Two Minnesota-grown turkeys will travel to the White House in November, but they will not be on the first family’s Thanksgiving dinner table. Instead, President Joe Biden will grant the birds pardons from serving as main entrees and the duo will eventually find a home near Waseca.

After the ceremony, the fowl will be brought to Farmamerica, said a press release from Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council.

This is the second consecutive year a flock from the state has been picked for the annual promotion for the turkey industry and American agriculture.

The to-be-pardoned pair will be selected from a presidential turkey flock being raised by Northfield farmer John Zimmerman.

Zimmerman, who serves as chairman of the National Turkey Federation, will talk about his turkeys during a noon presentation Saturday in the Miracle of Birth Center at the Minnesota State Fair. A representative from Farmamerica will be on hand to discuss the organization’s mission and share how the turkeys will be cared for in their new rural Waseca home.

The tradition of the National Turkey Federation presenting a turkey to the U.S. president at Thanksgiving began in 1947 with Harry Truman. George H.W. Bush was the first president to officially “pardon” the turkey in 1989.

Minnesota is ranked first for turkey production in the U.S. with its 450 turkey farmers raising an estimated 40 million turkeys annually, according to the release.

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