GREENE - Fresh turkeys are a Martzahn Farms Thanksgiving specialty, and the free-range birds raised by Harlan Martzahn are prized produce in Northeast Iowa.

The secret?

Exercise, vitamins, a diet of homegrown corn and minimal antibiotics, says Martzahn, who raises about 3,500 turkeys each year.

Early in June, the first batch of hatchlings arrive at the Butler County farm.

Chicks get a "good dose of vitamins and electrolytes, then spend the summer running under big shade trees and eating corn I raise myself," he says.

Lack of confinement appeals to consumers, grocers say. And that's music to Martzahn's ear.

"Meat is muscle. Letting my turkeys run makes them stronger, helps prevent disease and definitely improves the taste," he says.

Owning a poultry processing plant gives Martzahn an edge in the fresh-meat market. His turkeys are in stores within hours of processing.

"These birds don't hang on a chain in a butcher shop or sit for days in a refrigerated truck. It's just fresh to the store," he says.

Starting in mid-July, the turkeys are butchered at Martzahn's Farm Poultry Processing in Greene.

"We have customers that want small birds for barbecuing in the summer and furnish turkeys for at least three church socials in the area," Martzahn says.

But it's the week before Thanksgiving when the operation kicks into high gear.

About 1,300 turkeys of varying sizes are slaughtered, chilled to 38 degrees and then delivered to grocers from Clear Lake to Waterloo.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture requires a meat inspector be on the premises at all times during processing.

After checking sanitary standards, inspector Dean Robertson steps in line, working elbow to elbow with the other meat cutters.

"I inspect all the birds and make sure the meat is chilled to less than 40 degrees before packaged," Robertson says.

"They run a clear shop," he says.

Taking a rare break, Martzahn grins at the inspector's compliment, then begins calculating.

"If I figure the average weight of each bird at about 17 pounds and servings at a half-pound each, my little operation provides turkey for about 41,000 Thanksgiving meals," Martzahn says.

Now, you're talking turkey.