You may have a harder time finding a turkey this holiday season
This time of year brings families together, and a big part of that celebration is the meal. But there are clear signs a staple for most holiday meals will be harder to find this year.
"Everything was good, orders were promised and then they were taken away," said Rick Orr of the Butcher Shop in Brockville, Ont.
Orr said he put an order in for around 400 turkeys in September, but his supplier said they couldn't meet the demand in the popular 19 to 24-pound range.
"That pulls out over 100 birds from that category," Orr said. "We did buy some ones in the smaller categories, but that's not what everybody wants."
Brian Ricker with Turkey Farmers of Ontario says the pandemic has played a big role, disrupting the industry's supply chain.
"It's really unfortunate that the private butcher shops have seemed to have suffered the most," Ricker told CTV News Ottawa.
The industry's turkey stocks are sitting at a 30-year low.
"That's a little lower than what we would feel is comfortable," Ricker said. "The reason that we decreased was that when COVID started we had an over supply, we were at highest stock levels, almost unprecedented stock levels, of whole birds and boneless skinless breast meat."
Customers at the Butcher Shop in Brockville on Tuesday. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)
With restaurants closed, and less demand at deli counters, processors asked to reduce production.
"So when we cut production at the beginning of COVID, we thought we did the right thing," added Ricker. "However, people actually ate more whole turkeys than we were anticipating because they couldn't go out to eat so they decided 'Oh, lets buy a turkey and eat at home.'"
That means customers may need to find alternatives for their festive meals this year.
"If we had to, yeah, go with a ham probably. I could do a prime rib," said Butcher Shop customers Ken and Marci Barkley.
"I mean, we always have turkey every year, so I guess I better get my turkey soon if I can," added customer Leah Clifford.
While turkey production did increase over the summer, the industry is still trying to meet demand.
"It’s really hard to spread those birds out evenly to each retail outlet," Ricker said.
"It's a big scramble to see who's getting what and we're trying to do the best we can," added Orr, who has been offering alternatives for customers who might not get a turkey this year.
"I'd probably sooner have the prime rib, but turkey seems to be what people are used to," he said.
Ricker said turkey production is increasing, but producers are careful to match supply with demand.
"We think there's enough turkeys to get people through Christmas, but they just may have to go to a second store for one," he added. "Some retail outlets will be short of birds, and some will have extra birds just because the ebb and flow of this supply situation."
Ricker added the recent flooding in B.C. did not affect the situation in Ontario, where farmers annually produce more than five million pounds of whole turkeys for Christmas.
"We hope that you'll find some type of turkey product to make your festive season go well this Christmas," he said.
The Barkeys said the possible lack of turkey won’t ruin their holiday season.
"Heck no," Ken said. "It's not about the meal, it's about the family."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.