NORTHFIELD, Minn. — John Zimmerman’s 9-year-old son, Grant, and his friends have had an extra special job for the past few months. They’re helping prepare turkeys for their moment in the spotlight during the annual National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation and “turkey pardoning” at the White House.

“We want them to be calm and able to behave properly in a setting they’re not used to,” Zimmerman, a turkey farmer in southeastern Minnesota, told the Capital Press.

As the big day approaches, Grant and his friends handle the turkeys in the barn. They pick them up and put them on tables, play music and put them under LED lights to get them used to the different things they will encounter on the road to the White House, including dogs, kids and flashing cameras.

Sometimes Zimmerman and the kids enter the turkey barn and just sit down — and wait.

“Some birds naturally gravitate toward you,” Zimmerman said. “We’re picking up the birds that are more naturally friendly, just strutting nice.”

They’re assessing the turkeys for appearance, feathering and temperament.

“I’m a big believer in getting the best tail feathers possible,” Zimmerman said.

The chairman

Each year, the National Turkey Federation board chairman presents two turkeys to the president.

Zimmerman is chairman this year. It’s a one-year term.

“It’s exciting, it’s a big responsibility but I’m happy to take part in it,” he said. “I think it’s great for our industry, and for the public-at-large to get a sneak peek at what we do to put food on your plate.”

Zimmerman raises turkeys, corn and soybeans on the P&J Products family farm near Northfield, Minn., with his wife, Kara, and Grant.

His father started raising turkeys in the 1950s.

“He got out of the Navy and didn’t want to milk cows anymore. He thought turkeys might be a better choice,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman raises about 4 million pounds of turkey each year, a mixture of toms and hens, for specialty and conventional markets.

Zimmerman appreciates the chance to shine a spotlight on everyone within the industry that helps raise the birds.

“It’s not just our farmers — it’s the processors, veterinarians, propane truck drivers and feed truck drivers,” he said. “Being able to showcase all the work that goes into putting a turkey on your dinner plate is quite an opportunity and honor for us to participate in.”

Presidential flock

For the White House presentation, Zimmerman brought in a special, hand-selected “presidential” flock of 44 one-day-old turkeys, or poults, in July.

They’ll be roughly 17 weeks and just under 40 pounds by the time Thanksgiving rolls around.

All domestic turkeys are based on the Holland White breed. The presidential turkeys are Aviagen Nicholas Select turkeys.

Zimmerman constructed a special building for the final two birds, which was also used for poult brooding.

“It’s more work than you might expect,” Zimmerman said. “It’s easier to raise a flock of 16,000 birds than these 40 birds. They require a lot of TLC, care and individualized treatment.”

Turkey ambassadors

“We take this pardoning very seriously,” Zimmerman said. “The president is pardoning these birds, meaning they will not meet the fate of most birds and they will not be consumed.”

Since 1990, all presented turkeys have been pardoned, said Leslee Oden, the federation’s president and CEO. They go on to stay at zoos, various Disney parks and agricultural universities, particularly those with great poultry science programs.

Peanut Butter and Jelly from 2021, Chocolate and Chip from 2022 and Liberty from 2023 are still alive, she said.

From farm to table is typically a 18- to 20-week process for most turkeys, Oden noted.

Zimmerman wanted to do something a little different for his time as chairman.

He’s donating the two birds from his flock to Farmamerica, an agricultural interpretive center in Waseca, Minn. The center teaches Minnesota’s agricultural history and connects consumers with grassroots ag through hands-on experiences.

Once the birds are pardoned, they will live out their lives at Farmamerica as “turkey ambassadors,” Zimmerman said.

“We were honored, delighted and surprised,” said Jessica Rollins, Farmamerica executive director.

The turkeys will spend the winter in the special “cozy coop” Zimmerman built for the presidential flock, which he is donating to Farmamerica, and warmer weather on the center’s 1930s historic farm site, Rollins said.

The center partners with local farmers to display livestock such as goats, sheep, pigs and layer chickens, but these are the first turkeys.

