A True Turkey Story - and Not for the Faint-Hearted | Anne Medley | New West Blog

A True Turkey Story - and Not for the Faint-Hearted

By Anne Medley, 11-26-09

Turkey Slaughter 2009 from Anne Medley on Vimeo.

Getting a turkey from pasture to table is no small task. Nor is it one for the squeamish.

But, if you’re going to enjoy the bird and all its trimmings this Thanksgiving, you might as well know where they come from.

This last weekend, 75 pasture-raised heritage turkeys met their demise and made their way to tables across Montana and photographer Anne Medley was there every step of the way. In this multimedia piece, Anne documents butchering day at Prairie Heritage Farm near Conrad, Mont. (owned and operated by NewWest.Net editor Courtney Lowery Cowgill and her husband Jacob Cowgill) and the community that turned out to make it all happen. You can read more about the Cowgills’ operation and their turkeys in this piece in the Great Falls Tribune or on their blog.

Note to readers: This piece is not for the faint of heart.

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By Anne Medley, 11-26-09 | comments (3) | email story | print story

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Comments

By Art, 11-26-09

Great photography, nicely assembled and well narrated. Thanks!

By Karen, 11-26-09

Eh gads, I'm not sure I can eat turkey anymore! I agree with Art great job Ann.

By Molly Bradford, 11-27-09

We ate one of these fine birds last night. I've had butterball, Hutterrite and others... and this was by far the tastiest bird we've ever had. Thank you for the opportunity to invest in your farm and heritage efforts through the Thanksgiving share... please sign us up for 2010.

EB (age 3) is asking to watch this video over and over. She knows where her turkey came from and "Gets" it. HUGE Thanks for letting know the whole process. She does have a couple questions, though: 1, where do the "guts" go, who eats them? and 2, what do you do with all those feathers?

Anne - great work here, making it real, not gory nor sensationalized.

Court & Jacob - thanks on so many levels. You were part of our "Thanks and Giving" at the table last night.

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