LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — It's that time of year when a lot of people are thinking about turkey.
"So how many do we have here and what's so special about your turkey?" I asked Christine Roperti, the owner of Roperti's Turkey Farm.
"These are fresh turkeys. They're not pumped with any preservatives or additives, and we treat them the best we can," Roperti said.
Watch Christiana's report in the video player below
Roperti's Turkey Farm in Livonia has been in the business of selling freshly dressed turkeys for 76 years. The farm typically sells out of its 4,000 birds in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.
Roperti is known as the Turkey Lady.
"We start taking orders October 1 and that's when they start calling," she told me.
So, how does she set prices?
"Well depends how much I have to spend for feed and for boxes and bags and all that stuff goes up every year, Roperti said. "So if they go up I have to go up if I want to stay in business."
This year, Roperti hasn't had to increase prices much. One reason: her turkeys haven't been affected by bird flu.
"We're real careful. We don't let anybody in the field because that's what caused trouble," Roperti said.
In Michigan, more than 405,000 turkeys have been infected by the nationwide outbreak driving a price increase.
This year, the USDA reports wholesale turkey prices are up 40 percent year-over-year — jumping from 94 cents to around $1.32 per pound. At the same time, Purdue University's College of Agriculture reported that wholesale turkey prices were up 75 percent and retail prices were up 25 percent from last year.
But in spite of these reports, retailers like Meijer are still offering discounted turkey for 49 cents a pound.
"It is a good deal," said shopper Esther Smith. "I'm gonna probably get a medium-sized one."
And there are other stores offering similar deals, so it doesn't look like your bird has to be pricier this Thanksgiving.
