Stress-free turkeys ready to be gobbled at free-range farm
492 views · Published 7 December 2018 · 5:58 · Indexed 28 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(2 Dec 2018) LEADIN: Christmas is coming and the goose - or perhaps turkey - is getting fat. A stress-free turkey means a good tasting bird amd at one free-range farm in the UK that means going to extreme lengths to keep the turkeys relaxed. STORYLINE: Thousands of plump turkeys destined for festive feasts. Copas Traditional Turkeys has been rearing the birds for over 60 years at its 73-acre farm in Cookham, about 50 kilometres west of London on Berkshire's green rolling hills. In 1957, their first batch - 153 turkeys - later blossomed into a small business. Trends have come and gone, but to this day, the family-run business relies on one tradition many are yet to break - turkey on the dinner table come December 25th. "Christmas is one of those traditional meals, so people are looking for the tradition behind it," says Tom Copas, a third-generation turkey farmer and managing director at Copas Traditional Turkeys. "Traditional setting, that family setting, and the turkey being the centrepeice of that Christmas meal is really traditional. So, it comes hand in hand, really." Copas now rears around 30,000 birds a year. For months, they're left to stroll on the farm's grassy meadows. While many producers age their rafter - a group of turkeys - to about two months-old, Copas' birds live for longer, between five and seven months. That's because they believe a fuller life means denser meat and better fat cover, so chefs won't have to baste the bird when cooking. After they're slaughtered, the birds are hand plucked and game-hung for two weeks. That makes late November a busy time of year. The farm brings in an additional 100 seasonal workers. "The whole business is aimed at one day a year for that Christmas market," says Tom Copas. "So, you know, we spend eleven months planning it, one month doing it, and then we reset the clock and go again." But they're not cheap, Copas charges 108 British pounds ($138 USD) for a whole organic turkey, compared to around 50 British pounds ($64 USD) at UK supermarkets for a free-range bird. The turkeys are fed an oat-rich, natural cereal diet. Workers are also careful not to stress the birds, as that can lead to worse tasting meat, explains Copas. "When you process the bird, if a turkey is stressed then actually it's going to tense its muscles up, and be; 'Oh, I'm panicking about stuff,' it's going to engage the muscles, release lactic acid into the muscles," he says. "So, when you cut into the meat, the meat can be very tough and chewy." In fact, the turkey farm goes to extreme lengths to ensure their precious flock doesn't get stressed, even staging "firework training" so the birds aren't frightened on Guy Fawkes Night, an annual celebration held across the UK on 5 November, involving bonfires and fireworks. "In October, we start doing firework training," explains Verity Copas, sales manager at Copas Traditional Turkeys and Tom's wife. "So, it will start from a mini rocket, and then that actually builds up every day until we have a bit of a crescendo and the turkeys have their own mini firework display." Verity says despite a recent trend towards vegan and vegetarian lifestyles in the UK, they're yet to see that affect their sales. "There's veganism, vegetarianism is becoming much more popular," she says. "But what we're very proud to say is we have a couple of customers that are vegetarian that come back to us and eat our product at Christmas." About half of Copas' 30,000 turkeys have already been ordered for Christmas dinners. The rest await their fate Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/462e841996be4a520bf361c8ad12288c
