Interested in buying a local turkey this Thanksgiving and supporting Michigan farmers or small businesses? Here is a guide that can help you navigate your options, which are plentiful. Note: This article has been edited to include information from The Produce Station which was inadvertently omitted.

First off, you can order a local turkey from various area farmers. For a great roundup of those options, please see this wonderful post from The Farmer's Marketer blog. The information was compiled last year, but is essentially the same, although pricing from the individual farms may have changed.

If you aren't quite up to that challenge, you can order through several local markets (listed in alphabetical order):

Arbor Farms carries five different types of turkey, which you can order by calling 996-8111:

All natural, Michigan Amish turkeys from Hillcrest Farm for $3.49/lb. Preservative/antibiotic free turkey from a consortium of farms in Northern Indiana for $1.79/lb. Certified humane turkeys from New York state at $3.49/lb. Organic turkeys from California at $3.99/lb. Kosher Valley all-natural turkeys from Pennsylvania.

Morgan and York carries a limited number of heritage turkeys. From the Morgan and York website:

"Yes, the heirloom (sic - should be heritage according to the Frank Reese material) turkeys are back! We are very excited to offer Black, American Bronze, and Red Bourbon heirloom turkeys for Thanksgiving this year. These birds are directly descended from the first American flocks of these varieties. They are raised by fourth generation poultry farmer Frank Reese and a group of five other neighbors who operate family-owned farms near Lindsborg, Kansas."

If you want these rare, wonderful holiday turkeys, you must call immediately. The deadline on the site states the deadline for ordering will be today, November 6th at 4 p.m., but they've agreed to extend the deadline for annarbor.com readers through the weekend, but when the turkeys are gone, they're gone, so again, please call 662-0798 right away if you're interested in these succulent heirloom birds. The price of the turkeys are $90 for an 8 - 12 lb. bird.

The People's Food Co-op is selling two varieties of turkey. Both are free-range, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, all-natural turkeys - Plainville vegetarian fed turkeys are $2.99/lb and Peacock Farm turkeys from Northern Indiana are $2.19/lb - these turkeys are supercooled and both are fresh. They'll be available for order while supplies last. The PFC also has all your Thanksgiving grocery needs and home-baked pies (including vegan options), a variety of sides, and possibly a full dinner option. Order your turkeys or pies or get more information about other Co-op Thanksgiving options by calling 994-9174.

Plum Market is selling Michigan Durkensen all-natural turkeys from the Traverse City area - they are free-range and $3.99/lb. They are also selling Plainville cage-free, all-natural turkeys at $2.99/lb., and Bell and Evans all-natural turkeys at $2.99/lb. Plum also is selling a full catering menu that includes prepared turkey, ham, pork loin and a huge variety of sides and desserts. For ordering information, call 827-5000.

The Produce Station is carrying both cooked and uncooked versions of John Harnois's local turkeys, as well as turkeys from Back 40 Acres and Peacock Farms. On the non-local front, they are carrying the same all-natural Plainville turkeys described above. Complete information on their turkeys can be found here. The Back 40 Acres and John Harnois turkeys are $5.99/lb uncooked and $7.99/lb cooked; the Plainville turkeys are $2.99/lb uncooked and $5.99/lb cooked and the Peacock Farms turkey breasts are $5.99 cooked. They also carry fully-cooked Niman Ranch bone-in hams at $8.99/lb. and fully-cooked Porchetta Tronchetto roasts at $19.99/lb. Additionally, they are offering a full menu of sides, which you can find by clicking on the Thanksgiving menu on this page. The order deadline is November 22nd (with the exception of turkeys, which will be gone when their quantities are gone), and you can order by calling 663-7848.

Sparrow Meat Market in Kerrytown is also selling all-natural, free-range turkeys from Peacock Farm in Northern Indiana - the same turkeys they've been selling for 25 years. These are selling for $2.80/lb. Sparrow's is also selling heritage turkeys from Homer, MI, which are also $2.80/lb. For ordering information, please call 761-8175.

Finally, if you want your turkey local, from a local food business and cooked for you, Zingerman's Deli has two offerings: butter-basted and sage-rubbed, bone-in turkey breast from John Harnois and Sons for $100/whole breast or $65/half breast or you can get a full "Thanksgiving Feast" - including the butter-basted & sage-rubbed bone- in turkey breast, mashed potatoes, homestyle gravy, cranberry sauce, sage and celery stuffing, Thanksgiving wild rice, maple syrup sweet potatoes, Zingerman's Bakehouse Farm Bread along with fresh Michigan farm butter, spiced pecans and pilgrim pumpkin pie. This meal serves 4 generously for $165. 100% of the profits for purchases of the Thanksgiving Feast will go to Food Gatherers, so this is a way to eat magnificent food and give back to the community at the same time. To order, please call 663-DELI.

All turkey sales are on a first-come basis, so the earlier you put in your order, the greater the likelihood that you'll get the type of turkey and sized turkey that you want.

Talking turkey

For information on heritage turkeys: The Heritage Turkey Foundation

All-natural turkeys tend to be hormone-free and antibiotic-free, and allowed to roam. Some are free-range, meaning they have access to fields and large spaces, and some are cage-free, which means they have some movement, but may be more restricted. Some of these definitions are a slippery slope in the sense that there are no definitive standards.

Certified Organic turkeys are essentially the same as all-natural, free range turkeys, with the exception that they are only fed certified organic grain (with no animal by-products) and the farm facilities have undertaken the organic certification process.

I'm Jennifer Shikes Haines and my blog is a2eatwrite. Please contact me at: Jenshaines at gmail dot com.