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NFU: farmers’ share of Thanksgiving dinner 11.4 cents

The National Farmers Union has calculated the U.S. farmers’ share of the cost of a basic Thanksgiving dinner and it is just over 11-cents.

NFU’s policy director Rob Larew says consumer holiday food costs have declined slightly but incomes for farmers and ranchers have dropped, “We’re in the midst of the worst farm economic downturn in 30 to 40 years and we’re hopeful these numbers can help illustrate that fact to the general public.”

The NFU Farmers’ Share is based on USDA’s monthly Agriculture Prices report and compared to price points of common grocery foods at Safeway supermarket. The farmer’s share of retail turkey sales, five-cents per pound, is reported by the Contract Poultry Growers Association of Virginia, since there’s no national data.