LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Thanksgiving day, people typically go around the table saying what they are thankful for. However, this year turkey prices may be added to that list or at least to their grocery list as local economists explain how they've seen a drop in prices.
"We'll start to see that the sticker shock on many of those items for this year's Thanksgiving is going to be a lot [more] improved compared to what we were seeing this time last year when we're preparing," said James Mitchell, assistant professor with the department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness with the UA System of Division of Agriculture.
While you're out and about at the stores this year, you may not have to second guess about grabbing a whole turkey to serve on Thanksgiving. Mitchell explained that if you produce more of a product, you'll have lower prices.
"A lot of that is due to [the fact] that it's been cheaper to raise those turkeys. Cheaper feed, and we've lost fewer of them to bird flu this year. So both of those factors contribute to a much lower price at the retail counter for our consumers this year," Mitchell said.
He also explained how turkey farmers were able to produce more turkeys this year after recovering from a tough year of battling the avian influenza which impacted about 8.7 million turkeys.
"Last year, we raised around 210 million turkeys so in aggregate it doesn't seem like a crazy number but that was a really, really big number. and so that's what translated to consumers testing high turkey prices last year," Mitchell described.
Although farmers have still been battling the bird flu, this season it arrived later in the year which, allowed farmers to give you the best part at the dinner table.
"The typical frozen turkey that we all go to the grocery store to buy is down 44% compared to October last year, so not just lower prices, much much lower prices," Mitchell explained.