Our Abundant Harvest
Grain Farming
Grain's Vital Role
Grain farming significantly contributes to how we maintain sustainability throughout our turkey breeding operations. Quite possibly the most important role.
On more than 13,000 acres of farm we are able to grow everything we need to raise the healthiest turkeys imaginable, while ensuring we have strict oversight of additives and land usage. This includes organic fields with small grain crops for our specialty organic turkeys.
A further benefit of maintain homegrown feed production is we dramatically reduce our carbon footprint by removing our reliance on third party supply chains. Grain production enables us to do better and be better.
Working the Land
Only the most capable farm crew can keep this process on track. Jaindl employs approximately 12 full-time, year-round employees to manage all aspects of our large scale grain production.
Growth and Storage Capabilities
Grain crops extend across 160 Jaindl grain farms located in Lehigh, Northampton, Schuylkill, and Berks counties of eastern Pennsylvania.
These lands account for:
- 130,000 bushels of wheat
- 700,000 bushels of corn
- 250,000 bushels of soybeans
Jaindl manages the bulk of its grain production through on-site storage, which can accommodate approximately 950,000 bushels all told.
Essential Equipment
Disruptions and breakdowns can cripple our production, which in-turn affects our turkey production. We minimize downtime by replacing our state-of-the-art equipment every 2000-2500 hours of operation.
The fleet Jaindl utilizes for grain operations includes:
- 4 combines
- 4 grain head
- 4 corn heads
- 3 articulating tractors
- 8 mid-size tractors
- 5 small tractors
Grain Production
Seasons of Labor
Grain production requires multiple layers of focus and effort depending on the season. Here's a glimpse into our year-round grain farming roles and duties:
- Spring: Once the ground dries sufficiently, we chisel plow and disc plow all fields for spring tillage. On or about April 15, we start running 3 corn and 2 soybean planters. All small grains (wheat, rye, triticale) get top dressed (sprayed).
- Summer: We harvest small grain crops beginning around July 4th and complete these fields by the end of July. All small grain crops are harvested, tedded, and baled. Traditionally, we store 6000 straw bales (800 lbs. each!) from small grains to ensure fresh, clean bedding for our turkeys throughout their life cycles.
- Fall: From mid-September through the end of November we harvest approximately 832,500 bushels of corn and 250,000 bushels of soybeans. We also plant small grains that grow through winter for a summer harvest. Our crew stores the soybeans and corn for turkey feed production.
- Winter: Our crew prepares and repairs. They manage equipment maintenance and clean out the empty turkey barns.
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