Corn Commentary

Dumb as Turkeys

Domesticated turkeys are widely believed to be among the dumbest animals on earth, supposedly doing such things as standing in the rain with their mouths open till they drown or congregating on top of each other in one corner of a pen, suffocating the unfortunate ones at the bottom.

The intelligence of turkeys may be arguable, but it seems the poultry industry thinks we are even dumber than turkeys. During a conference call this week with other organizations calling for an end to federal incentives for ethanol production, Joel Brandenberg with the National Turkey Federation used this example for the impact higher corn prices is having on food prices. “You can find a high-end turkey breast cut that a year ago cost $5.50 a package now costing $7,” he stated.

That’s an increase of $1.50. According to production statistics, the cost of corn needed to create a pound of turkey has increased from 3.5 cents a pound to about 11 cents a pound in the past year.

Now, we don’t know the exact weight of that package of “high-end turkey breast” to which Brandenberg referred, but that makes it all the more insidious. It could be a five pound turkey breast or just a pound. He doesn’t give a price per pound, but let’s just for sake of argument say that it was a five pound package at $1.40 a pound - sounds reasonable given that the latest average retail price for whole frozen turkey was $1.17 per pound, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

If it was five pounds, the price increase for corn to feed that turkey, based on a current price of $6 per bushel (which they are not even paying yet), would be less than 35 cents - not $1.50.

Chances are there must be other factors responsible for the increase in turkey prices, most likely energy, which would make up a much greater share of the increase. Now, granted, the price of a “high-end turkey cut” in Washington DC may be a lot higher than $1.40 a pound - which makes it not a very good example to use anyway for the “real impact on working families that are trying to make a food budget” as Brandenberg called it.

Point being - the food companies are highly exaggerating the impact of corn on food prices. And hopefully the American public will prove that they are smarter than turkeys and figure that out.