For Farmers Behind The Feast, It Was A Year Of High Highs And Low Of Lows

Stephanie Pinder, co-owner of Little by Little Farm on the edge of Zionsville, said they’ve been in the business for 20 years. Stephanie and her husband, Robert, started in 2003 with a tiny farm of just five acres with three turkeys, three goats and a few chickens. Now they have 10 acres of organic produce and poultry and pride themselves on being all organic.

Pinder said they started the farm to have land and privacy and ended up filling a need in the community for local goods.

“We’re just listening to what the community says, and it’s been beyond our wildest dream,” she said.

“People that live around us are are very thankful in the fact that they can just come up the street, walk, ride on their bike and, on Farm Days, just buy what we have. There’s nothing better than that.”

Pinder said the farm housed 330 Heritage breed pasture-raised turkeys this year, from chicks in April to Thanksgiving-ready turkeys this month. All of this year’s LBL flock are already spoken for.

Pinder said the farm prioritizes giving the turkeys good and happy lives until the circle of life happens.

“It’s gonna be quiet for a couple months, and then in March, we’ll get the new ones and then we’ll start it all over again. That’s kind of what keeps you going,” she said.

The turkeys from LBL make up only a fraction of the more than 20.5 million turkeys in Indiana, but every turkey counts with a turkey shortage caused by a national Avian flu outbreak earlier this year.

More than 49 million turkeys have died or been euthanized in 2022, according to the Indiana State Poultry Association. This number includes 8 million turkeys in Indiana.

Thankfully, the Pinders’ turkeys were left unscathed by the illness.

“We only raised about 300, so it did not affect us at all,” she said. “But our sales have gone through the roof because of the turkey shortage, and people are trying to get their turkeys and then realizing that local is better and fresh is better.”

Prices for the big bird are soaring, with the price per pound up to a record high of $1.99, up 73% from last year, according to CBNC. While it may be harder to find a turkey, especially if you’re Butterball-ing on a budget, Pinder says the knowledge that you’re tasting a farm-fresh turkey is worth the extra dough.

“I think if people are more aware of where their food comes from and learn, maybe meet the farm where the food grows,” Pinder said, “they’ll come to realize that the price is a little bit more but it’s so much more worth it.”