Arkansans are buying turkeys at higher prices this year, but serving a Thanksgiving meal shouldn't put consumers in a foul mood, according to the Arkansas Farm Bureau.
The Farm Bureau said the average cost of serving Thanksgiving dinner for 10 in Arkansas is $46.23, up 8.5 percent this year. The change is mostly because the average price of turkey increased 16 percent -- from 97 cents per pound to $1.13 per pound.
However, the 12 items used to make the Thanksgiving meal surveyed by the Farm Bureau still came out to less than $5 per person, and consumers could save big by capitalizing on sales, said Ken Moore, Arkansas Farm Bureau spokesman.
"Some people, when they shop for a car, they want a Cadillac," he said. "Same way with food. If you go into the supermarket and you enjoy a name-brand turkey or ham, you may pay more for that particular food. We tell our surveyors to report the best in-store price."
Moore said turkey prices varied from 78 cents per pound to $1.99 per pound in the survey. Cheaper prices were found at stores having sales. The most expensive turkey was found in Hot Springs.
"That's the highest price we ever had," he said. "Because we were conducting the survey in the middle of the month, some stores had not discounted their price."
The cheapest Thanksgiving basket was found in Alma, for $38.75. The most expensive basket was found in Hot Springs, for $61.19.
Arkansas' average -- $46.23 -- was $3.18 lower than the national average.
Travis Justice, chief economist for the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said a lower cost of living and consumers living closer to where food is grown makes Thanksgiving cheaper in Arkansas.
This year, Arkansas surpassed North Carolina in the number of turkeys raised, producing 29 million birds -- more than any state except Minnesota, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Turkeys became more expensive this year because of production cutbacks by growers who had to deal with higher feed and transportation costs, Justice said.
"Next year, the prospects are stable," he said. "We could possibly see lower prices."
Justice stressed that it's hard to predict what will happen in a year and that there are a variety of factors that go into the cost of producing, shipping and marketing a turkey.
Though high corn prices sent feed costs up earlier this year, the high prices caused farmers to produce more corn. The increased supply of corn, coupled with decreased demand because of fewer cows and pigs to feed because of drought and disease, has led to cheaper feed costs.
Transportation also is a large factor in cost. Though gasoline prices are down, diesel fuel has yet to follow that trend, making turkeys expensive to ship. High diesel prices also mean water is more costly to pump and generators are more expensive to run.
Because of the many factors, "it's a little premature to project a year out," Justice said.
Twelve people in cities across Arkansas conducted the survey between Oct. 31 to Nov. 12. The Arkansas Farm Bureau has conducted this survey with the same items for 29 years.
Moore said the survey wasn't scientific but serves as a snapshot of Thanksgiving food pricing.
"It is conducted to remind consumers that food in America is affordable," he said. "No one should go without."
Business on 11/27/2014