Retail cost of holiday's traditional meal increased 13 percent

By STEVE BROWN

Capital Press

As hectic as preparations can be for the annual Thanksgiving dinner, it's not even close to what a turkey farm is like during the weeks leading up to the holiday.

"It is absolutely crazy this time of year," Ross Shoop said the week before Thanksgiving as he prepared to slaughter some of the 1,000 turkeys he raises on his farm near Corning, in Northern California. Peak harvest time for him is November through Christmas.

By industry standards, producers like Shoop are at the small end of the scale. More than 3,400 U.S. farmers raise 244 million turkeys, about a third of them for Thanksgiving. Along with 2,200 potato farmers, 40,000 vegetable growers and 57,000 dairy operators, they produce America's agricultural centerpiece for every Thanksgiving dinner.

The retail price of the typical Thanksgiving meal -- including turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the basic trimmings -- increased about 13 percent this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The organization's annual price survey of Thanksgiving dinner ingredients put the average cost this year at $49.20, a $5.73 increase from last year. The Farm Bureau asked volunteer shoppers in 35 states to look for the lowest prices on ingredients to feed 10 diners, but without taking advantage of special promotions or coupons.

The portion of that pricetag farmers receive varies from crop to crop, according to economists. For food purchases across the board, including meals eaten at home and at restaurants, the farmer gets between 12 and 16 cents of every dollar. That's about half the farmers' share in the mid-1970s, when they received about 32 cents.

In general, the less food is processed, the larger the share farmers receive, economists said. Food purchased solely to be cooked at home returns about 24 cents to farmers.

"That has been reasonably steady, with short-term fluctuations now and then," John Anderson, a senior economist at the Farm Bureau, said. Less-processed items, like frozen whole turkeys, return a higher percentage to farmers. Foods that are processed, such as packaged stuffing or mixes, return much less to farmers.

That 24 percent also has to cover all expenses at the farm level, he said. The two biggest costs -- feed and energy -- are both up this year, he said.

As is the case with most livestock, feed constitutes the bulk of turkey production costs -- 70 percent, according to the National Turkey Federation.

Dave Harvey, poultry analyst at the USDA's Economic Research Service, said profitability for turkey farmers hinges on the situation. Many turkeys are raised under contract, but prices on the spot market have been "definitely higher," he said. If contract growers don't supply their own feed, they may do better.

Feed prices have climbed dramatically, he said. No. 2 corn in Chicago sold for $6.69 a bushel this September compared with $4.32 in September 2010.

Another factor for consumers is that retail turkey prices at Thanksgiving often bear no correlation to wholesale prices, he said. Many retailers heavily discount the birds.

"I've seen them as low as 58 cents a pound," he said. "The wholesale price hasn't been that low in four or five years."

On the spot market, frozen whole hens are going for about $1.15 a pound, about 7 cents higher than last year. "But you can see prices much less than that," Harvey said.

Demand for specialty turkeys -- pasture-raised, organic and heritage breeds that bring premium prices -- has also been increasing.

Cranberry growers are seeing good prices, said Malcolm McPhail, who with his son farms 122 acres in Long Beach, Wash.

The price is 63 to 65 cents a pound, he said. "That's as high a price as we've had in the history of growing cranberries."

Fresh cranberries are a minor part of the market, though. About 60 percent goes to juice, and Craisins -- dried and sweetened cranberries -- have "just gone wild," he said. About 130 million pounds of berries are dried each year. The overall crop this year was about 794.8 million pounds, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The biggest cost for McPhail is pesticides and fertilizer, which run about $30,000 a year.

Overall, consumers come out ahead at Thanksgiving, according to the Farm Bureau.

"Although we'll pay a bit more this year, on a per-person basis, our traditional Thanksgiving feast remains a better value than most fast-food value meals, plus it's a wholesome, home-cooked meal," the Farm Bureau's Anderson said.

Life returns to normal after Thanksgiving, but normal for a turkey farmer does not mean slower. Production is year-round at Kent Meschke's farm in Little Falls, Minn. Minnesota grows more turkeys than any other state, about 45 million a year.

"We really don't have a slow period," he said. He raises 500,000 birds a year. "People don't realize how intense it is. There's no vacation time."

Meschke said a little bit of this year's 25-cent-a-pound price increase for turkey trickles down to him, but it amuses him that people assume holiday discounts should be the price year-round.

"Right now I can buy one out of the store cheaper than I can get one out of the barn," he said.

Online

Turkey growers share their recipes for main dishes and leftovers at www.minnesotaturkey.com

Turkey facts

* In 2010, the average American ate 16.4 pounds of turkey.

* Consumption has more than doubled since 1970.

* In 1970, half of all turkey consumed was during the Thanksgiving holiday; today that percentage is around 31 percent, or 675 million pounds.

* Turkey is the No. 4 protein choice in the U.S., following chicken, beef and pork.

* The total value of turkey processors' production in 2009 was more than $16 billion.

* Gross farm income from turkeys was $4.4 billion in 2010.

* Turkey exports totaled $464 million in 2010. The top markets are Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Canada and the Dominican Republic.

* The biggest turkey ever raised weighed 86 pounds.

* In England, 200 years ago, turkeys were walked to market in herds. They wore booties to protect their feet.

Source: National Turkey Federation; University of Illinois Extension

Most prices are up

The big-ticket item in this year's Thanksgiving dinner -- a 16-pound turkey -- came in at $21.57. That was roughly $1.35 per pound, an increase of about 25 cents per pound, or a total of $3.91 more per whole turkey.

The average prices for other items:

* A gallon of whole milk increased by 42 cents per gallon, to $3.66.

* A 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, $3.03, up 41 cents.

* Two 9-inch pie shells, $2.52, up 6 cents.

* A half-pint of whipping cream, $1.96, up 26 cents.

* A pound of green peas, $1.68, up 24 cents.

* A 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.88, up 24 cents.

* A dozen brown-and-serve rolls, $2.30, up 18 cents.

* Three pounds of sweet potatoes, $3.26, up 7 cents.

* A 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries, $2.48, up 7 cents.

* A 1-pound relish tray of carrots and celery, 76 cents, down a penny.

* A combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal -- onions, eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and butter -- decreased in price to $3.10.

--Steve Brown