Recent data compiled by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows a drop in the cost of putting Thanksgiving dinner on the table.
Consumers are reporting lower costs on common staples of holiday dinner, including turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and other foods.
Senior Economist for AFBF Veronica Nigh says that dipping turkey prices are most to thank for the decrease of the average cost of a dinner for 10 on the holiday being just above $61.
“Any reduction in turkey prices ends up having a pretty substantial impact on the total cost. So turkey is down five-point-six-percent. The big reason there is we didn’t have nearly as many cases of high path avian influenza. There were 95 percent fewer cases this year.”
Part of what contributes to a lower price is a low amount of the food dollar used to produce foods. The food dollar is the amount paid by consumers on food produced within the U.S. and how the cost is allocated across all parts of the supply chain.
“Only 14 percent of the food dollar is attributable to the underlying cost of ag products. The other 86 percent is the marketing, the transportation, the packaging, the labor, all to get it from the farmers operation to the Thanksgiving dinner table.”
Last year according to the same report, Thanksgiving dinner costs were up nearly 20 percent, working out to more than $64 for a dinner that serves 10.
Visit www.ofbf.org for the full report, and for more information about Ohio agriculture.
Copyright WTUZ Radio Inc., 2023