NFU Releases Special Thanksgiving Version of Farmer’s Share — 15.8 cents for every dollar spent on retail food items
NFU Releases Special Thanksgiving Version of Farmer’s Share
Posted: Thursday, November 19, 2015 8:00 am
National Farmers Union released a special Thanksgiving version of its popular Farmer’s Share of the Retail Food Dollar publication Nov. 18. The Thanksgiving version compares the retail value of traditional Thanksgiving food items to the amount the farmer receives for each item.
“Farmers and ranchers today are receiving only 15.8 cents for every dollar spent on retail food items,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “Thanksgiving is the perfect time to raise awareness of this fact and give thanks to farmers for what they do every day to put food on your dinner table.”
Johnson noted that the 15 food items of the Thanksgiving Farmers Share averaged just 19.4 cents out of every food dollar for the American farmer. “It’s easy to forget the true value of our farmers and ranchers, who in some cases are only making pennies to the dollar on the goods we buy at our local supermarket,” he said.
Among some of the more startling statistics in the Thanksgiving Farmers Share:
- Wheat farmers receive just 7 cents from the $3.39 consumers spend on a 15-ounce box of stuffing.
- Turkey farmers net just over half (93 cents) of the retail value for a pound of turkey ($1.78).
- Pumpkin farmers receive 25 cents, a mere 6.4 percent, of the $3.89 spent for canned pumpkin pie mix.
The report is based on calculations derived from the monthly Agriculture Prices report produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, and compared to price points of common grocery food items at Safeway supermarket.
Sownload the Thanksgiving Farmers Share on the NFU website, and visit www.NFU.org/farmers-share monthly to find the latest version of the NFU Farmer’s Share publication.
National Farmers Union has been working since 1902 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and rural communities through advocating grassroots-driven policy positions adopted by its membership.