The American Heirloom Collection

**Tim Diestel on the Heirloom Turkey as published in California Country Magazine, November 2005**

"'We prepare for Thanks-giving all year,' Diestel said. 'It's always a relief when the day comes. It's exciting and fun, but I take producing the centerpiece of thousands of people's holiday celebrations very seriously. Turkey is a big part of what the holiday is about and I want our birds to be perfect, every one of them.'

But, can there be anything better than perfect?

Diestel thinks so, and as millions of Thanksgiving dinner tables across America feature a deliciously familiar menu, a growing number of plates will be heaped with history in the form of heirloom turkey.

Heirloom turkeys are varieties that once were widely raised, but have since gone out of commercial favor. These 'retro' birds are sometimes referred to with different names and represent a small, but growing movement in California.

'They're very pretty to look at and a piece of American history,' Diestel said. He now raises as many as 8,000 heirloom turkeys on his ranch.
'We raise them as close to a wild bird as we possibly can,' he said. 'We think this appeals to a certain group of consumers who want the cleanest, purest, most natural product available.'"
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"Bringing back the Diestel Heirloom is our heritage... grown exactly like my Great Uncle used to raise back 60-70 years ago. My favorite part of Thanksgiving is when our Diestel family gets together to enjoy an Heirloom turkey... the same turkey my great grandma would have prepared."
– Jason Diestel, Fourth Generation Turkey Grower-Processor

In keeping with the tradition of the family farm, we proudly present our American Heirloom Collection of old-fashioned turkeys – just like great grandma served.

Our American Heirloom Collection of old-fashioned turkeys is derived from a Bronze and an Auburn male line turkey gene pool sourced from the Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms.

Bringing back these Heirloom birds provides our customers with the "best of both worlds" – old world history, flavor and beauty in combination with a wonderful yield of meat and that great old-fashioned turkey flavor.

Furthermore, in keeping with the tradition of preserving these Heirloom beauties, we handle the birds the old-fashioned way as it was in the early part of the 20th century. Our Heirloom baby birds (poults) have not been wing clipped, toenail trimmed or beak trimmed – all services routinely provided to commercially raised birds. In addition, we select the most natural environment and methods to raise these Heirloom birds as certified organic. Being range grown in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, our Heirloom turkeys enjoy the large open pens covered in grass and shaded by large oak and pine trees. The deep well water complements their vegetarian diet of certified organic corn and soy free of animal by-products, GMOs, antibiotics, growth enhancers and hormones.

The result – The American Heirloom Collection by Diestel – Heirloom turkeys you can be proud to serve your family and friends while knowing you have helped to preserve and promote traditional breeds of turkeys.

So enjoy history at its finest. Savor the flavor as you have come to expect from Diestel turkeys.

The American Heirloom Collection Turkey ranges 10-30 lbs.

Tender and juicy with real old-fashioned flavor
Our American Heirloom Collection turkey is consistently better – tender and juicy with that real old-fashioned turkey flavor that you can really taste.

Range grown and raised longer
Our American Heirloom Collection turkeys enjoy the freedom of being range grown the clean Sierra Foothills with individual care where they are raised longer (approximately 6 months) to develop flavor naturally – real flavor from real time.

Broad-breasted
Our American Heirloom Collection turkeys provide excellent value with more meat, less fat and less water than commodity turkeys.

Family ranch since 1949
All of our turkeys are grown, processed and delivered directly to you by us – the Diestel Family Turkey Ranch – family owned and operated since 1949 and working as one of the last small, family owned turkey grower-processors in the United States.

Certified organic by Oregon Tilth
Since the passage of the Organic Foods Act in 1990, Tim Diestel has testified at the National Organic Standards hearings to help define the requirements set forth for the organic turkey. In 1999 the USDA completed their phase of the Organic Foods Act and approved the use of the term “organic” on labels of USDA inspected poultry.

The American Heirloom Collection Turkey is grown and certified organic by Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO). The purpose of organic certification is to ensure that the agreed upon conventions of organic agricultural systems are being practiced not only by growers, but also by all the people who handle and process organic food on its journey to the final consumer.

What does "Certified Organic" guarantee?

Feed Certified: guarantees that our certified organic turkeys are fed only certified organic feed – corn and soybeans – grown on soil free of pesticides and commercial fertilizers for a period of three years. Our certified organic turkeys are never fed any animal by-products, antibiotics, drugs, or growth stimulants of any kind.

Farm Certified: guarantees that our farm is certified to organically range grow our certified organic turkeys in large, outside enclosures allowing freedom to roam.

Facility Certified: guarantees that our own United States Department Of Agriculture (USDA) processing plant is certified to process our organically grown birds. The processing procedures for our certified organic turkeys are scrutinized to ensure that the same commitment to organic growing is maintained throughout production. We us absolutely no additives in the processing of our certified organic turkeys.

Product Certified: guarantees that our certified organic turkeys are certified as a finished product, to ensure that they retain their organic integrity from farm to packaging.

Distribution Certified: guarantees that our storage and distribution facilities are certified to ensure that the same consistent quality is delivered directly from us to you.

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