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For Immediate Release

Turkey Pricing Update

August 1, 2008

Dear Customers:

We have just processed turkeys for our annual frozen turkey promotion and are in the midst of the fall raising season. Our costs have been heavily impacted by the costs of feed grains and energy so far this year as compared to last year when we thought that we had high costs. The differences are:

Live costs, (mostly grain related) Up 41% over 2007
Freight costs, (diesel fuel) Up 28% over 2007
Cold Storage, (energy related) Up 22% over 2007

As of early August the prices of corn and soybean meal are up 54% for corn and 65% for soybean meal. These make up the lions share of our turkey feed.

We have seen minor increases in processing and labor and have amazingly held packaging costs at last years levels. We are implementing price increases on whole turkeys that are related to cents per pound, not percentages. We cannot in good conscience add margin to these inflated costs.

Some of the cost increase that we are experiencing in grains is related to the government's subsidies on ethanol produced from corn. There is also a world wide shortage of grains, (corn, soybeans, wheat, etc.), that is increasing exports to countries like China. Because of the weak dollar our trading partners are able to buy our high priced grains at a discount compared to the costs of those commodities last year. It all shakes down to a perfect storm of cost increases for many foods, especially the protein segment. It takes almost 3 pounds of feed to make a pound of turkey.

Sincerely
The Folks at Shelton's

 

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