Everyone knows that commercially raised turkeys can’t fly; they’ve lost that particular limited ability that their wild relatives retain. However, Cleet Baker of Fayetteville, Ark., and his wife Jan Dji-Lynn have turkeys and flying in their backgrounds. Jan spent six years in the Air Force as an F-16 mechanic and getting to fly at times, while Cleet took over the 27,000 head turkey farm his father started in 1984. Cleet spends his days making a living by running his Dee-Ran farm located in West Fork, Ark., which is comprised of a 50 by 500-feet brood house and three grow-out houses where he raises hen turkeys for Cargill, Inc. The couple married in October of 2008. “There’s a reason I was 34 before I got married. In addition to Jan being beautiful, I knew that since she was raised on a horse farm in Montrose, Colo., and was a working kid, that she had good morals and a tough work ethic. Since she grew up on a farm, she knows what it takes to be in farming and that really mattered to me,” Cleet said. Jan chuckles when she says, “I have a strong personality and a different sense of humor. No man has been strong enough to deal with that in the past, but Cleet has a sense of humor and he’s tough, so it works.”
Cleet indicates that moving turkeys is one of the toughest parts of his farming routine. “Sometimes they move good, but sometimes weather conditions are rotten. It’s always harder to move them in the winter when the litter is wetter. Leg health and litter management are my top priorities that time of year,” Cleet said. He jokes about how sorry he is that he has to ask Jan to help out in those conditions. Jan said in a supportive way that only a farm wife would.
“I totally don’t mind helping Cleet, I’ve done much worse on a horse farm. We had 40 acres of alfalfa hay that, once my brothers left, was my job.”
Cleet and Jan have big plans for the future. That future includes children once Jan is finished with her degree in psychology from the University of Arkansas. Cleet joked, “I’m really looking forward to cheap labor.” They talk about one day having a horse and poultry farm, and expanding Cleet’s herd of Limousin cattle.
As for now though, after his expansion in 2000, he plans on just maintaining the farm for now, “It’s a big enough job for me and my help.” The economy is also on their minds, although Cleet said, “I’m glad to be in the business of food and farming. People have to eat and turkey is affordable. People are cutting back on the luxuries like travel, but they do still have to eat.”
Managing his operation effectively and economically is Cleet’s top priority. He tills his litter as often as possible to keep it in good shape and cakes out his brood house after every flock. Cleet cleans out shavings down to the clay floor and reuses those shavings in his growout barns. Years ago he used to only do this clean out two times a year, but for the last five years he has been cleaning out to the floor every flock. This process keeps the ammonia levels down and the birds healthier.
Bio-security and disease issues are also high on Cleet’s list of things to manage in order to have more profitable flocks. “Keeping the houses tight so that animals can’t dig in, putting out rat bait stations regularly and keeping everything in good order helps my biosecurity and limits disease issues,” Cleet said.
Jan and Cleet have years of hard work with their turkeys ahead of them, and who knows, with Jan’s experience, maybe turkeys can learn to fly.
