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| Bates Turkey Farm | |
|---|---|
 | |
| State | Alabama |
| Country | United States |
Bates Turkey Farm is a domestic turkey[1] producer founded in 1923 and based near Fort Deposit, Alabama[2][3][4] (about thirty miles south of Montgomery, in Lowndes County).[3] A wedding gift of nine turkey eggs was the start of the operation.[5]
The farm is on approximately 900 acres (360 ha) of land and raises free-range turkeys (about 60,000 in 2008) under pecan trees on about 30 of those acres.[6] The farm purchases poults (baby turkeys) from a hatchery in Oakwood, Ohio.[4][5] The turkeys are fed a diet of "freshly ground corn, oats and soybean meal, along with some vitamins"[3] and each "needs 70 pounds of grain to reach slaughter size".[4] The Bates Farm services customers from a wide range of locations, including many that are far-flung, including California, Oregon,[2] and Alaska.[5] Because it is cheaper to raise turkeys in the Mid-West, nearer where the grain they eat is grown, other turkey farms in the state have gone out of business, leaving Bates as the sole remaining in Alabama,[1][3] which once had 150 turkey growers. Turkey prices are highly dependent on feed costs—in 2011 Bates had to double his prices after corn got more expensive.[7]
It is the supplier of Clyde, a series of turkeys that have been ritually pardoned by the governor of Alabama on Thanksgiving since 1949[1][5][8][9] (Clyde was first pardoned by "Big Jim" Folsom)[8] as well as a frozen turkey, which is eaten as the governor's Thanksgiving meal.[4]
In 1969, Willie Claude "Bill" Bates, Jr. [10] opened his first Bates House of Turkey restaurant in Greenville; two more have followed, each serving an all-turkey menu and having turkey-themed decor.[3][4]
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