Longtime Hamptons Farmer Talks Turkey During Holiday Season

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Richie King has been talking turkey lately.

For King, whose family business, North Sea Farms in Southampton, is an iconic business on the South Fork canvas, raising turkeys for the holiday season is a tradition that's been going strong for 30 years.

Over the years, the process of raising turkeys has changed a bit, King said.

"We start the turkeys much later than we used to. We get the poults around July 10 and they grow fast," he said.

While the question is posed every season, fresh versus frozen, fans of King's poultry believe fresh turkeys are the best for the holiday meal. "Fresh turkeys are just that, fresh," King said. "They are raised that year, processed and sent to your table. Most of the frozen turkeys have been around awhile."

Over the years, King has cultivated some funny turkey stories on the farm, stories he tells with a trademark twinkle in his smile.

"One time while catching turkeys on a rainy day, I didn’t grab it right and its foot shot the wet manure into my eye. It hurt! I went to eye doctor just to be safe. I laughed about it because there was no harm done and it was like turkey justice." He laughed.

Generations of love

The farm, a well-loved Hamptons destination, has brought the same familiar faces back, generation after generation, he said.

"Many families have been coming to the farm for years and they are like family. They are very supportive and when my dad passed they all shared their love for him," he said.

King's father, Richard E. King, known as "Tate", twelfth generation East Ender, died peacefully on June 29 at his home at the North Sea farm. He was 90 years old.

It's the love of family, of home, and of the beautiful East End where the farm is deeply rooted in history and tradition, that's the foundation of the business the Kings have helmed for three decades.

Thanksgiving may have passed, but the turkey rush isn't over. The farm will have turkeys for Christmas, King said.

And the turkey trade is picking up steam: This year, for the first time, King started with 1,000 birds.

A life lived cultivating flocks has meant deep fulfillment, King said.

"There is great joy in farming, in general, though it is a lot of work," he said. "Starting from a day-old chick to a 20 lb. turkey is amazing to see and then, to sell it to individuals to make their Thanksgiving a success is gratifying. Planting seeds and watching them grow into amazing vegetables that are enjoyed by many gives the same joy and satisfaction."

And farming isn't the only seeds King sows.

King, a member of Southampton High School's Class of 1970, is a 35-year member of the North Sea Fire Department, a former trustee of the Southampton School Board of Education, a member of Masonic Lodge 7009, a former youth minister for the First Presbyterian Church of Southampton — and now, minister of the Cutchogue Presbyterian Church.

Over the years, King has worn many hats, once managing an Agway and also serving as a founding member of the Peconic Land Trust; he went to high school with the group's president John Halsey.

As youth director, King was able to nurture young people and has long been called to the ministry; currently, he's been commissioned as a ruling elder, which is "a step below ordained, and a step above a regular elder," he said.

King studied online for a degree with the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and was soon contacted by the head of the Presbytery of Suffolk County to ask if he'd consider the pastor's position in Cutchogue, a part-time post.

Because it's a part-time position, King said he's able to weave the duties into his already busy schedule on the farm, where he wakes every morning at 4:30 a.m., opening the store, picking up supplies, delivering eggs, seeding, cultivating, and planting.

North Sea Farms, he said, is known for turkeys, chickens, eggs, tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, baked goods and flowers and other produce.

"It's a small farm with a little bit of everything," King said.

The transformation from farm to minister, he said, has been a natural one; he especially loves the children's messages at the beginning of each service, since he's found working with youth so meaningful for years, including years teaching Sunday school.

And the two positions are not entirely different. "My father said, 'Now you're a farmer and a preacher, the two lowest paid jobs you can find." King laughed.

Farming and the ministry have common ties, King said. "They're very similar. You plant seeds, you start out with babies, and they grow. In church, you start out with planting seeds of hope, and love."

Turkey photo courtesy of Richard King.