Phone: 763/682-2171

Email: lara@minnesotaturkey.com

(Buffalo, MN) … The Minnesota Turkey Growers Association is pleased to announce its 2012 Ranelius Scholarship Program, designed to encourage students enrolled in a post-secondary educational institution in Minnesota to prepare for a career in some phase of the turkey industry.

A total of $5,000 is available for scholarship awards. (Actual scholarship amount given out to worthy recipient(s) will be designated by MTGA Board of Directors, based on eligibility and criteria listed below.)

Eligibility:  The MTGA scholarship recipient(s) must be a citizen of the state of Minnesota and either be enrolled or plan to be enrolled in a post high school educational program that will prepare them for employment in some phase of the poultry industry.  While there are no restrictions on the major or program selected, it must provide suitable training for the applicant’s stated career goals.  Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously received an MTGA scholarship, and who are either members of the MTGA, or who are family members or employees of members of the MTGA.

Judging Criteria: The selection of the scholarship recipient will be made by an MTGA Board of Directors and based on the applications received.  The committee may withhold the scholarship award if there are insufficient worthy applicants.  An applicant’s scholastic record is a major factor.  Experience, activities and honors received will be considered.  The applicant’s demonstrated interest in the poultry industry, as reflected by past activities and a statement of career plans are also important considerations.

Application:  The application consists of a 3-page listing of requested information (format provided by the MTGA); a 1-page written statement from the applicant; and one letter of recommendation.

Deadline:  The deadline for receiving entries is February 15, 2012.  Mail entries to:  Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, Scholarship Selection Committee, 108 Marty Drive, Buffalo, MN  55313.

For additional info or an application:  Visit www.minnesotaturkey.com/education or contact the MTGA at 108 Marty Drive, Buffalo, MN  55313; phone, 763/682-2171; fax, 763/682-5546;   matt@minnesotaturkey.com.

###

About MTGA

MTGA, founded in 1939 and headquartered in Buffalo, MN, is a nonprofit association dedicated to fostering a successful Minnesota turkey industry and its ability to make positive contributions to consumers, the economy, the environment and its members. Minnesota is currently ranked #1 for turkey production in the U.S. with its 250 turkey farmers raising approximately 46 million turkeys in 2010. Minnesota has the most independent turkey farmers of any state in the U.S. For further details, visit www.minnesotaturkey.com.

Today was our only day to sightsee, so we started out early. We walked to breakfast and then hit the Washington Monument, the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial and the Holocaust Museum. The monuments and memorials were all really touching, especially the Korean War Memorial. The Holocaust Museum is so big that we didn’t have time to finish the whole permanent exhibition, but it was profound. We lit candles for Anne Frank in the Hall of Remembrances.

We’re back at the hotel now, getting ready for a media event with the birds and Rick Huisinga. Gotta run, but we’ll send another blog after the ceremony tomorrow!

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact: Lara Durben, MTGA Communications Director, 763/682-2171 or lara@minnesotaturkey.com

St. Paul, MN (November 18, 2011) – Two very Presidential turkeys and the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association (MTGA) paid a visit to Governor Mark Dayton today at the State Capital in Saint Paul. The event was a time-honored tradition, going back at least two decades, of Minnesota’s Governor unofficially kicking off Thanksgiving week in Minnesota. Also at the event was honored guest Senator Amy Klobuchar.

The Presidential turkeys are part of a flock of about 30 turkeys (all male, or toms), being raised in Willmar, Minn. by four FFA students and Willmar Poultry Company.  Two of the best-behaved turkeys in the flock will be chosen to travel to Washington D.C. next week to be pardoned by President Obama at the White House – continuing a 64-year tradition of the National Thanksgiving Turkey event.

“It is a huge honor for the National Thanksgiving Turkey and its Alternate to come from Minnesota this year,” said Steve Olson, MTGA Executive Director. “The White House Thanksgiving event has been a tradition since President Truman so our turkey farmers in Minnesota feel blessed to be part of such an amazing history. It’s also been a wonderful opportunity to highlight what farmers do each and every day to ensure safe, delicious and affordable turkey products.”

Current National Turkey Federation (NTF) Chairman Richard Huisinga, an executive with Willmar Poultry Company, will present the turkey to President Obama. Also attending the ceremony in the Rose Garden will be Huisinga’s wife, Randi and their three children; the four FFA students from Willmar High School: Brianna Hoover, Brenna Ahlquist, Val Brown and Preston Asche; their FFA advisor/teacher Neal Pearson of Willmar High School; and MTGA Executive Director Steve Olson.

