Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Unlike your Butterball, Heritage turkeys can fly and mate

Jacob Cowgill, Prairie Heritage farm

Some of you may have already begun thawing the turkey for tomorrow's big meal. The vast majority of Americans get their turkeys from the supermarket, birds that have been mass produced  to meet the mass demand.

But on a 30-acre farm north of Great Falls, dozens of turkeys grown for consumption lead a life similar to their wild turkey kin.
    Jacob and Courtney Cowgill raise these "Heritage turkeys" on their "Prairie Heritage farm" outside the small town of Power. In this Thanksgiving eve interview, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Courtney Cowgill about the farm - and their special turkeys. The Cowgills both grew up in central Montana and have been farming for the past five years.

"I am so over scraping turkey poop off of my windshield or off of my porch!"

Retired in 2014 but still a presence at MTPR, Sally Mauk is a University of Kansas graduate and former wilderness ranger who has reported on everything from the Legislature to forest fires.
Become a sustaining member for as low as $5/month
Make an annual or one-time donation to support MTPR
Pay an existing pledge or update your payment information