USDA says wholesale turkey prices are going up ahead of Thanksgiving

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Since 2019, wholesale turkey prices have gone up and down. But this year, those numbers have jumped exponentially due to the highly pathogenic avian influenza.

“So when we see those big disruptions, we lose those birds, there’s less birds entering the meat case, and the demand is still going to be strong for it. So that just means the prices are going to go up,” said Dr. Jake Galbreath, Extension Veterinarian and Livestock Stewardship Specialist at NDSU.

Since the start of the bird migration season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported over ten outbreaks of bird flu in both North Dakota and South Dakota. Four more cases were reported this month, impacting a combined 202,000 birds.

“So we see these outbreaks in commercial poultry operations, we see a lot of loss of birds because of that, we don’t have the time to restock and get that supply built up again. It’s just the worst time of the year for that to happen because this is when we want to consume, this is when we’re going to be consuming, most of the turkey we do in the year. And now we’re going to have fewer birds to do so,” said Galbreath.

Grocery stores like Walmart, Hornbacher’s, and Target have prices ranging from 84 cents to nearly $2.00 per pound. At least one local butcher shop says they have not seen a huge price increase this year.

“You know, the past year prices honestly haven’t changed a lot. You know the reason for turkeys going up and there being a shortage of turkeys, the biggest reason is bird flu. And then you got wages. You’ve got costs, you know, feed, packaging, labor, it all plays a part. But I think the biggest, the biggest reason is bird flu,” said Wayne Rheault, Meats by John and Wayne.

There is some good news about turkey prices: the USDA projects that prices will not increase in 2026.

NDSU will conduct sessions in the coming weeks to identify bird flu in animals.