Jack Turner and his son, Colby, work together on the 1,000-acre spread accumulated over time section by section in Mansfield, Ark. Colby’s earliest agricultural memory is gathering eggs at age four while the family still lived in Utah. Bonnie Tuner, Jack’s wife, remarked, “We had chickens that laid colored eggs, which were especially popular at Easter. Colby always loved anything that flew, whether that was birds or planes.” Then Jack grinned and said, “It was Colby that got us into the chicken business. He spent a night at a friend’s house and came home and said, ‘We need to get into the chicken business.'” Just at that time a nearby piece of property with two broiler houses came up for sale, and the Jack Turner Company broiler business was born.
The Turner operation is part of OK Farms in Fort Smith, which was only recently bought out by another company. The Turner’s have a strong loyalty to the company. Jack said, “Not only were the hatcheries and feed mills close by, we had excellent help from the fieldmen with more financial support from the company and less pressure than other companies offer. It was nice working with a family operation as opposed to one driven by stockholders.”
The biggest change came in the ‘90s when the two existing houses were upgraded and two more were built. Colby used money he had saved from 4-H and cutting wood to help pay for the new houses in 1993. The critical difference in the new operation was that it was computer-controlled with the addition of a cool-cell system. The old mister system had worked but required walking through the houses in the summer to keep the chickens moving so they wouldn’t pile up and die. Bonnie said, “If the kids’ friends were over during the summer, they helped walk the chickens when the time came.” Among other things, the computers also controlled ventilation and the raising and lowering of side curtains. Previously the side curtain issue had required immediate response whenever they saw a storm coming. That sometimes meant quitting in the middle of haying to tend the chickens. The houses now have solid walls and an even more advanced computer system.
Colby explained that his favorite part of raising chickens is the competition run by OK Farms. Selling price per pound is determined by the cost per pound. Elements such as survival rate and feed efficiency are some of the determining factors. In 2012 Jack Turner Company was the OK Farms’ Grower of the Year. One element of their success is that the father and son each manage two houses for two days and then switch houses. Colby said, “A different set of eyes see different things. The system works well for us.”
In addition to chickens, the Turner’s run an Angus herd of 110 to 120 momma cows. They AI first-time heifers and use registered Angus bulls for the rest. They raise their own replacement heifers and sell bull calves. Jack said, “We have both spring and fall calves but AI seems to have a more successful conception rate in the fall.”