Huisinga is the 10th NTF Chairman from Minnesota to present the National Thanksgiving Turkey to the President.

At the Governor’s event on Friday, MTGA President Jeff Lindell, a turkey farmer from Cannon Falls, Minn., announced the donation of $11,200 to Hunger Solutions Minnesota (HSM), which will be used to buy Minnesota grown turkey products for distribution to food shelves across the state. This is enough turkey to feed over 13,000 people. These funds have been raised from contributions by Minnesota’s turkey farmers and our allied members as well as a portion of the sales from our Turkey To Go restaurant at the Minnesota State Fair; and new “likers” to our Minnesota Turkey facebook page. Turkey To Go’s mobile food cart in downtown Minneapolis also has pledged to donate turkey to families in need through HSM with every order of carved turkey they receive by Thanksgiving.

“Many families this year continue to be challenged by their economic situation this year, and Minnesota’s turkey farmers want to do their part in combating hunger with this donation to Hunger Solutions Minnesota,” said Lindell.

Lindell raises approximately 50,000 tom turkeys annually for the Dick Peterson family and Ferndale Market near Randolph. He also grows corn and soybeans,and is a member of the Randolph FFA Alumni Association as well as the Dakota County Farm Bureau.

HSM, a comprehensive hunger relief organization that works to end hunger in Minnesota, will coordinate the purchase and distribution of the turkey.

According to HSM, hunger in Minnesota has doubled in the last 5 years.  There is a steep rise in need for emergency food programs.  Food shelf directors report seeing an increase in veterans and highly-educated people seeking assistance. There are a lot of people coming into food shelves seeking advice because they have now run upon the end of their unemployment insurance (more than 99 weeks) and have nowhere else to turn.

Said Colleen Moriarty, HSM Executive Director: “This generous gift will go a long way to assist working families that are making less and cannot afford healthy food for their children during the holidays and beyond.  One in eight children in Minnesota live in food insecure households. We greatly appreciate the continued support of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association.”

Since 2001, MTGA has donated nearly 180,000 pounds of turkey to various areas of the state – or enough turkey to feed over 223,000 people.  This year, the donation of money will provide turkeys to families in communities such as Cannon Falls, Faribault, Melrose, Willmar, Thief River Falls, Frazee, Perham and Buffalo.

Approximately 250 turkey family farmers from Minnesota raise about 46 million birds annually, which places Minnesota squarely at the #1 position in the U.S. for turkey production.  U.S. turkey production stands at 246 million – which means Minnesota farmers raise nearly 20% of all U.S. turkeys.

MTGA was founded in 1939. Minnesota has the most independent turkey farmers of any state in the U.S. and is also home to three successful turkey processing companies – Jennie-O Turkey Store in Willmar, Northern Pride Cooperative in Thief River Falls, and Turkey Valley Farms in Marshall.  These companies collectively have created over 2,000 turkey products for the consumer and foodservice markets that are shipped across the country and the world.

Each turkey raised in Minnesota brings nearly $12 in economic value to the state.

###

About MTGA

The MTGA, founded in 1939 and currently headquartered in Buffalo, MN, is a nonprofit association dedicated to fostering a successful Minnesota turkey industry and its ability to make positive contributions to consumers, the economy, the environment and its members. Minnesota is currently ranked #1 for turkey production in the U.S. with its 250 turkey farmers raising an estimated 45 million turkeys in 2010. Minnesota has the most independent turkey farmers of any state in the U.S. For further information, visit www.minnesotaturkey.com or find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MinnesotaTurkey.

About Hunger Solutions Minnesota

Hunger Solutions Minnesota is a comprehensive hunger relief organization that works to end hunger in Minnesota. We take action to assure food security for all Minnesotans by supporting over 300 agencies that provide food to those in need, advancing sound public policy, and guiding grassroots advocacy. HSM advocates for the maximum use of all federal public nutrition dollars available and works to improve low income Minnesotans’ access to all nutrition programs. The HSM Minnesota Food HelpLine (1-888-711-1151) helps enroll low-income Minnesotans in the Food Support (Food Stamps) program and helps callers find emergency food assistance in their area. For further information, visit www.hungersolutions.org/ , on Twitter @hungersolutions or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/HungerSolutionsMinnesota

About Willmar Poultry Company

For over 65 years, Willmar Poultry Company has led the turkey industry in breeding and hatchery technologies. Its Willmar, Minnesota hatchery is the world’s largest and most advanced, and hatches upwards of 160,000 turkey poults a day. WPC and its sister companies employ nearly 1,600 people in five states. WPC has remained family-owned and operated since 1945.

