Sixth-generation Esbenshade, Erin Landis, left, with her fifth-generation mom Barb Esbenshade Zerbe, and Dave Zerbe.
Dave Zerbe checks on the 2021 turkey herd in the Esbenshade turkey house in mid-October.
Ashton, Jordyn and Dayton Landis are the seventh generation of the Esbenshade family and already helping their mother and grandparents during the busy season.
Erin Landis and Dave Zerbe weigh a turkey in mid-October, about four weeks before butchering begins.
Sixth-generation Esbenshade, Erin Landis, left, with her fifth-generation mom Barb Esbenshade Zerbe, and Dave Zerbe.
RONKS, Pa. — For decades, turkey as a Thanksgiving dinner might best be described as a “one-trick pony,” eaten by most families just for the holiday.
But not any longer. According to the National Turkey Federation, more than 600 million pounds of turkey are sold in the United States yearly. Turkey is now also popular in daily menus with recipes using turkey breasts, turkey parts, deli slices and ground turkey.
“We’re way past the ‘one-trick pony’ turkey stage, said Barbara Esbenshade Zerbe, the fifth generation of the Esbenshade family, owners of the Esbenshade Turkey Farm in Ronks.
Zerbe, her husband, Dave Zerbe, and their daughter, Erin, are the current generations of the family to operate the farm after the passing of the fourth-generation, 92-year-old, family patriarch Bob Esbenshade late in 2020. He had run the business since 1961 with his wife, Gladys, who still resides at the farm.
The Esbenshade family has been raising and selling turkeys at its 60-acre farm since 1858. With a plan Bob Esbenshade had left in place, and thoughts only of the future, the Zerbes — who had helped on the farm for four decades, and daughter Erin Landis, who had helped her grandfather for 30-plus years, began dressing more than 6,000 fresh turkeys the first week in November.
Dave Zerbe checks on the 2021 turkey herd in the Esbenshade turkey house in mid-October.
“We actually had someone come to the farm after my father-in-law died,” Dave Zerbe said, “and asked if we were going to continue to operate the business.”
A former school district business manager, he smiled when he told me his answer: “There was no way the Esbenshade family was going to end this 163-year-old operation. How could we even think of doing that?”
And, looking ahead, the seventh generation of the Esbenshade family — Erin’s children, Ashton 13, Dayton, 10, and Jordyn Landis, 7, — already are helping during the fall rush.
According to the National Turkey Federation, more than 600 million pounds of turkey is served in the United States yearly. Turkey is no longer just for Thanksgiving either – it is now part of American’s daily menu, with recipes made from turkey breasts, turkey parts and ground turkey.
“Turkey is long past being a ‘one-trick pony’ says Barbara Esbenshade Zerbe. She is the fifth generation of the Esbenshade family, which has been raising and selling turkeys at a 60-acre farm in Ronks, Pennsylvania, since 1858. Her husband, Dave, and daughter, Erin, are leading the turkey farm forward after the 2020 passing of 92-year-old family patriarch, Bob Esbenshade, who had run the turkey business since 1961.
With a plan Bob Esbenshade had left in place, Barbara and Dave -- who had helped on the farm for four decades -- stepped into the leadership positions and will be selling more 6,000-plus fresh turkeys throughout the month of November.
The industry is changing due to several factors, the Zerbes say. Some factors are: the supply chain shortages of items needed to run the business; turkey becoming a year-round meal with the sale of turkey parts; and the sale of turkey deli meats growing.
And, said Dave Zerbe, ”Large supermarkets today almost give turkeys away to shoppers during Thanksgiving promotions. We have a solid core of loyal customers who purchase fresh birds for the holidays and businesses who purchase turkeys as gifts for their employees, and they make up the overwhelming majority of our sales and we appreciate their support.
