Naturally Raised Poultry

Kowalski's is proud to partner with Ferndale Market of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, to offer free-range, antibiotic-free turkeys. Ferndale is a third-generation family-owned company that shares our deep connections to Minnesota as well as sustainable, humane farming and strong community values. For over 70 years, the Peterson family has been committed to raising their birds naturally: free range during the warmer months and antibiotic-free all year round. All their turkeys are also processed naturally without any additives at a USDA facility.

Dwight Gerber began raising chickens as a way to make a living back in the 1940s. By the 1950s his business had grown, and he was selling chicken to local grocery stores. Sixty-seven years later, now three generations into their family business, the Gerbers still maintain the standards developed by Dwight and his wife, Melva. The Gerber family feeds their chickens a high-quality vegetarian diet and raises them with no antibiotics. The birds are raised by Amish families in the Midwest Ohio region, all within a short distance from the Gerber plant to help reduce stress on the animals during transport. Gerber chickens are raised with strict humane handling practices and are Animal Welfare Humane Certified by the nonprofit group FACTA (www.factallc.com).

Pete Thorfinnson entered the poultry business by butchering pheasants for hunters back in 1989. Local chefs began asking Pete to raise free-range hens for their restaurants, which began an adventure that has grown immensely over the years. Kadejan grows birds in small flocks and feeds them a strict vegetarian diet on their Glenwood, Minnesota, farm. They are raised without added growth stimulants or antibiotics and are air-chilled in the processing plant that Pete built from the ground up in 2007. This allowed them to transform their old plant into a hatchery for local growers.