Little Deb's Berry Farm
Little Deb’s Berry Farm, situated just outside of Newhall, Iowa is the pride and joy of Jeff and Deb Sindelar. Here, you'll find a vibrant mix of crops like kiwi berries, honey berries, nuts, and asparagus.
Newhall, Iowa
Type: Farm
Produces: Turkey
Location: Cannon Falls, MN
Miles from Coop: 208

Fern and Dale started their farm in 1939, selecting the land for its perfect turkey raising qualities: sandy soil, in a river valley abutting Little Cannon River, which provides excellent drainage for healthy outdoor animal-raising conditions: “I gain more appreciation for it every year,” John gives a nod to his grandparents.
“My grandfather was a bit of a visionary for his time, a pioneer in wanting to grow turkeys for a living. Before that, everyone would just grow a few backyard turkeys for themselves.”
While the farm was initially on-trend by specializing (amid the great transition in agriculture from self-sufficiency family farming to specialization and commodity farming), they bucked the trend when animal-raising turned to confinements: “We were the holdouts after everyone else had quit raising them outside.”
Free-range, naturally:
“This is the only way my grandfather would have known how to raise turkeys – and everyone used to,” John notes.
The old fashioned methods have come back into vogue in the post-Omnivore’s Dilemma era, when people once again want to know where their food comes from. While Ferndale’s free-range turkeys are “perceived as being niche or specialty market,” John points out, “it makes me chuckle because, really, we’ve changed very little.”

It’s music to a conscientious omnivore’s ears:
“We keep [the turkeys] rotating onto fresh pasture. It’s a true free-range program, outdoors from early spring.”
Managing their two fifteen- and twenty-acre turkey ranges is labor intensive, but “We take pride in managing the land well, and we never have to use pesticides or herbicides. When you do it right, it’s a closed-loop, with the turkeys fertilizing the grass,” – not to mention eating the bugs (all of which makes the turkey taste good).
Also unlike conventional turkeys, Ferndale has a no antibiotics nor growth promotants policy: “There’s the most pride for us in not using treatment antibiotics, as it’s a testament that we’re doing it right.”

You’ll have a tasty turkey with any cooking method if you buy a good turkey and don’t overcook it.
THE RULE: It’s done when it hits 165°F (taken with a meat thermometer).
Let it rest 15 minutes for the juices to stabilize, and you should have a good bird.
Checkout these great products from Ferndale Market
Be sure to check out these others great local producers!
Little Deb’s Berry Farm, situated just outside of Newhall, Iowa is the pride and joy of Jeff and Deb Sindelar. Here, you'll find a vibrant mix of crops like kiwi berries, honey berries, nuts, and asparagus.
Newhall, Iowa
Dave and Susie Differding know their apples and love sharing the fruits of their education with you in the form of each shiny, delicious fruit.
Winthrop, IA
Andy manages over 4,000 flower cuttings in their two greenhouses and thirty acres of organic produce.
Atalissa, IA
You realize what you’re taking care of right now is going to provide a year’s worth of produce.
Coggon, IA
With a passion for great coffee and sustainability, Stephen Dunham developed a line of coffees with a clean flavor and footprint.
Iowa City, IA
Blues Best Mushrooms is a family-owned specialty mushroom company in Eastern Iowa that supplies fresh mushrooms to the Co-op including Shitake, Oyster, and Lion's Mane.
Vinton, IA
Alex Beaumier started Beau Laundry Co. in 2024 to solve problems he was facing with his own laundry. After about a year of perfecting and finetuning, he created his signature Scented & Softening Wool Dryer Balls!
Marion, Iowa
From a humble hot dog cart to a food truck and now a brick-and-mortar restaurant, O’s Grill has been serving fresh, flavorful Mediterranean cuisine to Cedar Rapids for over 15 years.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa