By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)
The American Farm Bureau’s 40th annual Thanksgiving Dinner cost survey shows another drop this year.
Iowa Farm Bureau Research Director Christopher Pudenz says the survey checks the prices of 12 items each year. “The total cost came in at $55.18, which is a total decline of five percent from 2024,” he says.
Half the items went down in cost, including the centerpiece turkey. “It dropped 16% from 2024, or it dropped from $25.67 cents last year to $21.0 this year,” Pudenz says. Turkey prices have been impacted by avian influenza and supply issues in past years. He says this year it appears the bird is being used as an incentive to shoppers. “One of the things that seems to have happened this year is that retailers seem to have realized that folks are feeling a pinch in their pocketbooks,” he says, “and they are offering more of their whole birds on sale this year. Sort of, you know, to entice folks to get them in the door and to keep the overall dinner cost down”. Pudenz says the hurricane that hit North Carolina impacted production and raised the price for sweet potatoes, and weather also impacted the carrots and celery a little bit for the veggie tray.
He says the cost for the ten-person meal topped out topped in 2022 at $64, and has fallen every year since then. Pudenz says producers haven’t seen any increase in what they make. “According to U.S.D.A., farmers only receive 16% of the retail dollar that folks spend at the grocery store. So when they spend a dollar at the grocery store, only 16 cents of that does make it back to the farmer,” he says.
Pudenz says it’s important to think of the farmers as you sit down to give thanks. “You know, while folks should be thankful that their Thanksgiving dinner is relatively cheap this year and they should be thankful for those sales that retailers are running, they also do need to keep in mind that folks out in the countryside and farm country are having a challenging year,” Pudenz says. “Especially on the row crop side of things. Corn and soybean prices haven’t done very well this year for a variety of reasons.”
The survey did look again at an expanded menu that includes a boneless ham, russet potatoes and frozen green beans along with the turkey. That total was $77.09 for ten servings, which that is 24 cents cheaper than in 2024.
