Should be enough local turkey to gobble this Christmas: Turkey Farmers of Saskatchewan

Turkey sales always increase at this time of year and there have been some concerns about shortages, but the Turkey Farmers of Saskatchewan aren’t sounding the alarm just yet about running out of turkeys for Christmas.

The turkey supply was first slowed by the pandemic, and then the recent floods in B.C. impacted the supply chain. But Cinthya Wiersma with the Turkey Farmers of Saskatchewan says there are 11 turkey producers in the province and the supply of the Christmas bird should be fine.

Wiersma recently joined The Brent Loucks Show on 650 CKOM to talk about turkey supply concerns.

“Our supply is definitely less than last year and the previous year, because it started with the impact of COVID on the food sector and that required adjustments to reduce our production,” she said. “But our volume did increase over the summer.

“The pandemic had improved (and) people went back to restaurants.”

Wiersma says there are about 620,000 turkeys in the province. With the increase in production, there’s a period when the supply has to catch up with demand, but she believes it will be caught up in time for Christmas sales.

She says there should be enough turkeys for everyone who wants on, but suppliers are also dealing with a shortage of packaging materials due to the issues in B.C.

“We have heard from our processors that getting materials like packaging for turkeys has been challenging and those types of supplies normally come out from the West Coast,” she said. “And then (there’s) the distribution of turkeys to the warehouses.

“We’re still producing turkeys as farmers here in Saskatchewan. We are still going strong.”

Wiersma suggests if people are concerned about not having turkey to gobble this Christmas, they should pre-order one now or purchase it soon and freeze it until the big meal.