Before we leave for D.C., we’re going to St. Paul to attend an MTGA event at the Capitol with the governor. Val is going to put one of our presidential birds on a table for the governor! It’ll be a good way for us to gauge how well we’ve done in readying the birds for the president.

On Monday, November 21, our high school is hosting a send-off for the birds and us. Willmar’s Mayor Yanish, our principal Mr. Anderson, our FFA and Ag teacher Mr. Pearson, and MTGA Executive Director Steve Olson will join us to thank our school and community for supporting us during this project. Afterward, the birds will drive to Washington, and we’ll leave for our flight to D.C.

This is a great adventure and we learned a lot of responsibility during the project. The turkeys are now about 40 to 45 pounds and are pretty much done growing. Their heads are now bright blue, their wattles are dark red and they love to strut around their pens. Oh and they gobble every time we enter the barn now!

This has been a wonderful experience for the four of us. We hope to write to you more about our journey to Washington, D.C. and we know we’ll have an awesome time. We’d like to give a big thanks to Rick, Jenn and Mr. Pearson, and of course to the staff of Minnesota Turkey Growers for making this possible.

We also had a veterinarian talk to the elementary students about turkeys and how important it is to raise them in the correct environment for their ages. For instance, baby turkeys (poults) have heaters and really soft, absorbent shavings on the barn floor so that they stay warm and dry while they are growing. We also showed the kids how shiny the water drinkers and feeders are so that the birds will investigate them. Once they find their food and water, they can have as much of both as they want!

We told the students about FFA and what we do in the organization. They were surprised to learn that it’s not just about driving tractors and planting corn! We are learning leadership and speaking skills along with the other projects we do. We encouraged them to get involved in their communities and to explore new things.

The students were very interested to learn from us that day but they were most excited to see the turkeys in real life! They all asked about the snood (the red skin that hangs across a tom’s beak) and the beard (a tuft of coarse hair on a tom’s chest). Since the schools we visited were in St. Paul and Coon Rapids, many of the kids had never been on a farm before and maybe didn’t know how important farmers are to our economy and our world. The turkeys were very well behaved and everything went really well.  We guess our work is paying off!

Overall, it was a really fun day!

Contact:  Lara Durben, Minnesota Turkey Growers Association at 763/682-2171 or lara@minnesotaturkey.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Willmar, MN – November 1, 2011) – Minnesota residents have an opportunity to submit name suggestions for a pair of turkeys that are being raised in order to be presented to President Obama later this month. The top names will be submitted to the White House to be considered for naming the 2011 National Thanksgiving Turkeys.

Contestants will be asked to submit two names, one for the National Thanksgiving Turkey and another for his alternate, who will also make the trip to Washington. Names may be submitted November 1^st -10^th on the Presidential Turkey website: www.minnesotaturkey.com/presidentialturkey. (Contest is only open to Minnesota residents ages 13 and over.)

From November 11^th – 15^th the public will be able to vote on their favorite pair of names on Minnesota Turkey’s Facebook site: www.facebook.com/minnesotaturkey.  Simply log into Facebook, search for “Minnesota Turkey” and click “like” prior to casting your vote. The 10 most popular sets of names from the Facebook voting will be forwarded to the White House for consideration when naming the National Thanksgiving Turkey.

Past names for the turkeys include: “Pumpkin and Pecan,” “May and Flower,” Marshmallow and Yamy.” Last year’s names were “Apple and Cider.”  Final name selection of the National Thanksgiving Turkey and his alternate rests in the hands of President Obama and his family.

The turkeys are being raised on behalf of National Turkey Federation (NTF) Chairman Rick Huisinga, an executive with Willmar Poultry Company, on a farm near Willmar, Minn.  If invited, the turkeys will be presented to the President by Huisinga and his family.  NTF anticipates an official invitation will come sometime after November 1.

The birds are cared for specifically by a group of four FFA (formerly known as Future Farmers of America) students from Willmar Area High School, with help from Willmar Poultry Company employees.

