11/21/05 Turkey dinner costs up

It has become an annual Thanksgiving tradition, along with the turkey, family, football, and parades. It is the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual Thanksgiving dinner survey. And for twenty years, Farm Bureau has given American consumers a look at what it costs on the average to make that meal, adding turkey, all the fixings, butter, and drinks such as milk and coffee. So how much will consumers pay to make a Turkey day meal? For 2005, the average price for a feast for ten people comes in at $36.78. Compared to Thanksgiving 2004, the price for that meal has gone up $1.10. Farm Bureau Chief Economist Bob Young says the reason primarily for the increase is the focus point of the meal & the turkey. This year, the average price for a sixteen pound turkey is ninety-four cents a pound, up almost six cents from this same time last year. However, other items on the menu also rose in price from last Thanksgiving. YOUNG: Some of the things that we had that went up just a little bit. A gallon of milk for example just a little bit. The pumpkin pie mix went up a little bit. Green peas went up a little bit. Stuffing went up just a touch. But we also had several things that declined just a little bit. The sweet potatoes went down. The cranberries went down. Now one thing not on the Thanksgiving menu that played in the higher price is the increase in the costs of energy. After all, to get that turkey to the store, there are the costs associated with the processing, packaging, refrigeration, and shipping of goods. But Young is quick to point out that a home cooked Thanksgiving Day meal is still a good value no matter how you slice it. For one, despite the increased energy costs, the turkey remains below a dollar a pound. Then take the cost of this year's meal in inflation adjusted dollars and it comes out at over $19 dollars for ten people, compared to over $28 dollars in 1986. And Young says factor in how much the average price per person is for a Thanksgiving Day meal. YOUNG: You know all the stuff that goes along with it, the pumpkin pie, the tea, the coffee, the milk, all that good stuff, for $3.50 a person, to me, that is just a great deal. This, to Young and others at Farm Bureau, goes to show how affordable and abundant the American food supply is thanks to agriculture. YOUNG: I think in general, the United States' farmer, the United States' food processing system as a whole has been doing a pretty good job in keeping prices for food products low and very competitive.