Good Housekeeping loves Sonora-raised turkey

Good Housekeeping magazine recognized Diestel Family Ranch for how it raises turkeys near Sonora.

The business received a 2021 Sustainable Innovation Award in the category of Smarter, Healthier Food and Kitchen.

The honor was in part for the pasture-raised line of whole turkeys. They peck at grass and other tidbits in the open, along with the corn and soy that make up conventional poultry feed.

The magazine also noted Diestel's environmental measures: It composts manure and feathers for use by other landowners to fertilize soil. It recycles about 90% of the water on the home ranch.

Workers wash down barns with probiotic-laced water, rather than chemicals, “to create a healthy microbial environment,” a news release said.

“We believe that it's not enough to protect the earth, we have to restore it,” fourth-generation farmer Heidi Diestel said.

Jack Diestel founded the company in 1949 on Lyons-bald

Mountain Road, about five miles northeast of Sonora. It now has a few other ranches in western Tuolumne County and a plant near Chinese Camp.

The business is much smaller than Foster Farms, which dominates the West Coast market with turkeys processed in Turlock. Diestel has carved a niche with higherpriced products, including organic birds and “heirloom” breeds from the past.

The turkeys have varying degrees of access to the outdoors and take longer to raise than the industry norm.

Diestel sells whole turkeys online and at selected grocers, along with deli meats, sausage and other products. Thanksgiving meal planners might note the 13.5-ounce container of organic turkey gravy for $4.95. More information is at www.diestelturkey.com.

Good Housekeeping will feature the award winners in its November print issue and already has them online at Goodhousekeeping.com. The magazine is likely better known for its Seal of Approval, awarded since 1909 to products that impress its testers.