NEW CARLISLE, Ohio — If you drive an hour west of Columbus, you'll find Bowman and Landes Turkeys in a town named New Carlisle.
This is where more than 70,000 free-range turkeys are getting ready to land on someone's Thanksgiving table.
This year, farmers say they have the turkeys to meet the demand, but it's the cost to raise them that's driving up the prices.
“Our turkeys will see about a 10% increase over last year,” said Drew Bowman a third-generation turkey farmer.
Bowman says everything from packaging to feed is higher this year than last year because of disruptions in the supply chain. He said the supply of goods hasn’t kept up with the demand.
“Corn prices and also soybean meal is also another key turkey feed ingredient and both of those are up quite a bit from last year I would say at least 20 to 25%,” Bowman said.
At Bowman’s farm, a turkey will cost you about $4.00 per pound. That compares to $3.69 a pound last year
Turkey isn’t the only thing you’ll pay more for. The rising cost of aluminum has increased the cost of the pan you’ll cook your bird in.
Record gas prices are also adding to the cost of goods.
“Every point in the supply chain that has humans has been affected,” said Zoe Plakias, who is an assistant professor of agricultural economics at Ohio State University.
“We are seeing increases, specifically in meats, is where we are seeing the highest increases,” she says.
Plakias said labor shortages are also slowing production which causes shelves to be bare.
If you go to the store and don’t find the item you want on the day you want it, experts say it’s not the result of a food shortage, but people buying out of fear.
“You go to the grocery store you think 'oh gosh I'm worried about prices going up I’m going to get as much pumpkin pie filling as I can right now' and that in itself causes an increase in demand and that can cause prices to go up,” she said.
So as you head down the aisle to prepare your Thanksgiving meal, be prepared to carry more cash because this year’s dinner will gobble up a little more of your wallet.