Ifft's Turkey Farm normally is a one-man operation, but each year as Thanksgiving nears, Omar Ifft gathers extra hands to help.

The farm, which straddles the Evans City and Jackson border, specializes in selling fresh turkeys and chickens that are raised without hormones, steroids or preservatives.

Keeping the birds out of the freezer, however, means that all the preparation work needs to be done a few days before Thanksgiving. And that means days that start at dawn and often don't end until midnight.

"There's a lot of easier ways to make a living," Mr. Ifft said.

Mr. Ifft, 51, is the third generation of his family to run the farm, which has been in his family since the late 1940s. Over the years, the farm has housed dairy and beef cattle but now it exclusively raises turkeys and chickens. Mr. Ifft worked for a time as a loan officer but never stopped helping at the farm and returned full time after his father became ill nearly 20 years ago.

His business has survived even as fewer people buy whole turkeys, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"People used to cook the whole turkey," he said. "But in the past 30 years, that's changed. Whole turkeys aren't something people are using after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of the few days that people get together for a big dinner these days."

This year, Mr. Ifft expects to sell about 2,700 turkeys for tomorrow's holiday and another 500 or so for Christmas. Because of the nature of the business, customers must pre-order the turkeys, which range from 13 to 30 pounds and sell for $2.20 a pound this year.

Nationwide, 250 million turkeys are being raised in the United States this year, according to U.S. Census numbers. Census figures also show U.S. farmers are expected to sell $3.8 billion worth of the bird by the end of the year.

Many of Mr. Ifft's customers have been coming to the farm for years, and he also sells to local businesses that give turkeys to their employees for the holidays.

But that practice has diminished, too, as small, locally owned companies give way to larger companies whose owners do not have direct ties to the community.

"You're just making a living in this business," he said. "But you can make a living."

While they are grateful for their customers, Mr. Ifft and his family -- his mother, Margie, still helps at the farm by preparing meals to feed the extra help during the days leading up to Thanksgiving -- always welcome the end of the holiday season, Mr. Ifft said.

"It's a relief."

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