WASHINGTON, Ind. (WDRB) -- Fields and farmhouses for as far as the eye can see make Washington about as Indiana as basketball.
It's a different sport though doing a lot for the turkey at one farm there.
"That gives you a good feeling to know that people can get together with their families at Thanksgiving time and can use what we've raised," said Dean Wagler of Veal Creek Ag.
He and his family raise the birds from two-days-old.
"My parents got married in 1953, and we've been raising turkeys ever since then," Wagler explained.
When they're babies, their environment is everything.
"That's when they feel the most comfortable, when it's dry," Wagler said.
The temperature has to be right, and so does the bedding. It's made of a Louisville Slugger baseball bat.
The same stuff used in the bats of Will Smith and Ellie De La Cruz today, and Babe Ruth back in the day.
When a bat is shaped at Slugger Museum and Factory in downtown Louisville there's a lot of sawdust left behind. That's where Wagler comes in.
"He picks up 55,000 pounds a week to take to his turkey farm," 5th generation bat maker, Bobby Hillerich explained.
"It's about 107 miles down there," added Wagler.
"We pay them $150 for basically the fuel," said Hillerich. "In return, we have a signed agreement that if we have any type of malfunction with the truck or the system, they will have a new truck here within two hours. "
It serves as a nice insurance policy for Slugger.
"If we're shut down, we can't make bats," said Hillerich.
The tasty meal dropped off during Thanksgiving week doesn't hurt either.
"They do bring us a turkey or two and we have a nice little dinner for the company," Hillreich added.
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