(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY NATHAN GIANNINI & JIM FLINK

Looks like the cost of your roast beast this Thanksgiving -- is going up. From the basted bird to the sumptuous sweet potatoes and the perfect pecan pie. Can you say, ch ching?  
Here’s WXYZ and KEYE.

“Enjoy your thanksgiving feast. It will cost you more this year. Prices are up about 13% over last year putting the average cost of a dinner for ten people at $49.20.”

“That's up two dollars and 17 cents from last year. The survey looks at holiday staples -- including turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. But the cost of three items actually went down this year: brown and serve rolls, frozen beans and whole milk.”

Okay, so you’ll have to forgo the two-buck chuck to wash it all down. Blame the big bird for the increase.  

The AP says, a 16-pound gobbler will pluck your pocketbook for 21 bucks -- that’s up four percent.

The Western Farm Press spoke to a Purdue University agricultural economist who explains why.

“The main reason for higher prices this year is the increase in commodity prices, as the global economy picks up ... Weather events such as flooding in the Midwest and drought in the southern Plains also played a role.”

But critics say, even with plumped up prices, goodies at grandma’s is still quite a bargain. An average of five bucks per person.

An American Farm Bureau Federation senior economist tells ABC -- that’s turkey feed.

“Although we’ll pay a bit more this year, on a per-person basis, our traditional Thanksgiving feast remains a better value than most fast-food value meals, plus it’s a wholesome, home-cooked meal...”

Even so, one will be forgiven for not busting his buttons. Bloomberg notes, Turkey Day 2011 will see the biggest yearly price increase -- since 1990.