to maybe clear up some misconceptions about GMO plant systems. Roundup Ready seeds, whether they be corn, soybeans, etc. are not "laced" with Roundup. Rather, the plants are genetically modified to provide tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate, which is the chemical compound used in Roundup and many other agricultural and non-agricultural herbicides. To put it simply, when glyphosate is sprayed on a field containing GMO (Roundup Ready) plants, all plants except the GMO plants are killed. Can the plants take up the chemicals in the glyphosate? Certainly. But, so can a non-GMO which has been seeded into a field sprayed prior to planting. So, if you don't spray with glyphosate, either pre- or post-planting there's no chemical in the end product. Having said all this, there are some real health and nutritional issues with GMO's. Some scientifically proven, some not.

Very true. I've read some scholarly stuff that has said there may be some issues with Roundup that we didn't know about before, dealing with how long it persists in the environment IIRC. But as for me, I am not scared of GMO's one bit until I see soild, non-biased research results that say otherwise. In my dad's case, the switch back to conventional is more about customer demand than anything else.

Biggest problem we are running into as far as roundup ready goes is herbicide resistance. Everybody treated the technology like a silver bullet when it first came out, and now we are paying the piper....

Al

[PVF1799]

One of our primary reasons to switch from GMO is for sure related to GLYOPHOPSHATE actually making it into the final product. The other and perhaps equally compelling reason is that GMO grains and especially corn have been modified to increase yield. They've done this by reducing the size of the germ, thusly decreasing the protein content whilst increasing the sugar content for use in the corn syrup industry. This is the PRIMARY driver behind why the USA leads the world in the number of diabetics per capita.

Utilizing Non-GMO grain provides my livestock feed that has a higher protein content per pound with less sugar. Europe is always well ahead of the USA in most things, including the health of the food they eat - not to mention their cell phones have always been unlocked and their coverage is SUPERIOR in every way to ours. I actually had better coverage in the middle of 3.5 million acre preserve in South Africa than I have 15 minutes from the Capital of NYS.

The one statement that is so true - "I will provide what the customer requests" and our clients are requesting Non-GMO products along with Heritage Only vegetables. They do this because the sugar content is lower, the protein content is higher and they simply taste better.

Enough of my blah, blah.....
Conversation like this make this forum awesome. I really appreciate hearing all the different views on our food.