The Economics Behind This Year’s Thanksgiving Turkey

Cost of Thanksgiving turkey spikes this year

Prices for centerpiece turkeys are up, but overall consumers are likely to see a mixed bag of price increases and decreases as they shop for traditional Thanksgiving holiday meals, according to a recent news release from Texas A&M AgriLife.

The economics behind this year’s Thanksgiving turkey

U.S. turkey supplies have fallen to a 40-year low after avian flu and other viruses wiped out millions of birds this fall, tightening hatchery inventories and pushing wholesale turkey prices up 44%, The U.S. Department of Agriculture says.  Even small farms like Michigan’s Old Brick Farm have felt the squeeze as hatcheries cut availability and input costs rose. Yet retailers are aggressively discounting Thanksgiving turkeys to draw shoppers, mas…