At just an utterance, not yet words, from 1-year-old Alice Tiefenbrun, white-breasted turkeys come running and yelping to the gate to greet her.

TALKING TURKEY: Young Alice Tiefenbrun has an affinity for the turkeys that roam the pastures near her home. It is something her parents hope continues as she grows up on the farm.

Matt Tiefenbrun pushes open the gate, while his wife, Eleanor, carries their daughter across a recently rained-on muddy spot to the damp grass. Then with turkeys in tow, she places Alice feet first onto the ground. The broad-breasted white turkeys surround the little girl. She proceeds to point and "speak" to them. As she walks, they follow. Never getting too close, but always walking with her.

"They seem to know her," Matt says. "At this stage they are still friendly." However, the protective father notes that as the male birds mature, they do not remain that way. "In a couple of weeks, they will become more aggressive," he explains. "She will no longer be allowed to play in here with her birds."

Still, raising animals is an experience they want for their daughter. The Tiefenbruns operate Buttonwood Farm, which specializes in raising free-range turkeys and chickens in the hills of Moniteau County in central Missouri. The couple also manages a cow-calf operation.

The young couple dreamed of owning a farm and raising a family on it since they both were kids living in the St. Louis area.

From city to country
There was not a lot of agriculture taught in suburban Webster Groves, Mo., where Matt attended high school. "I visited my aunt and uncle in Festus [Mo.]," he says. "They had a couple hundred acres, and I became obsessed with the farm. I was just hooked on it."

In the eighth grade, he was put in charge of a butcher calf. "That really pumped me up about agriculture," he says. This boy from the city attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and studied agriculture. He worked at the university's poultry farm but swore that after graduating he would never raise chickens or turkeys. Then he met a farm girl. But not your traditional farm girl.

Eleanor grew up 25 miles southwest of St. Louis near Hillsboro. Her family owns Bellews Creek Farm, where they specialize in organic produce.

The couple knew they wanted the farm experience. So after they married, they spent a brief time in Michigan. They returned to Missouri in 2010, purchased their own 200 acres and became full-time farmers.

Raising turkeys
One aspect of their operation is poultry production. In the 10 acres near the family home, 2,500 turkeys roam the pasture. "It seems every year we grow the business a little," Matt says.

The turkeys are free-range birds. Matt explains the terminology to mean the birds are never locked in a barn or restricted from access to the pasture. "They are on pasture all hours of the day and night," he says. Rather than an enclosed facility, Matt uses three portable shelters to provide relief from the weather. Each is moved up to four times during the day, depending on the forage availability.

Garden hoses allow water to flow through elongated metal troughs in each shelter. These move easily with the structure across the field.

An even split of males and females fill the pasture, eating grass and grubs. However, they also eat nutritionally balanced feed. Matt provides free access to feed using seven feeders. This allows the birds to put on the pounds needed to fulfill the holiday season orders.

OPEN ACCESS: The turkeys at Buttonwood Farm have access to the pasture 24/7. They can take refuge from the weather in portable shelters.

Topping the table
From this group, the couple will harvest up to 1,400 to sell as whole turkeys. It takes roughly 18 weeks for the larger birds to make it up to a 26-pound dressed weight. Because they are free-range, the birds range in weight from 16 to 26 pounds.

"The majority of these birds will end up on the Thanksgiving table," Eleanor adds. "Not only do they have a great taste and are juicy, but they make a great presentation, a great table centerpiece."

The remaining birds are processed into turkey breasts and ground turkey at a local meat processor for future sales to restaurants and individuals. Buttonwood Farms has its own label and on farm storage with a 40-by-28-foot walk-in freezer, along with a small walk-in cooler.

Individuals can find their turkeys at six grocery stores around St. Louis and Columbia. "We have turkeys in Straub's Grocery and the Root Cellar," Matt adds. A list of locations can be found on their website, buttonwoodfarms.com.

Farming for the future
Matt says that raising turkeys is not a "glamorous job," but it is part of the diversified operation that allows his family to stay on the farm. "And we like it."

The couple hopes that farming is something Alice wants to pursue in the future. If not, they both agree that growing up in a rural area surrounded by animals and land opens up doors for kids in the future. "It teaches them responsibility," he adds.

As Matt and Eleanor reach down for Alice's hands, it is hard not to see the beauty in raising turkeys. The little girl takes one look back over her shoulder, makes another sound — one the birds understand. They flock to her, walk behind her. She lets out a giggle and the family, with turkeys following, head back to the gate.