A couple weeks ago, I got to hear Jason DeRusha speak to a gathering of Minnesota turkey farmers (yes, even turkey farmers have conferences!). If you live in Minnesota, you likely recognize Jason DeRusha’s name from WCCO Radio and Minnesota Monthly, where he’s the Food Editor. He’s a resident Minnesota foodie.

As a metro guy, he made great connections between the Twin Cities restaurant scene and the farmers in the room, sharing stories of James Beard award-winning chefs, many of whom came from farms and still deeply value knowing the source of the food on their menus. He also highlighted that many of Minnesota’s recent high-profile chefs are doing something distinctly their own, not trying to copy some prototype for a good restaurant. Think Yia Vang at Vinai, showcasing the Hmong flavors he grew up with, or Karyn Tomlinson at Myriel, and the Midwestern cuisine she learned from her grandmother, or Sean Sherman at Owamni, and the Indigenous food system he’s building. Authenticity has put the Minnesota food scene on the map.

I won’t compare myself to a James Beard award-winning chef, but it hit me that we’re doing the same thing here: using our free-range farming legacy to do something different in the food world. Turkey farming is what we know. Along those lines, I just read about another turkey brand that now expanded into chickens. While that may seem to make good business sense – it’s all poultry, right? – it struck me that we’ve grown turkeys, and only turkeys, on this farm since 1939, and we’re still doing it the way everybody used to. It’s a real story and a real difference.

In that spirit of authenticity, I’d like to invite you to join us Saturday for our annual Summer Farm Tour, to see our farm, turkeys, and practices for yourself. It’s a fun morning and a great chance to make those connections between farm and table that Jason DeRusha talked about. I’ll hope to see you here!