Update: New owner details plans for Turlock turkey plant closed by Foster Farms
Diestel Family Ranch offered some details Friday of its plans for the Turlock turkey plant that Foster Farms closed in May.
One thing is still not known: How many of the 519 lost jobs will be restored. That will be determined as the plant ramps up over the next year, said an email from fourth-generation co-owner Heidi Diestel.
“We plan to begin running the plant in early 2026 and will slowly add volume throughout the year,” she said.
The F Street site will turn out raw products under the Diestel brand, such as ground turkey, burgers and roasts. It will have no connection with the adjacent plant where Foster Farms continues to make lunch meat and other cooked turkey items.
Diestel will supply its new plant with birds from its current farms in Tuolumne County. It has a home ranch northeast of Sonora and other farms and processing near Chinese Camp.
Diestel, founded in 1949, produces higher-end turkeys such as pasture-raised and organic, along with lower-priced items. Foster Farms dates to 1939 and is the top seller of conventional poultry in the West. The latter company declined to comment on the Turlock plant Friday. It also processes chicken at its Livingston headquarters and in Fresno, Porterville, Oregon, Washington and the South.
Turlock became a center of turkey production around 1910. Foster Farms joined in with its 1982 purchase of the Grange Co. plant, followed by ConAgra’s Butterball plant in 1999. Both are on F Street near the south end of town.
Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak said by email that she hopes the new owner will hire many of the laid-off workers.
“I was very glad to see Diestel step in,” she said. “This plant matters to Turlock, and having a respected, family-run company commit to reopening it is a win for our community.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM.
