Traceable turkeys make their appearance just as Thanksgiving is around the corner
WICHITA, Kan. — Turkey farmer Darrell Glaser buys his Thanksgiving bird at the local grocery store, just like most folks.
But this Thanksgiving season, the Texas producer will be able to find out where the Honeysuckle White turkey he puts into his shopping cart was raised — and even know if it is one of the birds from his own Milam County farm.
Turkey buyers in select Texas markets will be able to either text or enter on the Honeysuckle White website the code found on the tag on the packaged bird to find out where it was raised and get information about the farm’s location, view farm photos and read the farmer’s message.
“What traceability does is just allow us to connect with the consumer,” Glaser said. “And I think over time there has been a disconnect. People have kind of lost where their food comes from, and this is a way to re-establish that line of communication.”
Glaser is an independent farmer who raises about 600,000 birds a year for Cargill’s Honeysuckle White brand, and is among four Texas farmers participating in the market test. The traceable turkeys in the pilot project won’t cost more than untagged birds, and after the test the Minneapolis-based Cargill and its Honeysuckle White brand says it will assess its effectiveness and value to determine further implementation of the digital technology and any price adjustments.
The pilot project marks the agribusiness giant’s entry into a burgeoning farm-to-table movement driven by people who want to know where their food comes from and how it was produced. It is also a sign of the success driven by sustainable food advocates who have been promoting such connections as a way for farmers to market locally grown and raised foods.