Wholesale turkey prices are down from a year ago, and while that may be good news for consumers, it's not so great for producers.
Producers are getting $0.99 a pound, down from $1.12 a year ago. Texas A&M AgriLife poultry specialist Greg Archer said this has caused some price-related production declines but bird flu concerns are impacting the market.
He said they're losing fewer birds from the disease, but producers are down in the total number of birds and hatchlings. The USDA states almost 15 million turkeys, mostly in 2022, were lost to bird flu.
Also, the number of whole turkeys in cold storage is nearly 2% lower than last year, which ties into the trend of fewer birds available this holiday season.
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