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The Fate of American Poultry
  • Oct 20, 2020
The Fate of American Poultry

In the early 1800s millions of Bison roamed the plains of the United States. Less than 100 years later their numbers had been reduced to a mere 541 animals. While early conservation efforts helped raise this figure modestly, it was only when American farmers began raising Bison for their meat that their population grew into the hundreds of thousands. Much like the early Bison, the millions of healthy Standardbred chickens and turkeys which used to occupy the American landscape are now on the brink of extinction.

The Values Guiding Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch
  • Oct 9, 2020
The Values Guiding Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch

We applaud Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch’s Frank Reese Ranch for putting into words the values that inspire him to continue to preserve endangered poultry breeds poultry.  Here are the values that guide his practice.

A Brief History of Heritage Turkeys
  • Sep 5, 2020
A Brief History of Heritage Turkeys

The 2018 Poults are Hatching!
  • Apr 17, 2018
The 2018 Poults are Hatching!

Farmer Frank Reese is busy at Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch hatching the first poults of the 2018 heritage turkey season. See below for scenes from the farm!

Jive Talkin’ Turkey , Part II
  • Nov 9, 2017
Jive Talkin’ Turkey , Part II

We were having so much fun talking about “turkeys of the 1970s” – a time when real Heritage turkeys were having a tough time fighting against the influx of industrial farming and a trend towards growing everything cheaper and faster, no matter what the ultimate cost — that we thought we’d go back and look at some of favorite TELEVISION TURKEYS of the 1970s!

Jive Turkeys, Part 1
  • Nov 7, 2017
Jive Turkeys, Part 1

Oh, those wacky 1970s, when it seemed that just everyone was wearing white bellbottoms and dancing to the Hustle. That may have worked if you were eighteen-years-old and could get around on platform shoes, but when it was your uncle Murray trying to act hip, pretending to be younger than he was (by a lot!), we had an expression for him: Jive turkey!

FRANK REESE, AMERICAN HERO
  • Nov 3, 2017
FRANK REESE, AMERICAN HERO

Frank is a true hero of the Heritage food movement — he is the first and only sustainable commercial farmer to receive certification by the American Poultry Association for his birds as purebreds, standards that were set in 1873 — and he has been featured in publications ranging from the New York Times to National Geographic. His story is the Rosetta Stone of sustainable farming, and the reason why when it comes to meat, the word “heritage” is synonymous with “heirloom.” Good Shepherd turkeys are the oldest line of turkey in America, 100 percent antibiotic free, and pasture raised on the Kansas prairie.

Heritage Turkey Premiere: An Interview with Frank Reese
  • Aug 21, 2017
Heritage Turkey Premiere: An Interview with Frank Reese

  “I have baby turkeys everywhere!” It’s that time of year, summer in Kansas, and the heat is rising. “Turkeys have to be hatched before June to be ready for Thanksgiving,” says Frank Reese. “But these birds do real well in the heat – they aren’t morbidly obese, so they can handle it. And unlike […] The post Heritage Turkey Premiere: An Interview with Frank Reese appeared first on HERITAGE FOODS USA.