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From a November 21 article by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
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The distinct sound of gobbling turkeys in Oregon has generally grown silent for nearly 20 years. What was once a thriving agricultural industry left the state– a rarity among Oregon's diverse list of commodities. While there are a few locally-grown birds sold to niche market consumers this year, most Oregonians will sit down to a Thanksgiving dinner featuring a turkey produced in California, Utah, or Minnesota.
"At one time, Oregon was a large producer of turkeys, probably producing up to 30 percent of the West Coast supply from the Willamette and Yamhill valleys," says recently retired Oregon Department of Agriculture Assistant Director Dalton Hobbs. "Due to consolidation of the turkey processing industry and a few other factors that hit during the early 1990s, all that commercial production has gone away."
Back in the mid-1980s, Oregon produced about 2.5 million turkeys and had a strong, viable industry. The state’s climate was amenable to turkey production and suited growers and the local processors. Turkeys were part of Oregon’s diverse agricultural product mix. Now there are only a handful of small-scale producers who specialize in organic, pasture raised, or so-called "heritage" turkeys– birds produced through natural mating, not through artificial insemination as is the case with commercial turkeys.
Many factors led to the demise of Oregon's turkey industry in the early 1990s. But the bottom line is that it's cheaper to grow turkeys in California, Utah, the Midwest, or in the southeast US and ship them to Oregon for sale than it is to actually grow them locally. Turkeys are generally raised where the feed is produced. The closer the turkeys are, the lower the production cost. Unfortunately, Oregon is rather distant from the feed sources of soybeans and dry corn. (more…)