Although wholesale turkey prices are up this year, the American Farm Bureau Federation says retail prices are down, thanks to many stores bundling the turkey with other Thanksgiving items to try and bring in more customers.
"You can find some deals," said Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Mike Strain. "Our average price is around $1.47, $1.49" per pound for turkey.
Strain says he has noticed the turkeys in grocery stores are smaller this year.
"You're not going to find that 20 pound Butterball turkey," he said. "The biggest one we could find is 17-and-a-half."
The American Farm Bureau federation says the overall cost of a basic thanksgiving meal for ten, including sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, vegetables and cranberries.. is actually down about five percent this year, the third consecutive year it has come down.