Think you can gobble a ton of turkey? Visit JD Farms
If you’ve ever wondered if there are more than 100 different ways to enjoy turkey, there are. And JD Farms proves it.
“Everything that we sell here is made with turkey,” says Marilyn Morgan, who runs the Langleybased farm with her brother, Jason Froese.
“We make over 130 products using turkey, from sausages, to lasagnas and pizzas, to soups and turkey wraps.”
Seeing turkey — the ultimate holiday and leftovers food — done in so many different ways sometimes stops new customers in their tracks, Morgan admits.
“When people come in they say, ‘I never thought you could do this much,’” she adds with a laugh.
Boasting more than two decades in the turkey business, it’s safe to say the family behind the Fraser Valley operation has reached expert level for raising — and eating — the poultry.
“My parents started with the turkeys 25 years ago, but they bought the farm in 1979,” Morgan says. “Our dad realized there was an opening in the market for a specialty turkey because there wasn’t anything out there . ... There wasn’t anything really in the middle that was a specialty turkey that was also antibiotic free.”
Now, with Morgan and her brother at the helm — and with a little input from their dad, of course — the specialty turkey business is bigger than ever. JD Farms works with six other area farms to raise the birds.
“My dad’s involved from an arm’s reach,” Morgan says of her father Jack Froese, who is mayor of the Township of Langley. “With all (the farms), it’s about 150,000 turkeys per year.”
JD Farms turkeys are all registered with the Global Animal Partnership, a non-profit organization that aims to improve farm animal welfare.
“We get calls from people asking, ‘Are your turkeys happy turkeys?’” she says with a laugh. “Yes, our turkeys are happy turkeys. We take good care of our turkeys. They have lots of room to run around in, and (they) have free access to food and water whenever they want.”
The farm’s happy turkey can be tasted at the JD Farms bistro, which serves up fresh, country food with an emphasis on local and a friendly community feel. The bistro, which is housed in the main building featuring the kitchen and assorted food sales, began after Morgan’s parents realized the small store behind the original farmhouse wasn’t cutting it anymore.
“In 2006 they realized they were expanding and didn’t have enough room there,” she explains. “And they decided to open the bistro to create a place where locals could come and enjoy our turkey.”
The cafeteria-style setup has a casual country feel, with quick counter service offering madeto-order sandwiches, soups, wraps, hot meals and more — as well as a handful of tables at which to enjoy them.
“We have a lot of regulars that come in,” she says of the bistro’s repeat customers. “But we are getting a lot of new discovery traffic, as well.”
Morgan says the Shop 248 initiative, which sees JD Farms partner with other local enterprises along the rural road including the Otter Co-op, Bonetti Meats, Thunderbird Show Park, Kensington Prairie Farm and Krause Berry Farm, to promote their local products, has been a huge help in bringing new customers to the farm.
“All along the road, we crossmarket each other,” she explains. “It’s really great.”
And it appears to be working. On a cold, rainy Saturday afternoon, the bistro and attached shop were buzzing, with most of the visitors in line clad in their well-worn work jeans and barn boots ordering turkey sandwiches and portable wraps.
“I do think the sandwiches are the most popular items on the menu, definitely. And wraps have grown a lot, too,” Morgan says. “Those are what you see going out the door.”
As one would expect at a turkey farm, the meat appears in virtually every dish on the menu. Each iteration our table tried saw the meat served in lean and flavourful cuts.
The classic turkey sandwich featured simple slices of turkey sans seasoning. We chose to forgo any finicky sauces or fussy vegetables and instead had the moist slabs of meat with a gooey spread of cranberry sauce. Paired with the house-made sourdough cranberry bread, it was a feastinspired eat that was sweet and savoury and not too heavy.
“Everybody loves it — sourdough and cranberry — it just goes along with turkey really,
really well. It’s one of our favourites,” Morgan says of the fresh bread.
“We’ve started making all of our sandwich bread and all of our loaves in-house. And we sell them, as well.”
Vegetarian options are limited on the menu, but the chooseyour-toppings vegetarian sandwich was fresh and delicious featuring a selection of cheese and crisp veggies on that same delicious, house-made bread.
For dessert, the bistro serves up dessert options from Krause Berry Farms.
“We’ve had them right from the beginning,” Morgan says of the berry confections from the neighbours.
In the attached market, shoppers can find more local fare from Krause, as well as cranberry sauce and dressings from Cranberries Naturally in Fort Langley, Anita’s Organic from Chilliwack, and Hardbite Potato Chips from Maple Ridge.
“We try to do as much local as we can,” Morgan says.
After receiving direct requests from local customers, the farm also now offers raw dog and cat food as well as freeze-dried treats.
“Since we’ve been in this business, we’ve had customers come in looking for specific cuts of meat for their pets,” Morgan says. “We thought we could put something out there that’s really quality-driven and local, that you don’t see out there. It’s our specialty turkeys with 95 per cent meat, bones and organs and five per cent fruits and veggies, and then balanced with vitamins and minerals. It’s super healthy and easy to feed.”
Perhaps the best part about this Fraser Valley farm, shop and eatery, are the affordable prices. Our lunch party of four people consumed a wrap, two sandwiches, soup, two cans of soda and a piece of pie — all for less than $45.
“It is very important to try to make things affordable,” Morgan says. “It’s really pricey to live in Langley and we want to put out a good product at an affordable price.”
Mission accomplished.