Turkeys prove to be a great benefit to Henry County?s economy

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

WAYLAND ? When one thinks of livestock production in Henry County, cattle and hogs immediately come to mind.

And while beef and pork production are staples in the county?s economy, don?t forget about the turkeys.

Robert Achen, of Wayland, chairman of the board of Agri-Way Partners, L.L.C. in Wayland, is a third-generation turkey producer. He says that turkey production now ranks second on the livestock ladder in the county.

The Wayland area no doubt is the hub of turkey production in the county. Achen, who has been a turkey producer for three decades, says there are 25 turkey growers in the area, nearly double the growers the area had in 2003.

Achen ?grows out? 120,000 turkeys annually under contract with West Liberty Foods. His son, Jared, the fourth-generation of the Achens, grows out 60,000 a year. The Iowa Turkey Federation says each turkey adds $30 to the economy. Consequently, with 25 production farms in the area and some farms producing over 100,000 turkeys a year, simple math indicates that turkey production is big business and a significant factor in the county?s economy.

The Achens receive the poults when they are about a day out and grow them to 19-20 weeks of age.

?We grow toms, basically because it is the only turkey processed at West Liberty Foods,? Achen noted.

Adding to the turkey growers? impact on the county economy is West Liberty Foods. The company is headquartered in West Liberty and one of its two remaining plants is in Mt. Pleasant.

According to Wikipedia, the plant in West Liberty formerly was owned by Kraft and processed turkeys under the Louis Rich label. In early 1996, Kraft officials said they would be closing the plant in December if no buyer could be found. Several months later, 47 Iowa turkey growers banded together, forming the Iowa Turkey Growers Cooperative (ITGC), and purchased the West Liberty processing plant.

Mt. Pleasant?s 85,000 square-foot plant, which has three shifts and employment of over 500, was built in 2003 and expanded in 2004. The plant, located at 2225 E. Commerce Dr., has annual revenue of over $1 billion, according to the West Liberty Foods website.

The third West Liberty Foods plant is in Tremoton, Utah. The company is the 56th largest meat packing company by sales in the United States and the largest supplier of Subway?s sliced sandwich meat. West Liberty Foods supplies Subway with over one million pounds of sandwich meat weekly. The company?s three plants, according to the West Liberty website, process 4.5 million turkeys annually or 180 million pounds of meat.

West Liberty Foods also had a plant in Sigourney, which was closed in 2009.

Livestock production always benefits from a nearby plant, and Achen lists that as the reason for the growth of the industry in the county. ?West Liberty Foods has really helped us grow the industry,? he said. ?I am 99 percent sure that the growth is due to the plant. There has been a lot of growth (in turkey production) in Henry County the last 20 years. I would guess that we have doubled the production in the Wayland area. I know that turkey producers have a big impact on the economy.?

He said that all but one or two area turkey farms are West Liberty Foods contract turkey producers.

When Achen began raising turkeys, he sold them at either the former Louis Rich plant in West Liberty or a processing plant in Postville. The Postville plant burned in the early 2000s.

The Wayland turkey producer guesstimates that the Wayland area probably ranks third in the state in turkey production, behind the Storm Lake and Ellsworth areas. The Wayland producers were the only producers in the state not impacted by the Avian influenza (bird flu) last year.

As a state, Iowa ranks seventh nationally as of 2014 in turkey production, according to statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture. Revenue from turkey production and processing in Iowa is listed at $1.5 billion per year. There are over 130 turkey farms in the state that raise a total of 11 million turkeys a year.

Over the years, Achen said his operation ?has expanded quite a bit? with the construction and rental of additional buildings.

The producer said he always wanted to be a livestock farmer and chose turkeys ?because I bought a farm that had a building for it. I have enjoyed it and have no regrets.?

Like most ventures, he said turkey production has had its ups and downs but sticking with it has been rewarding. ?Turkey production has its challenges and is a lot of work, but it has given our family a nice living.?

And turkeys also have proven to be a boon to the county and state?s economy.