Last call for turkeys at Ho-Ka Turkey Farms in Waterman, Kauffman family says

WATERMAN – After 90 years, the Kauffman family of Waterman-based Ho-Ka Turkey Farms is closing the family business, which has offered a Thanksgiving staple to locals for decades.

Robert Kauffman – son of the founder of Ho-Ka Turkey Farms, W. Howard Kauffman – said he expects his family to sell their last bird before the end of next week, Nov. 18.

This, however, wasn’t always the plan. Insurance troubles prompted the Kauffman family to close the tenured business.

“This was very sudden. We were getting ready to get started, and we couldn’t get ahold of insurance,” Kauffman said. “If you don’t have insurance, you can’t borrow money. If you can’t borrow money – that’s kind of how that went.”

Even though the average price of turkey this holiday season is expected to be lower than it was a year ago, Kauffman said that as he understands it, insurance underwriters saw too much risk in the family business.

“The guys I generally buy insurance from said they’ve never seen a market like this before,” said Kauffman, 64.

The family said Ho-Ka Turkey Farms was one of the few family-owned turkey farms in the U.S. that operated its own processing plant.

More than 1,000 tom turkeys were annually grown on the family farm, but without insurance, the Kauffmans were unable to raise any this year.

People that have heard we’re closing and have always bought their turkeys at a butcher or something, they’re coming in just to get some last product. And that’s been great. Our customers have always been really good. That’s what I’m going to miss the most – having all the customers, meeting all the customers.”

—  Susan Kauffman

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Robert and Susan Kauffman, of Kauffman Turkey Farms, Monday, Nov. 6 2023, at their farm in Waterman. The Kauffman’s are retiring but plan to remain open until they sell what they have left in stock. (Mark Busch)

Historically, Ho-Ka Turkey Farms employed about 100 people to dress and process the birds; however, without any new turkeys to dress, the Kauffmans have had to let go of all but one of their employees.

Susan Kauffman, Robert’s wife of 31 years, runs the counter at the family turkey supplier. She said they’re as busy as they’ve ever been because of extra support from the community.

“Everyone’s been coming in. People that have heard we’re closing and have always bought their turkeys at a butcher or something, they’re coming in just to get some last product,” said Susan Kauffman, 55. “And that’s been great. Our customers have always been really good. That’s what I’m going to miss the most – having all the customers, meeting all the customers.”

Ho-Ka Turkey Farms, 8519 Leland Road, Waterman, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Last call for turkeys will be next week or whenever inventory runs out.

Although there’s no fresh turkeys to process this year, the Kauffmans froze the last of their inventory and are selling what they have until they run out.

And even that wasn’t the initial plan for the farm.

Robert Kauffman said Sycamore-based Ideal Industries normally puts out a large order – buying turkeys for all of its employees – but that order didn’t come to fruition this year.

“It’s just kind of a fluke we even have them at all,” he said. “We had a large quantity saved for a customer, and we had them all ready for them, and they said, ‘Listen, we’re not going to do that anymore.’ At first, it was like, ‘Oh, what are we going to do with these turkeys?’ but now it’s like, ‘I think we can move them through the front door.’ "

With about 1,000 surplus turkeys weighing 16 or 17 pounds and support from the community, the Kauffmans said business was booming the first week of November the way they expect it to so close to Thanksgiving.

Robert Kauffman said sales figures have been “nuts,” and the number of birds they’ve sold across the counter “is just insane.”

The couple expects to be done with the turkey business before Thanksgiving, and on Dec. 1 and 2, an auction will be held to liquidate their farm equipment. The land and turkey farm as a whole also is for sale, Robert Kauffman said.

Susan Kauffman, who grew up in DeKalb and worked the past five years on the farm after raising their children, said she’s going to miss interacting with their customers more than she will the job’s hours, their day-off policy or answering emails late into the evening.

And although this is the end of an era, the Kauffmans still have a future to look forward to.

“We’re going to go to Disney World,” Susan Kauffman said. “Actually, we’re going to take a family trip to Disney World in January with my mom and our daughters and granddaughters, so four generations. And then do some travel.”

Robert Kauffman also is ready to celebrate his family’s success with the trip.

“That’s what you do after the Super Bowl, right?” he said.