Shoppers to fork out more for a turkey

TURKEY is going to cost more this Christmas. Turkey feed is made up mainly of wheat, soya and vegetable oil, and all have been expensive.

Grocer magazine last week reported double-digit inflation, up to 33 per cent, on a range of turkey lines.

Competition for the Christmas trade will keep whole bird prices down to some extent. But prices are likely to be up 7-10 per cent on last year. However, a couple of Yorkshire farmers said this week that direct buyers could do better than that.

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Steven Peirson of Kirkby Fleetham, near Catterick, one of a handful of organic turkey producers in these parts, said: “Organic feed prices are not as wild as conventional feeds. But I will have to charge about five per cent more.”

He will want £4.90 a lb (£10.80 a kilo) for a bird up to 16 lbs – £4.45 (or £9.82 a kilo) for a big one.

He points out that includes all the guarantees required by the Traditional Farm Fresh Turkey Association – including slow growing, dry-plucking by hand and hanging of the carcases for at least a week before dressing, to mature. Free-range rearing is included in the definition of organic.

“I was surprised at the prices people were charging last year simply for a free-range label,” he said. “I think they rely on customers not realising that there are several layers of quality and welfare assurance you can ask for on top of that.”

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Cheap birds are machine-plucked, which means dunking them in hot water first. And once they are wet, they cannot be hung and will be frozen straight away. Even organically reared birds may not be dry-plucked, which is a labour-expensive job.

At Thornhill, between Dewsbury and Wakefield, Tim Lindley offers turkeys and geese which are not organically reared but are free-range and dry-plucked and properly hung. He did a deal with his feed supplier a year ago which means he can keep his prices the same as last year – £4.05 a lb (£8.93 a kilo) for a bronze turkey and £3.75 (£8.27) for a white, for all weights.

White-feathered turkeys have become the mass market preference because they grow quickly and are plucked more easily to a clean-looking carcase. Bronzes are more like the old-fashioned bird and have become the standard of the Traditional Farm Fresh Turkey Association. Free-range whites, like Mr Lindley offers, are comparatively uncommon. Find them (and farm shop outlets) at www.hostingleyfarmfreerange.co.uk (call 01924 272570) and Mr Peirson’s organic birds and their outlets at www.hookhousefarm.co.uk (01609 748977).

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