{"id":9222,"date":"2014-11-15T16:59:52","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T21:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=9222"},"modified":"2014-11-15T16:59:52","modified_gmt":"2014-11-15T21:59:52","slug":"pardon-me-coopers-to-present-presidential-turkey-this-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/pardon-me-coopers-to-present-presidential-turkey-this-thanksgiving\/","title":{"rendered":"Pardon Me! Coopers to Present Presidential Turkey This Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Turkey\"<\/a>A 76-year-old family-owned Ohio farm is raising the National Thanksgiving Turkey that\u2019s expected to be presented to President Barack Obama in just a few weeks. The presentation of the National Thanksgiving Turkey to the President is bestowed each year upon the individual serving as chairman of the National Turkey Federation (NTF). This year, the presidential flock is being raised by Cooper Farms in Fort Recovery, Ohio.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cooper family is proud to have the opportunity to be part of this time-honored tradition,\u201d said Gary Cooper, chief operating officer of Cooper Farms and chairman of the NTF. \u201cAs a family-owned farm, we take great pride in the turkeys we raise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Cooper\u2019s youngest son, Cole, has been raising a flock of approximately 20 birds in a custom-built red barn at his home in Mercer County, Ohio, since July, when the turkeys were hatched. The barn was designed as a smaller version of one of the original farms owned by Virgil Cooper, founder of Cooper Farms and Gary Cooper\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

The \u201cfamily\u201d essence is a quintessential part of Cooper Farms and very important to the Cooper family. Raising the turkeys has truly been a family affair, involving not only the Coopers, but also much of the company\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great honor for my dad to ask me to raise the presidential turkey flock,\u201d said Cole Cooper. \u201cThis is my heritage. It is what my grandpa started and is what I grew up with, as I watched my dad, aunt and uncle expand Cooper Farms into what it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooper Farms will hand-select two tom turkeys for the special national honor. One will serve as the National Thanksgiving Turkey and the second as an alternate.<\/p>\n

Four different breeds of turkeys are represented in the presidential flock to celebrate NTF\u2019s 75th anniversary and Cooper Farms being in business for just more than 75 years. The variety of birds has also offered a unique opportunity for Cooper Farms to educate elementary students from across Ohio. Since October, Cooper Farms has hosted and visited more than 3,000 students from the local community. These visits have helped get the turkeys accustomed to large audiences and have let students meet the soon-to-be famous presidential flock.<\/p>\n

Americans are invited to submit name suggestions for the two turkeys during a national naming contest that begins November 5, 2014. Ideas may be submitted by visiting: OhioPoultry.org\/NameTheTurkey. The final decision on names for the National Thanksgiving Turkey and an alternate will be made by President Obama, his family and the White House staff.<\/p>\n

Individuals are also encouraged to follow #PresidentialTurkey14 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to see photos and videos of the turkeys as they grow and prepare for their trip to Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

In Ohio, turkey farming is an important part of the state\u2019s agricultural economy. The Buckeye state ranks ninth nationally in turkey farming, producing more than 219 million pounds of turkey each year, valued at more than $158 million. Turkey farming is responsible for the creation of 2,183 jobs and $71 million in earnings.<\/p>\n

\u201cOhio is a major turkey farming state, and we are pleased to be raising this year\u2019s presidential turkey flock,\u201d said Jim Chakeres, executive vice president of the Ohio Poultry Association. \u201cOhio\u2019s turkey farmers are firmly committed to providing safe, affordable food for consumers and to caring for their flocks and the environment. It\u2019s our responsibility, and it\u2019s the right thing to do \u2013 and Cooper Farms is a great example.\u201d<\/p>\n

The presentation of the National Thanksgiving Turkey to the President of the United States is an annual White House tradition that occurs the week of Thanksgiving. The presentation of the National Thanksgiving Turkey began when President Harry Truman received a turkey as a gift from NTF. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush remarked that he was \u201cpardoning\u201d the turkey, beginning a custom followed by Presidents at the end of each presentation ceremony.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Cooper Farms, where the presidential flock is being raised, at CooperFarms.com\/PresidentialTurkey. To find out more about turkey farming in Ohio, including how farmers care for their animals and the environment and provide safe, healthy food, visit OhioPoultry.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 76-year-old family-owned Ohio farm is raising the National Thanksgiving Turkey that\u2019s expected to be presented to President Barack Obama<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2230,6],"tags":[534,413,270,12,3069,2476,761],"class_list":["post-9222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-community","category-community","tag-cooper","tag-farms","tag-obama","tag-ohio","tag-pardon","tag-presidential","tag-turkey"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YQd9-2oK","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 07:04:31","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9222\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}