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Gobble, gobbling Thanksgiving dinner will cost more

Getting the family together for Thankgiving dinner? Priceless. The cost of the meal with all the fixin's? About 1.3 percent more expensive this year than in 2009.For all the talk about low inflation, prices have started to creep up for many food items, including corn and milk, since Thanksgiving 2009.The American Farm Bureau Federation, which calls itself "the voice of agriculture," says the avera

Getting the family together for Thankgiving dinner? Priceless. The cost of the meal with all the fixin's? About 1.3 percent more expensive this year than in 2009.

For all the talk about low inflation, prices have started to creep up for many food items, including corn and milk, since Thanksgiving 2009.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, which calls itself "the voice of agriculture," says the average cost of this year's meal for 10 will be $43.47, 56 cents higher than last year's average of $42.91. It's a bit of a bargain, though, because it's still $1.14 cheaper than it was two years ago.

The main attraction of the feast, the bird, actually costs less this year, at $17.66 for a 16 pound turkey, according to the AFBF, which has been tracking the costs since 1986. But among the key items that cost more are: milk (up 38 cents to $3.24); a 30 ounce can of pumpkin pie filling (up 17 cents to $2.62); two nine-inch pie shells (up 12 cents to $2.46); and three pounds of sweet potatoes (up 7 cents to $3.19).

Of course, this all means nothing if you serve something like roast beef instead of turkey on Thankgiving. The average cost of prime rib is $5.29 a pound this year, up from $5.11 last year, a gain of 3.5 percent. Ouch!