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May mixed for turkey hatchery totals
Turkey hatchery numbers for May were mixed.
The USDA says 21.273 million poults were hatched last month, up 6% from April, but still down slightly from May 2024.
That year-to-year decline was partially due to a smaller number of layers caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza in some commercial operations earlier in the year.
19.897 million poults were placed into meat production, slightly lower than both the previous month and a year ago, with most of those birds heading to market just before the Thanksgiving demand push.
There is one big sign of expansion, with 24.218 million turkey eggs in incubation at the start of June, 6% larger than this time last year.
The USDA expects 2025 turkey production to be 4.806 billion pounds, with the next guess out July 11th.
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