U.S. turkey production peaked in both total weight and number of head in 2008 with 271.3 million head slaughtered and 7.859 billion live pounds processed, according to USDA Poultry Slaughter Annual Summary reports. Since that year, U.S. turkey production has never fully recovered from the double whammy impact of the financial crisis that triggered the Great Recession in 2008 and the escalation of corn prices triggered by the ramp up of the ethanol mandate and consecutive drought years in the U.S. corn belt. The number of head slaughtered in 2023 was 20% fewer than in 2008, and the live tonnage processed was 13% less. In contrast, the live pounds of chicken slaughtered in the U.S. increased by 23% from 2008 to 2023 and the U.S. human population grew by 12% over this same period.
U.S. per capita turkey consumption peaked prior to 2008, in 1996 U.S. consumers each ate an average of 18.1 pounds. Per capita turkey consumption in the U.S. fell to 14.8 pounds in 2023, an 18% decrease from 1996.
U.S. turkey marketers have been losing the battle for market share this century. I haven’t worked for a turkey company in over 25 years, but I still routinely purchase ground turkey, turkey burgers, turkey sausage and sliced cooked turkey for sandwiches at the grocery store. I also purchase at least three loss-leader-priced whole turkeys around Thanksgiving. But all these products were readily available in stores last century.
Where are the new products? Where is the innovation?
The U.S. turkey industry was rapidly growing and dynamic in the 1980s and into the 1990s. Innovative new products and marketing which focus on the unique flavor, texture and nutrition of turkey are needed to get the turkey industry growing again.
Turkeys are native to the Americas and the U.S. turkey market is the world’s largest. The innovation needs to start here and it needs to start now.
