BOONE COUNTY — Out at Little by Little Farm in Boone County, you'll find lots and lots of animals.
Goats, llamas, chickens and hundreds of turkeys.
350 turkeys to be exact.
All of them being cared for and raised for Thanksgiving day.
Pumpkins, peppers, fruits and vegetables are scattered about the field.
The turkeys are having their own Thanksgiving feast. No chemicals, additives or cages for these range free birds.
It's something owner, Robert Pinder, takes pride in.
The farm has been raising turkeys for 15 years, each year more and more are added.
"I never thought I'd be doing turkey," Robert Pinder said.
It's a dream he never knew he'd have, but one that's come with a lot of gratitude.
"It's that sense of accomplishment at the end of the day to be able to say yeah we raised the stuff here," Pinder said.
Owning a farmstead takes a lot of work, and Pinder says he wouldn't be able to do it without his staff.
"I have a wonderful crew of people that help here at the farm. It's every day 'Got to feed them, check on them. Raising turkeys is an exercise in making sure they're alive and they don't do stupid stuff,'" he said.
This year, Pinder says they're blessed avian flu numbers are down.
"It's not hitting near as hard as it did last year," Pinder said.
Avian influenza impacted the cost of turkey dramatically in 2022.
8.15 million birds were affected in September 2022, the American Farm Bureau Federation(AFBF) reports.
"Detections from the current outbreak peaked during March 2022 with 20.96 million birds affected before gradually falling to just 540 birds in September 2023. June marked the first month with no detections since the outbreak began in February 2022," AFBF said.
The amount of birds lost last year meant supply was far less than demand, skyrocketing prices.
AFBF economist Bern Nelson said the prices will be much easier on the pocketbooks this year.
"When we look where prices are sitting right now, we're averaging around $1.20 a pound right now," Nelson said.
The traditional turkey hit a record $1.80 per pound in 2022. For specialty birds, which are boneless, skinless, turkey breast, it hit a record just shy of $7 per pound.
The specialty bird prices were more than 112% higher than the year before.
READ MORE | https://www.wrtv.com/news/working-for-you/holiday-staples-could-cost-you-more-than-ever-before
This year you should expect to pay less than last. Prices are dropping by about 60% this year.
AFBF says specialty birds are costing about $2.52 per pound. Traditional turkey is costing about $1.27 per pound.
AFBF says you should expect more promos this time of year, helping provide relief to pocket books.
But still, other inflation factors are weighting in to keep the price higher than desirable.
"Inflation is at about 3.7% and our target is around 2%," Nelson said.
Pinder says they're also seeing that impact their daily operations.
"We still have the challenge of feed prices being elevated. There's corn, soybeans. I rely less on those feeds, but still I do have to pay for that. So it's still a factor," Pinder said.
But farms like Little by Little are doing what they can to keep costs as low as possible for consumers ahead of the holiday season.
The farm also has some birds available for purchase ahead of Thanksgiving. To order one or to learn more about what they do at the farm, click here.
