COLUMBUS, Ohio — The price of last-minute Halloween candy may be on many minds, but people may want to start budgeting for a more-expensive bird this Thanksgiving.

What You Need To Know

  • In this week's edition of Ag Report, anchor and reporter Chuck Ringwalt and agriculture expert Andy Vance discuss the increase in price for turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving

  • The national wholesale average price for whole turkeys increased 21 cents per pound from last year

  • Each week, Ringwalt and Vance discuss a topic of importance within agriculture

"It's a marginal increase," agriculture expert Andy Vance said. "When you're looking at the national wholesale average price for whole turkeys, it's about $1.35 per pound. That's going to be up from $1.14 a pound this time last year and well above the five-year average of a $1.06."

While poultry is typically less expensive than other meats like beef and pork, Vance said certain cuts are likely to be more expensive.

"Wholesale boneless, skinless turkey breast is also a bit more expensive," he said. "If you like to go for a breast instead of the whole turkey, now it's up to about $3.45 a pound. Now, that's where we've seen a huge increase because that's up from about $1.80 per pound last year."

Vance said disruptions within the supply chain and fewer turkeys are the main reasons for the price increases.

"We could be talking about the same supply and demand story that we've been following really throughout the pandemic," he said. "The supply chain woes that the pandemic caused and have exacerbated really now for 18 months and counting, those still apply, but the bigger issue, frankly, is that producers are producing fewer turkeys. They respond to market incentives. And if you think about how you at home consume turkey, chances are the only time you're buying a whole turkey is at Thanksgiving or maybe Christmas."

Vance said this trend is likely to continue into the Christmas holiday season.

USDA statistics regarding turkeys may be found here.