Kauffman Turkey Farms: Purveyors of Thanksgiving

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - As you sit down to enjoy your turkey on Thursday, one local farm may very well be responsible for putting it there.

About 90 minutes outside of Chicago lies one of the area's most popular supplier of turkeys. They're known as much for their history as they are their quality.

As we gear for thanksgiving, we went behind the scenes to see just what it takes to make your dinner complete.

When that turkey lands on our table, we all know it came from somewhere but few have ever seen it.

For many in our area, Kauffman Turkey Farms in Waterman is where our Thanksgiving dinner really begins but for the turkeys themselves, it’s the beginning of the end.

Robert Kauffman is the owner of Kauffman Turkey Farms and things are speeding up for him.

His farm raises the turkeys from day one, often times with the same crew. This elimination of stress in transportation results in higher quality meat.

Each turkey is about 16 weeks when they’re lined up to be dressed – an industry term referring to the killing and preparation of the turkey for your Thanksgiving Day meal.

After the dressing, the bird is packaged with the giblets, weighed, bagged and boxed.

Good news for those on the right side of the fence.

So as you sit down to enjoy your delicious Thanksgiving meal, don’t forget to say thanks for friends and for family as well for those who gave so you could receive.

Kauffman Turkey Farms is continuing to plow through the holidays, as things won't be slowing down until Christmas.