Our Farmers Make the Difference.
At JD Farms we are proud to raise Certified Specialty Turkeys with that are fed a non-GMO vegetable grain diet without any antibiotics or animal by-products.
We believe who raises them makes a difference, so we would like you to meet our partners. Our Farmers.
Yes, we raise turkeys here on the farm, but we also certify 4 other farms to grow our specialty turkeys.
Double D Farms
Double D Farms is also in Abbotsford, BC and is named after Dan & his wife Danielle.
Dan is a second generation farmer. He has been farming since he was old enough to go into the barns with his mother. She collected chicken eggs with him when he was small enough to fit in a small cardboard box on the wagons that they used to hand collect the eggs. He says he would reach over the sides to help out.
The turkey portion of the business was purchased in 1997. Dan helped to manage the turkeys until he purchased the business from his parents in 2000.
Dan has been growing turkeys for JD Farms since 2004.
All of Dan’s family help him out in the barns. This is especially true for the first few days when the babies are so small & cute. Dan’s girls help him hand feed the turkeys and make sure that any smaller birds find the water and the feed that they need to stay healthy.
Dan says that turkeys are a special animal & he really enjoys how much they love to gather around him when he is in the barn. He says they are very curious and are not shy like the chickens.
Dan: “When they are small they peck at anything shiny including my wedding band and my boots. This doesn’t change much as they age, but it does startle me a bit more!”
Dan agrees that every flock is different, so this makes it challenging as well as interesting. He quotes his Father in saying “You never know what you are going to get until you walk into the barns and check on your birds.”
Edwards Turkey Farm
Derek Edwards and his family have been farming turkeys in Richmond, BC for over 100 years!
Derek spends a lot of time in the barns with his birds and says he enjoys seeing them happy and comfortable.
Since Derek and his family have grown turkeys for so many years, he doesn’t find too many challenges any more, but thoroughly enjoys being a farmer.
Nicson Farms
Ray Nickel is a third generation Fraser Valley farmer. He is currently owner/operator involved in commercial Broiler, Egg layer and turkey operations.
Together with his wife Linda they have 3 children; Luke, Lexi and Noah and live on one of the local farms. He is a graduate from UBC with a bachelor of Animal Science degree. Much of his early work life was in sales and marketing, working with a local feed company as the sales manager. He has also had experience working with procurement on the chicken and turkey side of the processor business.
Other things that Ray enjoys are the experience of sports and coaching, fly fishing and taking holidays with Linda.
Ray is currently a director on the BC Chicken Marketing Board. With more than 20 years experience as a producer, director on many different committees and boards, mostly in the agriculture arena but also diversifying into church and community. He strongly believe in grass roots involvement because primary production is where it all starts and it symbolizes a life style and investment that is worth keeping and growing.
Ray says “I am passionate about our Supply Management System and know that we have a very special and unique agricultural system which is worth preserving and sharing with other countries that could benefit from our success.”