Cooking up a Thanksgiving feast? Here’s where turkey prices stand

globalnews.ca:

At this year’s Thanksgiving, Canadians will find a “significant” supply of whole turkeys and at “really good prices,” farmers say.

The news before the holiday season will likely be a welcome respite for many after recent years of high inflation and soaring grocery prices.

Demand for turkey typically spikes around this time of the year, with more than a third (37 per cent) of whole turkey sales for 2023 happening at Thanksgiving, according to the Turkey Farmers of Canada.

With the threat of avian influenza — which impacted the turkey sector a couple of years ago — having subsided, supply has increased this year, said Darren Ference, chair of the Turkey Farmers of Canada.

“This year there’s been no signs of HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza),” he told Global News in an interview Monday.

“The stocks are actually up. This year, I think we were up about four or five per cent over last year on frozen stocks, so supplies will be good.”

So far this year, avian influenza has impacted approximately 67,300 birds on nine commercial and non-commercial premises, according to data the Canadian Food Inspection Agency shared with Global News.

Out of these, roughly 50,000 turkeys have been affected by the virus, said Michael Di Mambro, national incident manager at the CFIA.

These cases were detected in Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

However, there has been no avian flu detection in Canada since April 10.

Stringent biosecurity measures and increased vigilance are paying off, farmers say.

“The outbreak of avian influenza has subsided significantly, and that is due in part to our farmers’ commitment to producing top-quality turkeys and adherence to strict biosecurity protocols,” said Matt Steele, vice-chair of the Turkey Farmers of