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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is the Agriculture Report. |
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On Thursday, |
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most Americans will gather around a table |
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with family and friends to give thanks. |
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Traditionally, a turkey is at the center |
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of the table on Thanksgiving Day. |
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Turkeys are grown in many areas across the United States. |
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Last year, near 70 percent of the birds |
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came from one of seven states: |
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they were Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, |
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Virginia, Missouri, Indiana and California. |
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And estimated 46 million turkeys were raised in Minnesota. |
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The United States Department of Agriculture says |
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253 million turkeys were raised from January 2013 through September. |
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There is a pleasant surprise |
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about the cost of serving a turkey meal this month. |
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Each year, the American Farm Bureau Federation |
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prepares a study of the prices and sales of foods |
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served on Thanksgiving. |
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The group says the average cost of a Thanksgiving meal |
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for ten people this year is forty-nine dollars and four cents. |
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That is forty-four cents less than last year. |
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Scott Aronson of Maryland says he had to buy a large turkey |
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because of all the people coming to his home on Thanksgiving day. |
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"Each year we celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family. |
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This year we will be hosting 16 people with a 23 pound turkey." |
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Some Americans like to purchase their turkey directly from a farm. |
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This can cost more than buying one at store. |
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Nicole Roza said it is worth the extra money |
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because Thanksgiving comes just once a year. |
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Last year, she spent 70 dollars for a 7 kilogram farm turkey. |
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Some people may choose to buy a turkey directly from a farm, |
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because they are told what the turkeys have been feed. |
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Polyface Farm in Virginia Shenandoah Valley, for example, |
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says its turkeys are raised on pasture, |
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that lets the animals eat many kinds of grasses and other bird feed. |
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In addition, they eat oats, corn and whole roasted soybeans. |
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This year, Polyface Farm has already presold about 12 hundred turkeys. |
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The orders come from restaurants, |
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small businesses, farm customers and other buyers. |
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Many countries have a smaller supply of turkeys than the United States, |
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or perhaps, they have none of the birds. |
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Turkeys do not grow in some parts of Africa for example. |
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And in other areas, the animals can be very costly. |
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A precooked, ready-to-serve turkey can cost |
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as much as 100 dollars in places like Singapore. |
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And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Special English. |
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I'm Jerilyn Watson. |