The turkeys are being raised just like any turkey flock in Minnesota. The birds eat a wholesome, nutritious mix of Minnesota-raised corn and soybeans, along with vitamins and minerals. The birds also have access to fresh water 24-7 and live in comfortable surroundings that protect them from bad weather and potential predators. The only difference with this flock is that they are provided increased interaction with people so that, if chosen, any of the birds will be prepared for his role at the White House ceremony.

The annual presentation of the National Thanksgiving Turkey to the President has become a highly anticipated ritual in the nation’s Capital, signaling the unofficial beginning of the holiday season and providing the president an opportunity to reflect publicly on the meaning of Thanksgiving.

###

About WPC

For over 65 years, Willmar Poultry Company has led the turkey industry in breeding and hatchery technologies. Its Willmar, Minnesota hatchery is the world’s largest and most advanced, and hatches upwards of 160,000 turkey poults a day. WPC and its sister companies employ nearly 1,600 people in five states. WPC has remained family-owned and operated since 1945.

About MTGA

MTGA is a nonprofit trade organization that began in 1939 with a mission to foster a successful turkey industry in Minnesota. The state ranks #1 for turkey production and processing in the U.S. with its 250 turkey farmers raising approximately 46 million turkeys annually. Minnesota has the most family-owned turkey farms of any state in the U.S. and many of these turkey farmers are 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th generation farmers. For more information, visit www.minnesotaturkey.com or www.facebook.com/MinnesotaTurkey.

We continue with our daily chores, but we have added a new one.  We now pick up the birds and set them on tables every day just like at the White House ceremony. They still are not completely used to us, but that’s improving every day.  Next week we are going to bring a radio to the barn for added noise and hope to get some lights to turn off and on to mimic camera flashes. By doing this, the birds will get used to all of the commotion and attention they’ll experience during the ceremony.  We’ve gotten a lot of attention too from reporters who have heard about our story.  Watch for our next blog post when we’ll tell you all about it!

Whew – what a whirlwind week!  Two of our turkeys made visits to first graders at Epiphany Catholic School in Coon Rapids and fourth and fifth graders at St. Paul City School, and we had a blast talking to the students and teaching them all about raising turkeys in Minnesota. You can tell the FFA students who are helping to raise the turkeys are doing an outstanding job because the turkeys were extremely calm and well-behaved. They didn’t seem to mind being carried in their crate between classes and mainly seemed curious about the students who were looking at them so closely.

Two of the FFA students – Brenna and Brianna – came along and talked to the students about their roles as caretakers of the turkeys and also explained a little more about what FFA (or Future Farmers of America) is. We also brought a turkey veterinarian from Willmar, MN – Dr. Ron Lippert – who answered a lot of questions from the students on what turkeys eat, how much water they drink, how big they grow and so on.

Did you know? Chicks dig the snood! All the classes wanted to know what that reddish-blue colored fleshy growth that hangs down from the turkey’s face is.  This is a “snood” and it’s main function in life is to attract the girl turkeys (or “hens”) to the boy turkeys (or “toms”).  All the kids thought that was pretty funny!

By the way, we tricked out the turkeys’ travel crate so it’s their own version of the White House!  Check it out – we think the turkeys look right at home!

You can view some of the photos from our school visits at the link below.

Next week … we’ll post more from our FFA students, plus we’ll be announcing our “Name the Thanksgiving Turkey Contest” on November 1 so watch for that!

Greetings and gobble gobble from the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association (MTGA)!  I serve as the Communications & Program Director for our organization and it’s been exciting to see all the media excitement already generated by our Presidential turkey flock of hopefuls. Just this week, we’ve fielded inquiries from all major Minneapolis-St. Paul television stations, along with several media outlets in Greater Minnesota as well.

You can view a great article in the West Central Tribune here, and view video from KSAX-TV out of Alexandria, MN here.

We anticipate the buzz only growing next week, as we are planning for two very special school visits on Wednesday, October 26.  We’ll be bringing two turkeys from the Presidential Flock to Epiphany Catholic School in Coon Rapids and St. Paul City School in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul. In addition to the educational activities we have planned for each school, we simply can’t wait for these elementary students to meet our very special turkeys!

In the meantime, we are anticipating that the official White House invitation will come soon. And we will be posting a new video on our Web site next week so be sure to watch for that – it’s a fun piece, especially for kids, that shows a little bit more about turkey farming and also brings in a few history lessons about Thanksgiving, too!

Do you have a question for the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association? Or maybe you want to ask our Presidential turkeys something?  If so, post your question below and we’ll get back to you!

Gobble Gobble!

