By Chris Aldridge

Kentucky Ag News

When Poole Farms transitioned from tobacco 11 years ago and began raising turkeys, Jennifer Poole admits she feared the aggressive male birds, which average 45 pounds at maturity.

“I was terrified to go in the barns,” she told Kentucky Farm Bureau’s (KFB) “Between the Rows” podcast, released Nov. 18. “They are large and in charge.

“They’re very curious. They are in your business and right up on you the entire time…. They will follow you. They will jump on you, scratch you.

“If you swat at them, oh boy, they let out a call, and here comes their buddies…. It can be pretty intimidating.”

Jennifer has since become quite comfortable around thousands of tom turkeys, noting their aggressive nature is not a negative attribute. “That’s a sign of a happy bird and a healthy bird.” she noted.

Poole Farms is known for its turkeys, which it sells to Farbest Foods in Jasper, Indiana. The birds raised in northeast Daviess County near Lewisport, Ky., are used to make Boar’s Head turkey deli meat.

“We simply host their birds and sell them back to them (Farbest),” Jennifer explained. “We get about 3¼ flocks a year.”

She said the turkey poults arrive in about 15 semi-trucks when they’re five weeks old and already the size of a full-grown chicken. It takes more than 30 semis to pick up the large, solid white birds when they reach 19-20 weeks old.

“They (Farbest) provide the feed,” Jennifer said. “The more efficient we are, the higher price per pound we get.

“The turkeys are the breadwinner on the farm. The turkeys are, by far, the most profitable part of our farm operation.”

Poole Farms also benefits from a byproduct of turkey production – their waste.

“We sell our litter, and we use our litter ourselves (as fertilizer),” Jennifer said. “It helps us with our bottom line ... so that’s a use and a secondary profit.”

Jennifer said Poole Farms is one of only 13 commercial turkey growers in Kentucky, and all of them work for Farbest. The other 12 are in a hub in neighboring McLean County.

Poole Farms raises more than turkeys. The diversified, first-generation operation boasts 1,500 acres of row crops, rotating corn and soybeans, and a thriving beef cattle operation with about 180 cows.

In 2013, Jennifer gave up her full-time job to focus on being an active partner on the farm with her husband, Wes, and raise their young children. She finished runner-up in KFB’s 2024 Farm Woman of the Year contest.

“If Wes is out in the fields, my avenue with him that day is bringing him lunch,” she said. “Then I’m going to the turkey barns and doing X, Y, Z, then I need to go make sure the cows are fed, or whatever my role might be that day.”

Jennifer is actively engaged in all aspects of the farm, from implementing technology to hauling hay, as well as bookkeeping, payroll, and marketing. Next year, she will begin serving on the Kentucky Poultry Federation Board.

“Wes was the farmer first,” Jennifer said. “He worked on a farm. We met in high school. He was in this super cool program called FFA. And I was like, ‘Ooh, I want to do that because he’s in it.’

“I got into that, fell in love with agriculture, and went to school at Western (Kentucky University) to be an ag teacher. Basically, I’ve been following him around ever since.”

There were no openings for an ag teacher in Owensboro area, so Jennifer said she “worked in corporate America for 10 years.

“It wasn’t my calling anymore,” she added. “I was pregnant with our third child, and I thought, ‘I’d rather use my skills to progress my livelihood.’”

Jennifer believes the reason women are playing a more active role on family farms is because of the shortage of farm labor. She said one of her best friends drove the combine for her husband during harvest this fall.

“It’s worked out well for us, and I know a lot of other people in my area that are husband and wife partners, and they (wives) have taken on a much more front role.”