Valley View Turkey Farm
Where: 4900 Yankee Road, Liberty Twp.
To order a turkey: (513) 779-4546
Info: Turkeys from 16 to 40 pounds, $2.16 per pound
LIBERTY TWP. — It’s the busiest time of the year for Carl Koch. In the coming weeks, the Liberty Twp. resident will dress more than 1,000 turkeys for local residents’ Thanksgiving tables.
Koch runs the Valley View Turkey Farm on Yankee Road in Liberty Twp. The 66-year-old has been in the turkey business since high school, but he said he’s seen “a tremendous increase” in demand for his turkeys in recent years as consumers look for more local food options.
“They want to go back to the farm. They want fresh turkey,” he said. Koch said his customers like knowing where their turkey was raised, but that’s not the only advantage.
“It tastes a lot better,” Annette Duritsch said. The Monroe resident has purchased three Thanksgiving turkeys from Valley View and expects to do the same this year. She said the turkey tastes fresher and is much juicier than frozen turkeys.
Duritsch said she doesn’t mind the $2.16 per pound price tag. “I’d rather give a little extra to someone local than buy it from a big chain,” she said.
Koch’s customers also come looking for bigger turkeys than they can buy at the grocery store. The toms tip the scales at 36 to 38 pounds, with the hens weighing in at about 25 pounds. Koch said his turkeys tend to grow better than those that are mass-produced.
It all adds up to a loyal following for Valley View. Duritsch said she found the farm after a co-worker, a longtime customer of Koch’s, recommended it to her. Others come from more than 100 miles away to buy their Thanksgiving turkeys from Koch.
For some, it’s about tradition. Koch said he’s selling to his second and third generations of customers now. “Some of them came here when they were little guys,” he said. “And now they’re buying them.”
The farm is a family tradition for Koch as well. His father started a turkey farm on Princeton Road in 1938, then moved to the current location at 4900 Yankee Road in 1956. Koch’s two adult sons, Kevin and Kelvin, each take time off from their full-time jobs to help out at the farm at this time of year. He also hires a crew of 8 to 10 people for several days to help prepare the turkeys. The rest of the year, he works the farm on his own.
Koch says he’ll hang it up “pretty soon,” and he’s not sure what will happen to the farm then. But for now, area residents who want his fresh, local turkeys should act fast. Orders can be placed by calling (513) 779-4546 or stopping by the farm. Most of his turkeys will be sold for Thanksgiving, with just a few saved for Christmas dinner.
“We may run out,” he said.
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