Eastern region members of the Guild of Q Butchers were given an insight into traditional turkey production when they visited Kelly Turkeys.
The day began at the Danbury hatchery where the party were shown the incubation and hatching of turkey eggs and the planning that goes into getting the right breeds to supply a good spread of weights to suit the Christmas market.
Kellys Turkeys are unique in being able to show visitors the complete production cycle from pure line genetics through to EU approved processing premises and farm gate retailing.
After lunching on KellyBronze turkey at the home of managing director Paul Kelly, they were shown a flock of breeding turkeys at Little Claydons Farm, East Hanningfield, Essex, heard about artificial insemination and egg collecting, and then toured the newly extended and revamped processing plant and cold storage facilities.
David Harrison, the Guild's Eastern region chairman, commented: "It was a fantastic day out for our group. The knowledge and passion for the turkey industry is incredible."
"It was an absolute pleasure to have them over and I'm sure the Guild would welcome a visit to any of the other regions," says Paul Kelly, of Kellys Turkeys. "It is important to show our butcher customers just how hard we work and the size of the financial investment we've made into our breeding programme and facilities to ensure we provide the best quality carcases for the Christmas table. It's also, incidentally, a great opportunity to let them know it is impossible to get the exact weights they need!!"
