This couple's farming practice providing healthier Thanksgiving meals for families, community

YOUNGSTOWN

For Seth Sharp, Thanksgiving is about what he puts into his 140 turkeys’ dinners.

Sharp, the 32-year-old owner and operator of Premium Pastured Meats in Alliance, and his partner Jessica Bush raise organic, grass-fed beef, pork and poultry – including turkeys for Thanksgiving dinners – on their 18-acre farm.

One turkey, Tom – which happens to be the name of all of Sharp’s turkeys – survived last Thanksgiving and grew to an enormous 40 pounds. For comparison, most turkeys used for Thanksgiving dinner top out at about 15 pounds.

Sharp knew few families would be able to cook such a massive bird and wanted to make a difference during the holiday, so he reached out to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley and agreed to donate Big Tom.

For Sharp, who works land his family has farmed for more than 100 years, raising food has always been a part of his life. He grows the organic hay on a 70-acre plot he rents, feeds his animals the hay, then sells those animals to an ever-growing consumer base that values the source of their food free from genetically modified organisms.

His decision to raise his animals on a pasture and without the use of antibiotics and GMO-filled feed was influenced as much by business concerns as health scruples.

He graduated from Malone College in 2007 with a degree in nursing and went on to get a master’s degree in anesthesiology in 2011 from Youngstown State University.

Read more abut him, his partner and their business in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.