[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English,
[00:02.78]this is the Agriculture Report.
[00:05.96]On Thursday,
[00:08.33]most Americans will gather around a table
[00:11.46]with family and friends to give thanks.
[00:14.74]Traditionally, a turkey is at the center
[00:18.06]of the table on Thanksgiving Day.
[00:21.14]Turkeys are grown in many areas across the United States.
[00:27.12]Last year, near 70 percent of the birds
[00:30.80]came from one of seven states:
[00:33.67]they were Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas,
[00:38.82]Virginia, Missouri, Indiana and California.
[00:44.27]And estimated 46 million turkeys were raised in Minnesota.
[00:50.17]The United States Department of Agriculture says
[00:55.12]253 million turkeys were raised from January 2013 through September.
[01:03.71]There is a pleasant surprise
[01:07.09]about the cost of serving a turkey meal this month.
[01:11.32]Each year, the American Farm Bureau Federation
[01:16.06]prepares a study of the prices and sales of foods
[01:20.50]served on Thanksgiving.
[01:22.67]The group says the average cost of a Thanksgiving meal
[01:27.24]for ten people this year is forty-nine dollars and four cents.
[01:32.76]That is forty-four cents less than last year.
[01:37.29]Scott Aronson of Maryland says he had to buy a large turkey
[01:44.44]because of all the people coming to his home on Thanksgiving day.
[01:49.26]"Each year we celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family.
[01:52.65]This year we will be hosting 16 people with a 23 pound turkey."
[01:57.43]Some Americans like to purchase their turkey directly from a farm.
[02:03.99]This can cost more than buying one at store.
[02:08.03]Nicole Roza said it is worth the extra money
[02:12.05]because Thanksgiving comes just once a year.
[02:15.59]Last year, she spent 70 dollars for a 7 kilogram farm turkey.
[02:21.61]Some people may choose to buy a turkey directly from a farm,
[02:26.20]because they are told what the turkeys have been feed.
[02:30.63]Polyface Farm in Virginia Shenandoah Valley, for example,
[02:36.38]says its turkeys are raised on pasture,
[02:40.32]that lets the animals eat many kinds of grasses and other bird feed.
[02:46.78]In addition, they eat oats, corn and whole roasted soybeans.
[02:53.02]This year, Polyface Farm has already presold about 12 hundred turkeys.
[03:00.24]The orders come from restaurants,
[03:03.06]small businesses, farm customers and other buyers.
[03:07.44]Many countries have a smaller supply of turkeys than the United States,
[03:13.09]or perhaps, they have none of the birds.
[03:16.16]Turkeys do not grow in some parts of Africa for example.
[03:21.04]And in other areas, the animals can be very costly.
[03:25.83]A precooked, ready-to-serve turkey can cost
[03:30.05]as much as 100 dollars in places like Singapore.
[03:34.24]And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Special English.
[03:41.04]I'm Jerilyn Watson.