Good Housekeeping loves Sonora-raised turkey. Money for Turlock music
Good Housekeeping magazine recognized Diestel Family Ranch for how it raises turkeys near Sonora.
The business received a 2021 Sustainable Innovation Award in the category of Smarter, Healthier Food and Kitchen.
The honor was in part for the pasture-raised line of whole turkeys. They peck at grass and other tidbits in the open, along with the corn and soy that make up conventional poultry feed.
The magazine also noted Diestel’s environmental measures: It composts manure and feathers for use by other landowners to fertilize soil. It recycles about 90% of the water on the home ranch.
Workers wash down barns with probiotic-laced water, rather than chemicals, “to create a healthy microbial environment,” a news release said.
“We believe that it’s not enough to protect the earth, we have to restore it,” fourth-generation farmer Heidi Diestel said.
Jack Diestel founded the company in 1949 on Lyons-Bald Mountain Road, about five miles northeast of Sonora. It now has a few other ranches in western Tuolumne County and a plant near Chinese Camp.
The business is much smaller than Foster Farms, which dominates the West Coast market with turkeys processed in Turlock. Diestel has carved a niche with higher-priced products, including organic birds and “heirloom” breeds from the past.
The turkeys have varying degrees of access to the outdoors and take longer to raise than the industry norm.
Diestel sells whole turkeys online and at selected grocers, along with deli meats, sausage and other products. Thanksgiving meal planners might note the 13.5-ounce container of organic turkey gravy for $4.95. More information is at www.diestelturkey.com.
Good Housekeeping will feature the award winners in its November print issue and already has them online at GoodHousekeeping.com. The magazine is likely better known for its Seal of Approval, awarded since 1909 to products that impress its testers.
Music money finds new uses
Four music programs are getting the $26,000-plus left after the Turlock Concert Association dissolved.
COVID-19 restrictions last year brought an end to TCA amid its 80th season. It had provided live shows and free music education in local schools since 1940.
Subscribers had a choice of partial season refunds or leaving their money for TCA to pass on to other music programs. The association announced Oct. 23 that the remaining funds will stay in town for use by the Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock and Pitman high schools, and California State University, Stanislaus.
The specific amount for each was not available.
“TCA is so thankful to all the subscribers, donors and others who have supported the Turlock Concert Association in its 80-year history of bringing live music to the Turlock-area community,” a news release said.
Names of Note recognizes people and organizations for their contribution to their communities. Submit items to jholland@modbee.com.
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
