Source: Feed Energy Newsletter
In times of uncertainty talking to someone who has been through challenging times can be comforting. Who is better qualified than Pete Hermanson? Pete has 88 years of life experiences and the fourth generation of the family to work and run Woodland Farms – a 150 year-old legacy farm south of Story City.
Pete said his Great Grandfather, Peter, purchased the original 60 acres in 1871. According to family history, Peter had planned to move his family to Kansas, but decided to stay in Iowa after some of his children came down with scarlet fever. How’s that for irony? That small subsistence farm providing food and shelter for Peter’s family evolved and grew to become what is today one of the oldest and most respected farms in Iowa.
Pete said that in 1940’s his uncle Ted began raising turkeys on the farm to help diversify the income of what was then a dairy farm. He said his uncle started out raising the turkeys in two small brooder houses and then on hay land as range birds.
Pete lived and worked on the farm much of his life and took over running the day-to-day operation in the ‘70’s. It was at that time Pete thought there was a bright future in raising turkeys, so he decided to expand the turkey operation of the farm. What started out in two small brooder houses grew to the eighteen climate controlled computerized turkey barns on the farm today. In 1999 Woodland Farms got out of the dairy business completely.
During his tenure running the farm Pete was very involved in the turkey industry. He was on the board of the Iowa Tukey Federation (ITF) for several years and president of ITF in 1981. Pete said, “That was a tough time to be in the turkey business. I used to say when we shipped the turkeys out ‘it was like we were tying a dollar bill to each leg’ because the market was so depressed”.
Pete went on to be President of the National Turkey Federation (NTF) in 1988. He said one of the greatest honors he had at that time was to be invited to the White House for the National Turkey Thanksgiving Presentation. According to tradition, each year just prior to Thanksgiving the White House officially pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey. Pete and his wife Janet not only had the honor of representing the NTF and meeting President Reagan, but the turkey chosen to be pardoned that year was from the Woodlands Farm.
Pete said that one of the biggest challenges turkey farmers were facing in the early ‘90’s was in processing. At that time most of the poultry processing plants were run by a small number of large companies, so the turkey growers were at
their mercy. In early 1996 Louis Rich turkey division of Oscar Mayer announced they were closing their West Liberty, Iowa plant. Pete and Paul Hill, a turkey grower from Ellsworth, saw this as both a problem and an opportunity. Knowing that losing the plant would have a devastating impact on Iowa turkey growers, the two were instrumental in forming a farmer owned co-operative to purchase the processing plant. The newly formed Turkey Gowers Cooperative, made up of over 40 turkey farmers, purchased the plant in late 1996 and starting processing turkeys in early 1997 using the motto – “Strive to Survive”.
West Liberty Foods has grown to be one of the largest poultry processing plants in the state. Their meat is sold to national chain restaurants, supermarkets and foodservices all over the United States. West Liberty Foods also operates a cooking and slicing plant in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, as well as, plants in Utah and Illinois.
Pete said that the outbreak of the Avian Flu in 2015 was another tough time for poultry producers in the state. Approximately 33 million laying hens and pullets and a little over 1 million turkeys had to be euthanized. The flu, primarily spread by wild birds, was mostly concentrated in the northwest and north central part of Iowa, but came within a few miles of the Hermanson farm. Pete said the Avian Flu was a time of uncertainty that resulted in them making a lot of changes in their farm’s biosecurity procedures.
When asked about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry Pete said, “Obviously, we need to address the health issues of the processors”. He said they have implemented several changes in their West Liberty Foods plants to protect their employees from the virus. He said the pandemic has shifted consumer behavior and they have had to adjust to the changes since much of what West Liberty Foods produces is for foodservice.
Pete believes the pandemic is forcing the processing industry to increase the use of technology – including robotics. He said we have to become more efficient. He sees an opportunity for smaller operations to become more successful as the outbreak has forced increased distancing in the plants. He also believes we will see more diversity and specialists in the industry.
Today, Woodland Farms is an over 4,000 acre operation raising soybeans and corn, as well as, producing over 300,000 turkeys annually. All of the turkeys on the farm are “toms” which are used in deli meats and other processed items. Pete said that about two thirds of the grain grown on the farm is fed to their turkeys and all of the litter is used as a natural organic fertilizer on their fields.
The Hermansons’ are excellent stewards of their land. They use the strip-till farming system to help reduce tillage and incorporate the turkey manure directly to where the crop will be planted – reducing waste and cost while helping to protect the environment. Pete is proud that the sixth generation of the family is now working on the Woodland Farms.
In closing Pete said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has been very challenging for turkey growers and processors. But, if I my years of experience have taught me anything it’s that our industry is resilient. I’m confident we will recover from this crisis stronger than ever”.
Woodland Farms and West Liberty Foods have worked with Feed Energy for years. And an important side benefit of that relationship are the friendships that have developed. When asked about Feed Energy, Pete had nothing but great things to say about Bob Riley and the company. When asked about Pete Hermanson, Bob had nothing but great things to say about Pete, Woodland Farms and West Liberty Foods. Truly a mutual admiration and respect that was derived from years of working together through bad times and good – producing meat protein to help feed a very hungry world.
