Thanksgiving Turkeys Cost More Than Ever After Bird Flu Wipeout

[Purveyor]

To make sure all 15 of the Busch’s Fresh Food Market stores had enough turkeys over 22 pounds (10 kilograms) to sell for Thanksgiving this month, meat buyer John Taormina began ordering in January. He didn’t end up with a single one of the big birds, which last year accounted for more than a third of what the Michigan company sold for the holiday.

After the worst-ever U.S. outbreak of avian influenza destroyed almost 8 million turkeys earlier this year, there are fewer of them, and those that remain are smaller than normal. That’s boosting wholesale costs for grocers to a record, and consumer prices are the highest ever for this time of year. Americans will eat about 49 million turkeys for Thanksgiving holiday meals on Nov. 26, or roughly one of every five that will be consumed all year.

“The larger-sized birds will be difficult to get this year,” Taormina said, adding that the biggest available at his upscale stores will be 20 pounds to 22 pounds, which is big enough to feed about 15 people. Turkey is “center-of-the-plate for this holiday, so typically families get together and they’re looking for the bigger-sized” birds, he said.

Some turkey farmers haven’t recovered from a six-month outbreak that ended in June, and many were forced to sell birds earlier than normal and at smaller sizes, said Russ Whitman, vice president at commodity researcher Urner Barry in Bayville, New Jersey. Production fell to a five-year low, and the September weight decline for turkeys was the biggest for that month in four decades, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-12/thanksgiving-turkeys-cost-more-than-ever-after-bird-flu-wipeout

I'm not seeing this locally here in mid-michigan. Krogers, Meijers, Spartan Stores all have birds for 59 cents a pound for store labels and Butterballs all over the place for 99-1.09lb.

[procon]

1. Ham prices are lower this year.

Actually I'm not seeing any price that would seem higher than last year, and my usual haunts have a discount if you buy a certain amount of groceries. I plan on stocking up on hams if my freezer has space for extras.

[restorefreedom]

2. if we didn't raise animals to kill,

we would not have many of the terrible human diseases we now have as well as antibiotic resistance.

perhaps mother earth is trying to tell us something

[yeoman6987]

5. You are right we raise them to eat. That really is what we do.

How can you have thanksgiving without turkey? You can't? Christmas without ham? Impossible. At least in my house.

[LanternWaste]

8. It seems we do often predicate the impossible on faith-based, imaginary traditions.

It seems we do often predicate what is or is not possible on faith-based, imaginary traditions. At least in my house.

[yeoman6987]

9. Perhaps but thank goodness we do. Yummy!

Some customs are just awesome!

[restorefreedom]

12. i have never found meat particularly appealing

guess i am just lucky tht way. makes being veg very easy.

[restorefreedom]

10. depends on what you get used to

friends of mine have two kids veg since birth. they don't know holidays WITH ham and turkey. and they don't seem to miss it.

a lot of it is habit and tradition.

[Purveyor]

6. "terrible human diseases". Indeed but the planet is too damned populated now and one shouldn't

live be 100 years old and unproductive.

Maybe THAT is the message mother earth is sending.

[restorefreedom]

11. the planet IS too populated

which is another reason a plant based diet will the only sustainable one for the future.

what constitutes an acceptable level of productivity? do you suggest we start knocking off people as they retire?

[Sherman A1]

3. From what I understand prices will be about .20 cents off of regular retail

but, that is just what I heard and we will find out shortly as the ads will break next week.

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. We paid nearly $40 for a 22lb bird this year. n/t

[Purveyor]

7. That is not unusal for a fresh, off the farm bird. We did a fresh one a couple years ago and it was

around that price but no where near 22lbs. I prefer nothing over 14 lbs as they fit and cook quite well in the Weber.

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. This one was quite factory frozen.

We like a big bird because we can the leftovers.

[mnhtnbb]

13. My local store (Harris Teeter) has a special this week for frozen turkeys: $.59/lb with the store

card and purchase of $50. above the price of turkey.

There were several of the 22-26 lb birds in the freezer. I looked at several tags
before I bought a 16 lb. bird. In the past I've bought 14 lbs and not had enough
for leftovers. There will be 6 of us for dinner on Thanksgiving.