Five Minnesota Thanksgiving Turkey Facts You (Maybe) Didn’t Know
With Thanksgiving 2018 upon us, did you know the Land of 10,000 Lakes could also be called the Land of 46 Million Turkeys?
Having grown up in Wisconsin, we had an entire year (4th grade, if I recall correctly) where our social studies class was all about our home state. So I still remember that Wisconsin leads the nation not only in cheese production (duh!) but also in the production of cranberries-- which, of course, I always think about on Thanksgiving.
But Minnesota is no slouch when it comes to Thanksgiving facts, either. In fact, did you know the Land of 10,000 Lakes leads the nation when it comes to turkeys? That's right, according to the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association in Buffalo, Minnesota is the number-one turkey producing and processing state in the U.S. I gotta say, I didn't know that until I moved here. So, with that in mind, here are...
FIVE MINNESOTA TURKEY FACTS YOU (MAYBE) DIDN'T KNOW
+ Minnesota has approximately 450 turkey farmers who operate 600 turkey farms.
+ Those 600 farms raise approximately 44 million – 46 million turkeys each year (tops in the nation!)
+ Minnesota’s turkey companies – Jennie-O Turkey Store, Turkey Valley Farms and Northern Pride Cooperative – employ over 7,600 people.
+ It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30-pound turkey.
+ Kandiyohi is the top Minnesota turkey-producing county, followed by Stearns, Morrison, Lyon and Ottertail counties.
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