Alabama NewsCenter — 100 years of Bates Turkey, an Alabama tradition

By: Jennifer Kornegay

Whether you prefer it roasted, smoked or fried, no food is more tied to the Thanksgiving celebration than the centerpiece of the special day’s feast – the turkey. And in Alabama, one family-owned and -run business has cornered the market on turkey tradition. Bates Turkey Farm right outside Fort Deposit, Alabama, has been raising turkeys for 100 years. In 1923, current owner Becky Bates Sloane’s grandparents, W.C. and Helen Bates, got nine turkey eggs as a wedding present. From that humble gift, a century of success was hatched.

“It was right before the Depression, and you had to make ends meet the best you could. They lived in the country and were fortunate enough to have land and a little farm,” Sloane said. The fledgling couple raised those first turkeys, figuring out how to do it on the fly. One lesson quickly learned was happier turkeys are better-tasting turkeys, so long before “free-range” and “all natural” became buzz words in the food industry, Bates birds have roamed outside.

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