Customers picking up fresh turkeys at the Esbenshade farm this fall won’t see any obvious changes, but they are there. The family moved its office, ordering and pick-up site from the historic farmhouse to a separate on-site location in 2020, for the safety of its staff and customers because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “And,” said Dave Zerbe, “early in 2021, we also made major changes to our turkey house for raising the birds. Bob knew that had to be done, but he always said that was for the next generation to do and we got started right away.”
Ashton, Jordyn and Dayton Landis are the seventh generation of the Esbenshade family and already helping their mother and grandparents during the busy season.
“We took the largest turkey house on the property that is longer than a football field and refurbished it completely, putting the mechanicals in a new mid-section between two, 200-foot-plus areas for the bird,” he said. “We also automated how we feed and provide water for the turkeys as well as upgraded the heating system for the poults.” The changes, Dave Zerbe said, have made caring for the turkeys more efficient and it is easier to adjust their feed during different growth periods.
Next, the family’s plans to enlarge the area where turkeys are dressed. “Our dressing and packaging operations are manned by a team of Amish workers whose families have worked for the Esbenshades for years,” said Barbara Esbenshade Zerbe. Besides enlarging the area where turkeys are dressed, she explains, there will be more space for shrink wrapping and individually boxing before the turkeys are refrigerated, prior to being picked up by customers. “If, going forward, we decide to raise more turkeys, we need a larger, more efficient area to prepare them for sale,” Dave Zerbe said.
The family has always recommended checking a good recipe book or going online today for information on how to thaw a Thanksgiving turkey before cooking as well as using the correct temperature and times, depending on the size of the bird purchased.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the farm as it has every business, but it was not the great loss of customers that you might have expected with smaller family gatherings. Our business plan in 2020 was the same as it had been for decades,” Barbara Esbenshade Zerbe said, “and yes, there were more families looking for smaller turkeys in the 10-pound range, but we had those birds from the last poults we started raising in September. The Zerbes found that when they sold out of small sizes in 2020, customers just bought the smallest size they had at the time until all 6,300 fresh turkeys were sold.
Erin Landis and Dave Zerbe weigh a turkey in mid-October, about four weeks before butchering begins.
Barbara Esbenshade Zerbe isn’t surprised at the farm’s customer loyalty, including repeat customers, some who actually drive in from as far away as Indiana or Florida to pick up a fresh turkey. “We’re well-known and have been here for a long time,” she said, “and many customers are sons, daughters or grandchildren of past customers.” Esbenshades does provide a few local Lancaster County markets with turkeys for re-sale but, although asked every year, it does not ship turkeys around the country.
The Esbenshade Farm raises broad-breasted, white, Nicholas turkeys.
“Bob raised Nicholas turkeys for years and always acquired poults several times starting in July and raised them to have turkeys available in a variety of sizes in November and December. We are doing the same (now),” Zerbe said.
The Nicholas turkey was first bred in 1957, in Ohio, by George Nicholas and carries his name. Prior to the white Nicholas turkey, different shades of brown turkeys were the consumers’ only choice. The Nicholas and other white breeds became popular quickly according to the NTF and have dominated the market since the early 1960s.
According to the National Turkey Federation, more than 600 million pounds of turkey is served in the United States yearly. Turkey is no longer just for Thanksgiving either – it is now part of American’s daily menu, with recipes made from turkey breasts, turkey parts and ground turkey.
“Turkey is long past being a ‘one-trick pony’ says Barbara Esbenshade Zerbe. She is the fifth generation of the Esbenshade family, which has been raising and selling turkeys at a 60-acre farm in Ronks, Pennsylvania, since 1858. Her husband, Dave, and daughter, Erin, are leading the turkey farm forward after the 2020 passing of 92-year-old family patriarch, Bob Esbenshade, who had run the turkey business since 1961.
With a plan Bob Esbenshade had left in place, Barbara and Dave -- who had helped on the farm for four decades -- stepped into the leadership positions and will be selling more 6,000-plus fresh turkeys throughout the month of November.
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Art Petrosemolo is a freelance correspondent and photojournalist in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
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