Free-Range Turkey Farming: Do You Have What it Takes?

Think you have what it takes to enter the turkey farming industry?

It takes a lot more than you might initially recognize to get a good quality bird from the farm to the Thanksgiving Day table.

Sure, you might have the passion and the know-how, but those aren’t enough to render a turkey farming venture a successful, profitable business. Along with the passion, you need the cash.

Before you embark on any farming venture, it’s important to assess the costs. For a free-range turkey operation, here’s a list of fixed and variable costs to consider:

• Cost of disease prevention, including parasite infestation and other turkey diseases.
• Cost of disease treatment.
• Cost of the plants and trees needed in the turkey range, which serve as shelter.
• Cost of housing and fencing.
• Cost of feeding and watering.
• Cost of labor required – turkeys are very social birds and require human attention daily.

Along with cost considerations should be targeted goals, clearly laid out within your business plan. You should list:

• The number of free-range turkeys that you intend to sell.
• The number of poults (young turkeys) you intend to raise.
• The number of turkey eggs that you plan to produce and sell.

Lastly, no business is complete without proper registration. All turkey farm owners must register for the required commercial license and permits to run a legal free-range turkey farm.

Interested in starting your own free-range turkey farming business? Need farmland financing support to help turn your operation into a full-fledged, successful business? Look into farm loans by AgAmerica. Our ag loans, unsurpassed by most other ag lending companies, feature low farm loan rates and flexible payment plans. To decide whether or not an agriculture loan by AgAmerica is right for your business, contact us!