DOVER, Pa. — The path to the Thanksgiving dinner table will soon await turkeys raised at Nine Pines Farm in Dover Township. But before they can be prepared in the oven, they are first prepared the right way.
"We've raised them out on pasture so they have access to sunlight, fresh air, all the grass they can eat, all the bugs they can eat," said farm owner James Cornwell. "We grind our own feed, which is a non-GMO feed ration that we have a nutritionist give us a recipe for. Our turkeys, when we process them, we don't have to load them up on trucks and haul them hours away, we make the process short and sweet."
Much has changed in those years nationwide when it comes to the price of turkeys. After an uptick in the past few years, turkey prices have dropped 12% nationally this year, and are the lowest since 2021 according to FinanceBuzz.
Cornwell says he’s kept his prices the same despite upticks in the cost of doing business.
"The price of feed’s gone up," Cornwell said. "The price of the poults, the baby turkeys, continue to go up. But it's something we manage."
As Thanksgiving approaches, Cornwell says buying a turkey from a local farmer is a good way to give thanks to businesses in York County.
"You're supporting a local family, a local farm," he said. "That money's staying here in York County. And if you don't like the bird, you can come right to the owner, the guy that raised it, processed it, and if you don't like it, we'll make it right."