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Monthly Turkey Production and Prices, April 26th 2024

Poult Production and Placement:

The April 12th 2024 edition of the USDA Turkey Hatchery Report, issued monthly, documented 24.14 million eggs in incubators on April 1st 2024 compared to 26.39 million eggs on April 1st 2023* The April 2024 set was down 2.25 million eggs (8.5 percent) from April 2023 and 0.55 million eggs (2.2 percent) less than the previous month of March 2024.

A total of 21.67 million poults were hatched during March 2024 down 1.95 million poults (8.3 percent) compared to 23.62 million in March 2023*. The March 2024 hatch was up 1.40 million poults (6.9 percent) from the previous month of February.

A total of 20.15 million poults were placed on farms in the U.S. in March 2024, compared to 21.91 million in March 2023*. The March 2024 placement was 1.60 million poults (8.6 percent) less than in March 2023* 2023. This data confirms disposal of 1.53 million poults during the month. Approximately 7.0 percent of the March 2024 hatch was not placed.

For the twelve-month period April 2023 through March 2024 inclusive, 265.79 million poults were hatched and 248.14 million were placed. This confirms disposal of 17.65 million poults over the 12-month period, corresponding to 6.6 percent of all poults hatched.

* USDA revision from previous monthly report.

Turkey Production:

The April 19th 2024 edition of the Turkey Market News Reports documented the following provisional data for turkeys slaughtered under Federal inspection:-

• For the processing week ending April 13th 2024, 1,744 million hens were processed at 16.2 lbs. live. This was 5.5 percent more than the 1.653 million hens processed during the corresponding week in March 2024 and 8.3 percent less than the 1.903 million processed during the corresponding week in April 2023. Hen slaughter year-to-date has attained 24.45 million, 4.3 percent less than for the corresponding period in 2023.
• Ready to cook (RTC) weight for hens over the most recent week was 22.74 million lbs. (10,336 metric tons). This quantity was 2.7 percent more than the 22.14 million lbs. for corresponding week in March 2024 and 12.9 percent less than the 26.12 million lbs. during the corresponding week in April 2023. Dressing percentage was a nominal 80.5 percent. For 2024 to date RTC hen production attained 329.0 million lbs. (149,545 metric tons). This quantity is 10.1 percent less than for the corresponding period in 2023.

• For the processing week ending April 13th 2024, 2.049 million toms were processed at 45.4 lbs. live. This was 1.2 percent more than the 2.025 million toms processed during the corresponding week in March 2024 and 0.3 percent more than the 2.043 million during the corresponding week in March 2023. Year-to-date 29.24 million toms have been processed, 0.8 percent more than for the corresponding period in 2023.
• Ready to cook (RTC) weight for toms during the most recent week was 74.8 million lbs. (34,016 metric tons). This quantity was 2.9 percent more than the 72.7 million lbs. processed during the corresponding week in April 2024 and 1.3 percent more than the 73.8 million lbs. during the corresponding week in March 2023. Dressing percentage was a nominal 80.5 percent. For 2024 to date RTC tom production attained 1,059.8 million lbs. (481,727 metric tons). This quantity is 2.0 percent more than the corresponding period in 2022.

Wholesale Prices

The National average frozen hen price (8 to 16 lbs) for conventional birds during the past week was 91.0 cents per lb., down 12 cents per lb. (11.7 percent) from the corresponding week in March 2024 and down 50 cents per lb. from the three-year average of approximately 140 cents per lb. The following prices rounded to the nearest cent were documented in the new format report for domestic and export trading on April 19th 2024:-

Inventories:

On April 22nd 2024 cold storage holdings at selected centers amounted to 76,068 lbs., 2.3 percent more than the inventory of 74,377 lbs. on March 1st 2024.

