Lessons Learned

1
Lessons Learned

• What not to do!

2
What Mission?

• Make it
• Know it
• Stick to it
• GSTRs mission is preservation
• Everyone gets mixed turkey flocks, even though
  some varieties dont grow as quickly
• I.E. Were not abandoning the Black turkeys

3
He saidShe said

• Communicate, communicate, communicate
• Respect each other
• Take notes
• Record meetings
• Keep records

4
Build it, theyll come

• Not!
• Have a market
• Have purchase contracts
• Know inventory
• Make a plan to move all product
• Dont have unsold birds sitting in locker
• Pace growth

5
Mishandling Birds

• Avoid losses at the end of the growing season
  caused by bruising and injury.
• Learn to catch load carefully
• Timing of catching
• Purchase proper transport boxes
• Plant workers know how to catch shackle
• Stand at plant watch and speak up

6
Poor Quality

• Quality makes or breaks a reputation
• Quality affects everyone
• Quality is affected by
• Husbandry
• Nutrition
• Genetics
• No turkey lt8 or gt28. These are cut up and
  deboned.

7
Plan for losses

• 10 damage or loss in processing is normal

8
Learn the Language

• Know your cuts
• Whole bird
• California Cut
• Breast
• Deboned skinned
• Learn to convert your live birds into cuts and
  pounds

9
Too LittleToo Much

• Plan for loss
• 10 during grow-out
• 10 during processing
• Plan for overage
• Know what youll do if loss is less than
  predicted

10
Plant Mistakes

• Lawyer vs. Lesson Learned you choose
• e.g. Refrigerate for 7 days, then freeze. Birds
  never frozen so they are ruined.
• e.g. Lost product whered it go?
• Negotiate at top levels with processor.
  However
• They have no liability for
  damaged birds or product

11
Not My Job

• Know whos responsible for what
• Sit down with everyone who will handle the birds
• Processing
• Trucking
• Storage
• Packaging
• Get agreements in writing

12
Risk Single Source

• Risk shared
• Frank took all the losses in first years, paying
  farmers for all turkeys regardless of quality,
  then incurring losses for small bruised birds.
• Established quality control
• Distribute flocks of mixed varieties
• Flocks identified with farmer at processor
• Paid according to graded dressed bird
• Farmers invested in all aspects of companys
  success

13
Successes

• We Did It!

14
Standard Turkey is Best

• The Standard turkeys have lived up to their
  reputation.

GSTR has the very best Standard turkeys in the
country
15
Preservation is Possible

• Saving the standard breeds of poultry for what
  they were meant to be and do.