AM Minnesota Talks Turkey

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, or as I call it National Turkey Day, it is time for my annual visit with Steve Olson, executive director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers, on today's AM Minnesota program. Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the United States recognized around the world, even though other countries do not celebrate Thanksgiving like we do. The tradition of Thanksgiving goes back to the founding of the United States when almost everyone was a farmer. It was a holiday to celebrate the end of harvest with friends and family.

Since the beginning, turkeys were associated with Thanksgiving, although back then it was wild turkeys. Today it is turkeys raised on farms, and a lot of them. About 95 percent of Americans will have turkey around the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. How is that for market saturation? About 45 million turkeys will be consumed around the holidays.

Minnesota ranks No. 1 in turkey production in the United States. In fact, no other state is even close! Minnesota produces about 46 million turkeys each year; North Carolina and Arkansas rank second and third at about 28 million to 29 million turkeys. Turkey production in Minnesota means a lot to our economy too. The turkey industry in Minnesota provides more than 26,000 jobs. Learn more about the turkey industry on today's AM Minnesota program at 9:30 this morning.