Contacts:

Jenn Baumgartner, Life-Science Innovations at 320/222-9750 ext 2710

Lara Durben, Minnesota Turkey Growers Association at 763/682-2171

If invited by the White House, Willmar Poultry Company (WPC) executive, Rick Huisinga, will present President Obama and his family with the 2011 National Thanksgiving Turkey in November. Huisinga will have this honor as the 2011 Chairman of the National Turkey Federation.

The annual presentation of the National Thanksgiving Turkey to the president has become a highly anticipated ritual in the nation’s capital, signaling the unofficial beginning of the holiday season and providing the president an opportunity to reflect publicly on the meaning of Thanksgiving.

The 2011 National Thanksgiving Turkey eggs were laid at a WPC farm in early June and they hatched at the WPC Hatchery in Willmar on July 7, 2011. In September, a small number of male turkeys, or toms, from that hatch were selected and moved to a facility specially designed for them. One of those toms will ultimately be selected as the National Thanksgiving Turkey, and one will be his alternate.

The Minnesota Turkey Growers Association (MTGA) and WPC are working in tandem on the project and see it as a great opportunity to highlight Minnesota’s turkey industry and its farmers. “I’ve asked MTGA to be very involved in this project because it’s important to me that the entire Minnesota turkey industry gain visibility during this project,” said Huisinga. “We don’t get this opportunity every year, and I’d like to make sure that people all over the country know how significant turkey is to Minnesota and Kandiyohi County specifically.”

The National Thanksgiving Turkeys are being raised using normal feeding and other production techniques. The one exception is that the birds are provided increased interaction with people so that they will be prepared for the White House Ceremony.

WPC and MTGA selected four FFA (formerly known as Future Farmers of America) students from Willmar Area High School to help with the birds’ care and to provide that increased interaction. The FFA team members visit the birds for an hour each day to check the birds’ feed and water, and to clean the pens when necessary. In addition, they sit amongst the birds to acclimate them to movement and sounds not normally found in a turkey barn, such as music, clapping and human conversation. They also pet the birds as part of the taming routine. In the coming weeks, the kids will begin picking up the birds and placing them on a table in simulation of the White House ceremony.

MTGA is hosting and maintaining a special section on its website for the project at www.minnesotaturkey.com/presidentialturkey. The website includes pictures, video and a weekly blog written by the FFA team chronicling their experiences with the birds and the project as a whole. The site also features fun turkey puzzles, mazes and color sheets for kids as well as information for parents on nutrition, food safety and plenty of family-friendly turkey recipes.

To extend the educational reach of this very special opportunity, MTGA and WPC are coordinating with several schools in the Twin Cities to provide a program for elementary students, which will culminate in live turkeys being brought into the classrooms. Schools were initially contacted through Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom and the schedule of presentations was coordinated through MTGA.

“We’re excited to be able bring turkeys into the classroom because it’s really the best way for kids to learn more about where their food comes from and the important work that all farmers do to provide safe, nutritious and affordable food to the world,” said Steve Olson, executive director of MTGA. “An added bonus of this program is that students will learn a little more about the history of the National Thanksgiving Turkey and be able to meet what could potentially be the turkey that is presented to President Obama at the White House.”

In addition to the website, MTGA will use Facebook (www.facebook.com/MinnesotaTurkey) and Twitter (@MinnesotaTurkey) to help publicize additional details of the National Thanksgiving Turkey, as available.

If an invitation is extended to Rick Huisinga and his family from the White House, a special send-off in Minnesota for the turkeys will be planned prior to Thanksgiving.

###

About WPC

For over 65 years, Willmar Poultry Company has led the turkey industry in breeding and hatchery technologies. Its Willmar, Minnesota hatchery is the world’s largest and most advanced, and hatches upwards of 160,000 turkey poults a day. WPC and its sister companies employ nearly 1,600 people in five states. WPC has remained family-owned and operated since 1945.

About MTGA

MTGA is a nonprofit trade organization that began in 1939 with a mission to foster a successful turkey industry in Minnesota. The state ranks #1 for turkey production and processing in the U.S. with its 250 turkey farmers raising approximately 46 million turkeys annually. Minnesota has the most family-owned turkey farms of any state in the U.S. and many of these turkey farmers are 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th generation farmers. For more information, visit www.minnesotaturkey.com or www.facebook.com/MinnesotaTurkey.

Editor’s note:  A schedule of the school presentations in the Twin Cities area will be available soon; if you are interested in further details, please email lara@minnesotaturkey.com.