Stores keep turkey prices down; other goods may cost more

Old Brick Farm, where Larry Doll raises chickens, turkeys and ducks, was fortunate this Thanksgiving season.

- BY DEE-ANN DURBIN

FROZEN turkeys at a Meijer store Friday in Canton Township, Mich. Diseases shrank the U.S. turkey flock.

(MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press)

Doll's small farm west of Detroit had no cases of bird flu, despite an ongoing outbreak that killed more than 2 million U.S. turkeys in the last three months alone. He also avoided another disease, avian metapneumovirus, which causes turkeys to lay fewer eggs.

"I try to keep the operation as clean as possible, and not bringing other animals in from other farms helps mitigate that risk as well," said Doll, whose farm has been in his family for five generations.

But Doll still saw the effect as those diseases shrank the U.S. turkey flock to a 40-year low this year.

The hatchery where he gets his turkey chicks had fewer available this year. He plans to order an additional 100 hatchlings soon, even though they won't arrive until July.

"If you don't get your order in early, you're not going to get it," he said.

The shrinking population is expected to cause wholesale turkey prices to rise 44% this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Despite the increase, many stores are offering discounted or even free turkeys to soften the potential blow to Thanksgiving meal budgets.

But even if the bird is cheaper than last year, the ingredients to prepare the rest of the holiday feast may not be. Tariffs on imported steel, for example, have increased prices for canned goods.