Norbest Chairman Joe Neilsen and Moroni Feed Co. Vice President David Bailey are hardly the suit-wearing type of executives.
But they're as at ease in the boardroom as they are working their turkey farms in Sanpete County. Their unassuming manner belies the complex workings of the multi-million-dollar Norbest, the world's largest turkey cooperative.For generations, turkey has been synonymous with Thanksgiving. Doubtless, demand for whole turkey birds is greatest during the winter holiday season.
But Norbest's savvy product development team has transformed turkey from a special-occasion dish to an everyday choice, from luncheon meats and turkey roasts to turkey sausage.
"It's becoming more of a year-round meat. We're moving more and more into further-processed turkey," said Bailey, who is also director of processing.
Twenty years ago, nearly 70 percent of the turkeys consumed nationwide were eaten during the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season. Today, about 35 percent of the nation's turkey production ends up on holiday dinner tables. The remainder is eaten throughout the year.
Because of consumer demand for low-fat, low-cholesterol meat, turkey consumption per capita has doubled in the past 10 years to about 181/2 pounds annually, Bailey said.
Turkey consumption appears to have reached a plateau, Bailey said. "That's basically because the other meats aren't lying down and playing dead. They're coming back with leaner beef, and pork is selling itself as `the other white meat,' " Bailey said.
Producers of all meat products are working hard to rebuild consumer trust after three toddlers died from a food poisoning outbreak earlier this year in Washington state. Two of the cases were linked to hamburgers consumed at Jack in the Box restaurants; the meat was contaminated with the bacteria E. coli.
Following the incident, the Clinton administration implemented stricter meat and poultry inspection standards, including safe-handling labels on ground meat and poultry products. A federal judge issued an injunction in October delaying the labeling plan, siding with wholesalers, food service distributors and retailers who said the government did not follow administrative procedures in issuing the new regulations.
Norbest has voluntarily provided safe-food-handling information on its fresh turkey packaging. The company holds the patent for the "Tender Timer," which pops up when the bird is safely cooked at 178-180 degrees.
Since the Washington state incident, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has stepped up its review process and conducts inspections more frequently than in the past.
Steven R. Jensen, president of Norbest Inc., said the turkey cooperative welcomes the scrutiny and feedback.
"We want to build consumer confidence. One way to build that consumer confidence is through the USDA inspections and consumer confidence through the Norbest brand," Jensen said.
"But this (consumer safety effort) just didn't start six months ago for Norbest. We've been committed to and heavily involved voluntarily in safety for 60-plus years. We've always had information on our bags how to safely thaw, cook and prepare a turkey," Jensen said.
In addition to product information, Norbest employees (Jensen included) hit the "turkey circuit," speaking to clubs, cooking groups and other organizations on how to properly prepare a holiday turkey.
Norbest Inc. is a unique cooperative. It is owned by member plants in Moroni, Salina and Gibbon, Neb. The member plants produce their own feed, raise the turkeys, slaughter and package them. Among other duties, Nor-best handles marketing, research and product development.
Although turkey consumption has apparently reached a plateau, Jensen said he believes the processed turkey will gain a larger market share as Norbest develops more time-saving products.
In 1994, Norbest plans to market a "cook in the bag" turkey, which can be prepared in 11/2 hours from the frozen state. The product is designed to be prepared in either a conventional, microwave or convection oven.
Jensen said Norbest also has noticed growth in ground turkey sales, as consumers become more accustomed to using it as a beef substitute.
"You never get tired of turkey. It is a meat product that will assume any flavor profile you want to give it, and it will take on any texture that you want. In fact, we have a turkey pastrami we're extremely proud of. It's a very versatile meat," Jensen said.
Bailey said even the processing plant workers who work with the meat year-round enjoy eating the bird.
"The days we serve turkey here in the cafeteria, those are the biggest days we have. It's as good as it gets," Bailey said.