Ethanol Blamed For High Turkey Prices
November 24, 2008 A Newsmax.com article probably won’t surprise too many retailers whose customers grow corn. Just in time for Thanksgiving, the article blames high turkey prices on corn used for ethanol, citing USDA reports.
"The ripple effect of corn’s being funneled to ethanol production instead of turkey feed has forced at least four huge turkey-processing plants to shut down this year, the government says," according to Newsmax.com. "Things will turn bleaker after the holidays, when the industry nationwide will reduce production dramatically, according to USDA.
“That’s bad news for U.S. consumers. In 2007, the average American ate 17.5 pounds of turkey, according to the National Turkey Federation," the Newsmax.com article continues. "And this could be the last holiday season for some processors. The Nebraska Turkey Growers Cooperative, that state’s only turkey-processing plant, will close after the holidays, according to the kearneyhub.com website. The Gibbon-based plant includes 17 farms that produce more than 20,000 turkeys a day. In 2007, it prepared 65 million pounds of turkey for distribution.
“Even though corn prices have dropped more than 50 percent since June, from nearly $8 a bushel to $3.55 today, that plunge won’t be reflected in the price of poultry for Thanksgiving," Newsmax.com states. "Those turkeys were fed with higher priced corn from the summer months, USDA reports."
(Source: Newsmax.com)
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