Turkey production in the US is down 9.6% over 2023

USDA releases its annual Turkeys Raised report near the end of September, just ahead of Thanksgiving festivities when the majority of turkey is consumed in the United States, according to a recent market report from Bernt Nelson at the American Farm Bureau Federation. This report contains production data relating to turkey supplies for the current year. USDA published data on turkey production in two other monthly reports, The Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook and Poultry Slaughter. According to USDA’s July Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook, May 2024 turkey production was 441.1 million pounds, down about 9.6% from May 2023, while slaughter was down 11.8% from last year. Average turkey weights were 2.7% higher year over year, leading USDA to increase production estimates by 15 million pounds, to 1.34 billion pounds for the first half of the year. This is 5.3% lower than last year. The turkey industry has proven susceptible to HPAI mostly due to farms’ geographic location ...