Turkey Prices Fall as Thanksgiving Approaches

Oct 09, 2023

American Farm Bureau Federation economists analyzed turkey and egg prices in the latest Market Intel report, which states the average price for an 8-to-16 pound turkey typically served for Thanksgiving was $1.27 per pound in August 2023, 22% lower than the same time last year.

“The status of HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) is much different now than it was just a year ago,” the Market Intel states. “Migratory birds are a major vector of this virus, which naturally makes spring and fall migration high risk times. Detections from the current outbreak peaked during March 2022 with 20.96 million birds affected before gradually falling to just 540 birds in September 2023. This can be compared to 8.15 million birds affected in September 2022. June marked the first month with no detections since the outbreak began in February 2022.”

“A robust turkey population is good news for farmers and families across the country,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “The resilience of our food supply is an example of the strength of American agriculture, which is helped in part by the farm bill. We urge Congress to focus on passing the farm bill by the end of the year to ensure farmers can continue to put food on the tables of America’s families.”

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.