Farmamerica was so excited to receive the two pardoned birds, they’ve had “practice turkeys” interacting with the chickens to prepare for their arrival, Rollins said.

“Our whole mission is to help people understand agriculture, and here’s a great opportunity for us to have two very prestigious birds on our site,” she said.

What’s in a name?

People have submitted possible names at various events for the two turkeys slated to be pardoned.

“There have been many suggestions — some good, some not-so-good,” Zimmerman said.

The ultimate responsibility for selecting the names of the two turkeys goes to the president. The names won’t be announced until the press conference, Zimmerman said.

In the meantime, he and his son Grant have been using some working names — Jake and Elwood, from the 1980 “Blues Brothers” movie.

Grant has seen the movie, his father said, although his parents fast-forwarded through some parts.

Meeting the president

Naturally, staff members at the federation count their years of service within the industry by Thanksgivings.

This is Leslee Oden’s 14th Thanksgiving with the federation. She took over as president and CEO in July.

The federation has facilitated the national Thanksgiving celebration at the White House since 1947, Oden said. This will be the 77th presentation.

Pardoning the turkeys began in 1989, with President George H.W. Bush. Before that, it was a presentation with a live bird and a grocery-style turkey for the president’s Thanksgiving dinner, Oden said.

Historically, there has been a pardoned turkey and an alternate, but more recently they are both pardoned during the ceremony.

Before the ceremony, the turkeys stay at the prestigious Willard InterContinental Hotel near the White House.

The presentation is an official White House event, with the federation assisting.

“Each year is a little different, each administration is a little different,” said Oden. “We’ve been working with them since July. (The White House) plays an active role, since this is their event at the end of the day.”

The president doesn’t interact with the birds beforehand, but might get a little extra time after the ceremony, depending on his schedule, she said.

“The president is kept up to date — his team updates him on the biography of John and his family, the presidential flock and all the folks involved in the process,” she said.

Turkey by the numbers

“We’ve got pretty good odds in our favor,” Oden said. “We pardon two and eat about 40 million.”

The federation encourages consumers to buy and prepare turkey early for the holiday.

In recent years, the industry has encouraged consumers to add turkey into their diets year-round.

Overall, about 205 million turkeys are expected to be raised in 2024, down 6% from 218 million in 2023, according to the USDA.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza and avian metapneumovirus have presented challenges in recent years.

“I commonly use the word ‘resilient’ for our farmers, growers and processors,” Oden said. “They’re still standing and delivering a great, nutritious product and will continue to do that as we tackle these very monumental challenges ahead of us. We always stand and rise to the occasion to deliver.”

The industry has expanded the kinds of options available to consumers, federation senior director of public affairs Alex Davidson said.

“If you’re looking for a whole bird, you can find a whole bird; if you’re looking for just breasts to cook, you can find that,” he said. “There’s a lot of options to tailor your Thanksgiving to whatever size table you’ve got.”

We gather together

Grant is a 9-year-old boy, so his excitement level ebbs and flows, his father said.

“Between Minecraft, Legos and the presidential turkey pardon, I’m not sure which one he would pick,” he said. “Some days he’s super excited about it and other days, it’s just another chore.”

Grant’s a little shy, so Mom and Dad are doing their best to prepare him to meet the president, too.

“I think he’s excited, we’ve invited many of the neighbor kids out to D.C. with us,” Zimmerman said.

All of whom are as excited as they can be, right now. “They don’t know what it is until they see it,” Zimmerman said.

“The neighbor kids who are not necessarily farm kids, it’s been great to expose them to a little bit about what I do,” he added. “Because they see me drive up and down the road; they’ve got no idea what I do inside these barns.”

That’s what makes the whole ceremony so important, Zimmerman said. It puts a “human face” on the meal people will be sharing with their families.

“It used to be everyone’s grandfather came from a farm, but as people have moved off the farm, the separation has gotten much larger,” he said. “They need to realize there’s people behind what they eat.”