For this edition of Wake Up With, we’re on the farm with Tom Copas, second-generation turkey farmer at Copas Turkeys in Berkshire. Christmas is the heartbeat of his year, but behind every perfectly cooked bird on the table is twelve months of planning, care and graft - plus a young family, four lively dogs and a business that now sells directly to customers.
We caught up with Tom to talk about misconceptions around turkeys, the realities of running a seasonal family business, why he walked away from wholesale, and the small morning rituals that keep him grounded - including a fresh hit of BAZ & CO in the shower to start the day.
Raising Turkeys
What’s the biggest misconception about raising turkeys today?
I think people underestimate how long it all takes. We’re literally planning next Christmas before we’ve even finished this one.
In January, we review what we’ve just done. By February, we’re already placing orders for the different breeds and sizes we’ll need for the following Christmas. We use lots of different breeds to get the right size range for families.
It’s all about:
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The right heat and environment
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Building good gut health from day one, so they have a strong immune system later
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Getting them outside as soon as possible
You can see the difference. If they’re inside too long there are little niggles. Get them out ranging, give them space to stomp around, and those niggles disappear overnight. Turkeys are happiest outside.
What does a good day on the farm look like for you?
Good news from the farm team is always a great start – everything healthy, everything where it should be.
We put a lot of defences in place against predators, but they still turn up. Then there’s bird flu, which is terrifying for the whole poultry industry. If we got bird flu on the farm, we’d lose this year’s production and we wouldn’t be able to use the farm for 12 months afterwards - that’s effectively two years’ production gone, in a seasonal business. So getting the birds safely processed, hanging and ready for Christmas is a huge relief.
Even fireworks are a pain as they really scare turkeys.
On a good day though, you walk in and the birds are all outside, ranging, doing what they want to do. That’s a great feeling. Weather helps, blue skies are lovely for us, but funnily enough, turkeys actually prefer a gloomier day. The gloomier it is, the further they range.
Why a Copas turkey costs what it does
When I tell friends about Copas Turkeys, the first thing I hear is, “Why are they more expensive?” How do you answer that?
It comes down to time, age and process. Compared to a broiler chicken, which you can cycle four times a year indoors, we get one turkey cycle a year. The whole business turns over on that one season.
We use slow-growing breeds, and we use hens, which are slower growing and more expensive. They come from small, specialist producers, there aren’t many of them.
Our turkeys are around 24–26 weeks old. A commercial turkey can be half that age and still be called “free-range bronze”. Doubling the age means:
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Double (or more) the feed
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The later, more expensive stage of life when their appetites are biggest
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More of that fat and marbling through the meat - which is exactly what you want for flavour and juiciness, in the same way you’d think about wagyu beef
Then there’s how we process them. We dry-pluck and dry-age our birds for about two weeks, just like you would with quality beef. That improves both flavour and texture.
Dry-plucking is largely by hand. It’s slower, there are multiple stages, and then you’ve got two weeks of hanging in cold storage before you dress the bird cold. You can’t run that through big automated machines in the same way as commercial wet-plucked turkeys. Our production costs are easily four to five times higher than the commercial, wet-pluck route.
We’re making to a standard, not to a price. If you cut corners on things like hanging, for example, hanging at a temperature where the enzymes can’t do their work, you don’t get the same product.
So that’s why a Copas turkey doesn’t taste like the dry bird people drown in gravy?
Exactly. A lot of people know turkey as something dry that needs smothering in gravy, and I’m not surprised it has a bad rap when it’s done badly. We do our own “market research” at Christmas, buying turkey sandwiches and so on, and you can taste the difference.
With our turkeys, if you cook them properly, they’re rich in flavour and incredibly juicy. You don’t need to cook them for hours. A 5kg bird only needs about 1½ to 1¾ hours in the oven, then a good rest. If you chase 72°C in the core and leave it in until everything hits that, the outside meat has lost all its moisture. That’s where people go wrong.
Stepping away from wholesale
You made a big change a few years ago - stopping wholesale. What drove that decision?
It was a tough call. We used to export wholesale birds and supply butchers across the country.
Post-Brexit, it became harder and harder to get seasonal workers consistently, and the rules around bringing them in kept changing. We were using different workers year to year, and we could see the product quality slipping.
So we decided to stop wholesaling and focus on our own market - more direct customers, more control. A couple of years into that model, we’re actually farming more turkeys, but the birds we process for our own customers have gone up and up in quality.
We’re getting the right product, it performs really well, and we’re more proud of what leaves the farm now than we were when we were trying to make do.
You’re a big supporter of independent country stores and direct sales. What’s it like dealing directly with customers now?
It’s brilliant. You get proper feedback, which is invaluable.
We see amazing loyalty: around 80% of our customers return year after year. Outside that, there’s a clear pattern, people have “home and away” years. If they’re not hosting one year, they’re back the next.
Looking at the data, we’ve got customers who’ve been buying turkeys from us for 30–40 years – longer than I’ve been alive. That’s pretty special.
And when you’re out there meeting people, sampling, carving, letting them taste the turkey in person, it gives you huge confidence. You see the reaction on their faces and you know you’re still doing it right.
Family, rituals and staying grounded
You’ve got a young family as well as a busy seasonal business. What does your morning routine look like these days?
It’s changed since the kids arrived. It used to be: get out early with the dogs, walk the farm, clear my head and plan the day.
Now, my non-negotiable is time with the boys in the morning. I get them up while Verity goes for a run and has her headspace. It’s a really important touchpoint for us as a family.
Then it’s a quick shower - I’ve been really enjoying the BAZ & CO shower gel. It’s fresh, it wakes you up, and once I’ve sorted the kids and looked after Verity, that’s my reset before heading out onto the farm.
And what keeps you grounded when life’s full-on?
A couple of things. The dogs are a big help, taking them for a walk and watching them tearing around the woods is always a joy.
The other thing is friends who do completely different jobs. Checking in with them, talking things through, just keeping that conversation going is really important for me.
You’re about to turn 40. Are you thinking more about looking after yourself now?
Totally. I’m 40 in a couple of weeks, and I’m much more conscious of not being “selfish” with myself in the wrong way, actually looking after my health so I can keep up with the boys and be there for them long-term.
Working on the farm means plenty of time outside, but there’s also a lot of office work. So you have to be intentional about movement, routines, even simple things like good sleep and a proper morning reset.
We run our lives from an Outlook calendar - if it’s not in there, it doesn’t happen. Blocking time, giving each other visibility, that’s how we make sure there’s still space for family and for ourselves.
Most of all, I want the farm to be an environment they’d want to be part of one day – warm, welcoming, not just hard graft and stress.
Christmas Time
Last one – what do you hope people feel when they sit down to a Copas turkey on Christmas Day?
I hope they find it delicious, and not like any turkey they’ve had before. I want the eating experience to be special – full of flavour, juicy, memorable.
At the end of the day, there’s a lot riding on the main event. When the in-laws are coming and you’re hosting, you want to feel the impact was worth it – that you made the right impression. The turkey on the table is a big part of that.
Where to find Copas Turkeys
If you’d like a Copas turkey on your table this Christmas, you can order directly from Tom and the team at:
You’ll also find lamb at Easter, beef year-round and chicken boxes, all from the same family-run farm.
And if you’re looking to refine your own morning ritual - whether you’re heading onto a farm or into an office - Tom’s pick is the BAZ & CO Basil, Grapefruit & Spearmint Body Wash: a bright, natural way to start the day feeling awake, clear-headed and ready to get to work.
