A24-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 22, 2003 Pallmans ’ Secret To Raising (Continued from Page A 1) raising fresh turkeys and capons for the holiday season. The turkeys and capons are sold on an order-only basis and can range in size from the small er-sized turkeys that weigh about 12 pounds to larger turkeys weighing more than 40 pounds. In addition to raising poultry an estimated 4,500 capons and 8,500 turkeys seasonally the Pallmans also operate a strawber ry farm. The poultry operation was begun in the late 1940 s by Art “Dutch” Pallman and is run by his sons, Rich, Brian, and Bruce. Today, this unique combina tion of the strawberries in the spring and the turkeys and ca pons for the holidays continues to equal a successful operation for the Pallman family. When the strawberries are in season, customers can pick their own and can also see the turkeys when they arrive at the farm. This provides an unusual aware ness opportunity for the Pallmans, for many of their strawberry customers return in the fall for their turkeys. The secret to their success is quality. “Most people who get their turkey here become a loyal cus tomer,” said Rich. Customers are from Scranton and the surrounding areas, but some will travel several hours just for a turkey. People arrive from Binghamton, N.Y.; New Jersey; Philadelphia; and North Carolina. This family operation has only 23 full-time employees and is a one-of-a-kind operation in north eastern Pennsylvania with a re tail fresh turkey and capon busi ness. The turkeys will arrive on the farm in June and July, raised to the proper weights, and then pro cessed on the farm just before Thanksgiving. Because of the farm size and FARM SHOW 2004 What a treat we have in store for the annual Lancaster Farming issue of Farm Show! Scheduled for the Jan. 10 issue: features from farmers who are going to the winter agricultural showcase event at the Farm Show Complex and their experiences in attending the great event in Harrisburg. Also scheduled: the annual FFA Keystone Degree winners and a com- Drt* plete schedule of events, including the many demonstrations for farmers during Farmer Days. sAfeamAg Incorporated CONSIDERING EXPANDING YOUR FARM OPERATION? Team Ag’s Engineers and Nutrient Management Planners will give you the professional support you need for your expansion, regarding CAFO, Nutrient Management and local permits. Call us today for an estimate. TeamAg, Inc. 901 Dawn Avenue, Ephrata, PA 17522 717/721-6795 * Site Surveys * Grant Writing * Site Engineering and Manure Systems Design * Nutrient Management Planning * Precision Agriculture * CAPO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) Permits * Natural Resources Management * Crop Management/Scouting/Soil Testing www.TeamAglnc.com Email:. - t 1 < Turkeys business type, the Pallmans con tinue to believe they are able to take good care of their birds, which results in a better finish. Rich said they give the birds a lot of “tender loving care,” making sure they get outside and exer cise. The farm can better main tain the litter and pay attention to detail. Because of their “tender-lov ing-care” philosophy, the busi ness has been built on word of mouth. The only other advertis ing they have is in the early fall, when they mail cards out to 4,500 people to notify them of ordering their turkey and when the pickup days will be. They also advertise for the Christmas season. In addition to the retail busi ness, Pallmans also sell gift boxes to small companies in the Scran ton area and capons to distribu tors in New York City, eastern Pennsylvania, and Lancaster. The health of the economy can play a role in how their company gift box sales are in one year. For the retail side, every year is about the same if not a little bit better. Retail sales with customers are “not nearly as economically driv en,” said Rich, “because of the quality of the product that we have. And for that one meal for the year, people are willing to pay the price because they know the quality and they want that. The other aspect, the wholesale end, and dealing with the busi nesses that is totally economy driven.” Rich also notes that 50 percent of their turkeys at Thanksgiving go to gift packages for small com panies. However, there is no real risk to have a large volume of turkeys that cannot be sold since their companies are small. Rich said, “when one business sector tends to struggle, another is having a good year.” So they can easily pick up a new custom er to make up the loss for one company in a year. As the buisness continues to h \ K * The Pallmans offer larger-sized turkeys than can be found in the grocery store. Sev eral turkeys will mature to a weight over 45 pounds. grow and change with the times, they continue to shift with the consumer demands. The one change that Rich notes is that the shift in the holidays from Christ mas to Thanksgiving. “Back in the ’sos, Christmas would have been just as big if not a bigger holiday,” said Rich. With the gift boxes, “we used to do as much for Christmas if not more as Thanksgiving.” The demand for capons con tinues to diminish for the Pallmans. They note that a youn ger generation that does not know what a capon is, and for those who do, a health-conscious public does not want them. Their ability to market capons is based on die use of distribu tors, selling live birds to a Kosher plant in New York, and the eth nic groups still in the Scranton area. However, a greater problem continues to arise for the Pallmans as the demand for ca pons continues to decline. The genetics are not being improved upon, and finding suitable birds is difficult. In addition, finding someone to caponize the birds is expensive and problematical. They note that they only know of two peo ple in Pennsylvania who still op WATERLESS TOILETS “SUN-MAR” Composting Toilets Several models available including non-electnc. * NO Septic System • NO Chemicals Save the Environmenti Recycle Back to Nature' FREE: 12 Page Color Catalog We Perform Septic Inspections &, Certifications ECO-TECH Call Today 717*337*9325 erate as independent contractors who will come to the farm to do the procedure. Although the Pallmans count their location a blessing when considering the risks for poultry diseases such as avian influenza (A. 1.), there are many distance challenges they handle that a farm in a poultry-rich area would not have. The challenges include feed, which is shipped from Leba non County; having to go pick up their poults because of the small number they need, traveling eight hours away; and no local veteri narian. The other challenge they face every year is free turkey givea ways at local stores. “If there is anything that has impacted our business, that has,” said Rich. “That has hurt our business a little bit. There is al ways going to be that person out there looking for the cheaper product.” Regardless of the challenges, the Pallmans move forward every year with the family turkey tradi tion. It is an en joyable time through all of the hard work— especially on pickup days, Robert Fulton Fire Co ss?^