Omaha area turkey farms see gains and losses this season

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Nebraska farmers had to decide months ago whether or not to raise Thanksgiving turkeys this year.

Some are having to miss out on sales while others are cashing in.

At Barreras Family Farm in Blair, you’ll see cows, horses, but no turkeys this year. It was a strategy set by the Mariel and Anthony Barreras early in the pandemic.

“We just needed to reset, which we had to do quickly because then the demand change it focused more on the beef and the pork,” they said.

Meanwhile, it’s a different story at Nebraska Heritage Turkeys. They’ve already sold about 25 percent of their flock, which is busier than normal this time of year.

“So far sales have been brisk partially due to people spending more time at home, so they could research farms close to them, but also because they people saw the connection to their food when they couldn’t go out to the store,” said William Watterman.

William’s farm has even more turkeys at another site in York and raises anywhere from 100 to 300 each year.

“This year we’re at the lower end closer to a hundred just because of how things went earlier this spring,” he said.

That’s when farmers had to decide whether or not to collect eggs and start raising infants known at poults.

Consumers reserve turkeys based on the size or type they want for the holiday.

In this market of meals, William has more to sell for Thanksgiving, and the Barreras will look forward to the following holiday.

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