Turkeys More Expensive, Smaller Than In Past Years

(KNSI) – Elevated grocery prices and highly pathogenic avian influenza are combining to cause turkey prices to soar just in time for Thanksgiving.

In September, poultry prices were up 17% compared to the same month in 2021, a little over twice the overall inflation rate. University of Minnesota professor Michael Boland says the market will adjust and that could mean smaller turkeys than normal on shelves for the holiday.

“Turkey that would have been harvested say a month after Thanksgiving might be pulled into the fresh turkey market for November because — and those are gonna be lighter weight turkeys. So people may not have as much choice but you should still be able to find a turkey.”

Boland says if you eat out you’ll see higher prices as well. He expects that restaurants will try to upgrade their menu to compensate. He says customers may balk at the increase for just turkey and the fixings, but if eateries serve the bird with something exotic like cranberry chutney they will be more accepting.

Boland says inflation won’t be the sole reason you might encounter something different at the dinner table.

“If you think about buckwheat or couscous or other substitutes for starches, people don’t mind necessarily experimenting with one or two ethnic foods on a traditional Thanksgiving buffet or adding quinoa for example to stuffing.”

Forecasters are beginning to sound the alarm about an Alberta Clipper system set to bring snow and snarl travel in the days following Thanksgiving. Whatever you make for dinner, make sure you have enough for seconds and thirds if family end up stranded longer than expected.

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