Turkey producers in the Golden State have been urging consumers to get their orders for Thanksgiving birds in early. Growers such as Foster Farms, Zacky Farms, Willie Bird and others expect to be sold out of fresh turkeys well before the Nov. 24 holiday.
In fact, most of the state’s fresh turkeys were already spoken for — via contracts with stores or direct sales — last week, said Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation in Modesto. "This is going to be a year when, if people want fresh turkeys, they’d better let their supermarkets know," Mattos said. "In California, fresh and natural has been our claim to fame," he said. "We haven’t seen much of a change. There are still a lot of frozen turkeys sold, but fresh is what people want in California." Read More