The April 24th 2024 edition of the USDA Cold Storage Report issued monthly, documented a total turkey stock of 354.0 million lbs. (160,907 metric tons) on March 31st 2024, equivalent to 1.9 weeks of normal seasonal RTE production of toms and hens and up 4.5 percent compared to the inventory on March 31st 2023. The March 31st 2024 value was 7.3 percent above the February 29th 2024 inventory. This change is consistent with seasonal demand.

• The Whole Turkey category of 149.6 million lbs. representing 42.3 percent of total storage on March 31st 2024 was 10.2 percent higher than the adjusted inventory for the previous month but 4.0 percent lower than on March 31st
• Tom carcasses in storage decreased by 13.7 percent from March 31st 2023 to 85.1 million lbs. on March 31st Tom carcasses increased 16.0 percent during March 2024 as compared to the previous month of February 2023.
• Hen carcasses in storage increased by 12.6 percent from March 31st 2023 to 64.5 million lbs. on March 31st Hen carcasses increased 3.5 percent during March 2024 compared to the previous month of February 2024.
• Breasts in storage increased 38.5 percent from March 31st 2023 to 90.3 million lbs. on March 31st 2024 and up 4.8 percent from the previous month of February 2024.
• The “Other” and “Unclassified” categories collectively amounted to 1,045 million lbs. or 29.5 percent of inventory on March 31st The magnitude of these two non-specified categories suggests that the USDA should attempt to classify product more accurately as to specific product.

March 2024 Production

According to the USDA Poultry Slaughter Report released on April 25th covering, March 2024, comprising 23 working days:-

• During March 2024, 15.4 million young turkeys were processed, 337,900 birds or 18.0 percent less than in March 2023;
• Total live weight in March 2024 attained 510.6 million lbs., 90.2 million lbs. or 15.0 percent less than in March 2023;
• Average live weight in March 2024 was 33.16 lbs., up 1.2 lb. or 3.6 percent compared to March 2023;
• RTC in March 2024 attained 406.7 million lbs., down 74.0 million lbs., or 15.4 percent from March 2023;
• Yield in March 2024 was 79.7 percent compared to 80.0 percent in March 2023.
• The proportion of frozen product in March 2024 attained 37.3 percent of total RTC produced;
• During March 2024 ante-mortem condemnation attained 0.32 percent of live weight, compared to 0.27 percent in March 2023;
• During March 2024, 1.41 percent of RTC weight was condemned compared to 1.49 percent in March 2023.

Comments:

The seasonal increase in stock during the 1st quarter of 2024 inventory is evident.

The ratio of hens to toms slaughtered attained 1.0 to 1.2, year-to-date. On an RTC basis the ratio was 1.0 to 3.2.

U.S. exports of turkey products in 2022 attained 184,837 metric tons, down 25.6 percent from 2021 (248,369 metric tons). Value decreased 3.6 percent to $642 million ($666 million in 2021). Unit price increased 29.5 percent from 2021 to $3,473 per ton. 

Export data for turkey products during 2023 and the provisional production and consumption data for 2024 are posted under the STATISTICS tab. During 2023 volume of turkey exports attained 221,920 metric tons up 20.2 percent from the corresponding months in 2023. Value was down 2.0 percent to $628 million. Unit value was down 18.5 percent to $2,829 per metric ton denoting export of lower priced products.

From January 2022 through late-December 2023 losses of turkeys depleted as a result of HPAI attained approximately 14.1 million birds in eight states. This volume is equivalent to the combined production of toms and hens over 3.8 weeks with a nominal average production of 3.7 million harvested birds per week. Incident cases continued in 2024 with SD. and MO. recording losses attaining 90,000 growing birds on four farms during March. Cases have been diagnosed in recent weeks including 70,000 birds in MN and two flocks comprising 170,000 growing turkeys in western MI. Migratory waterfowl have commenced their Northward migration along all four U.S. flyways over areas with concentrations of turkey production. This presumes local aggregation of non-migratory waterfowl and resident birds that are reservoirs and disseminators of virus.