the American Farm Bureau Federation said<\/a> consumers should brace for higher prices, though there shouldn\u2019t be a shortage of turkeys.<\/p>\nPoultry farmers are battling a combination of diseases including highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has affected more than 18 million turkeys since 2022, as well as avian metapneumovirus. The Farm Bureau said that while detections of HPAI slowed during warmer summer months, fall waterfowl migration and cooler temperatures have led to detections across the upper Midwest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to remember prices are still 32% lower than just three years ago,\u201d AFBF economist Bernt Nelson wrote. \u201cDiseases such as HPAI and AMPV are devastating flocks. Meanwhile, poultry farmers also grapple with the broader economic challenges impacting the agricultural economy. These production challenges shouldn\u2019t have any impact on consumers\u2019 ability to get turkey, but they may translate to higher retail prices this holiday season.\u201d<\/p>\n
A September outlook report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that wholesale prices for frozen turkeys will be $1.32 per pound this year, a 40% increase from 2024\u2019s average of 94 cents per pound.<\/p>\n
Nationally, farmers will produce 195 million turkeys this year, down from 200 million in 2024, the USDA said.<\/p>\n
The Farm Bureau also said that over the last three decades, U.S. turkey production has steadily declined. Demand has only ticked down slightly, leading to tighter supplies and increased prices paid to farmers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoultry farmers have demonstrated their resiliency in facing down challenges, but rising supply costs, trade disputes and avian illnesses have all taken their toll,\u201d AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. \u201cDespite that, poultry remains one of the most affordable sources of protein and you can bet turkey farmers are ensuring birds will be available for this year\u2019s Thanksgiving dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
More choices for consumers<\/p>\n
Jaindl has been expanding its offerings to customers to keep up with tastes that expand beyond turkey.<\/p>\n
David Jaindl said customers have responded to two relatively recent additions to buying their turkey.<\/p>\n
The first is a preorder program, which was launched last year. Customers can select a pick-up date online with a deposit. This option allows them to have a turkey ready without having to worry about a last-minute scramble before Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n
The newest feature is the Jaindl Thanksgiving Feast Box. It\u2019s a complete Thanksgiving dinner that is assembled at the farm. Each box includes a whole turkey and sides, including mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, gravy, turkey jerky and pumpkin pie.<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenience is key and that\u2019s trying to make it as easy as possible for the consumer,\u201d Luke Jaindl said.<\/p>\n
David Jaindl said customers have been buying slightly smaller turkeys in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to do the sales, and 30 years ago, the average turkey that was requested by the consumer was about 15 pounds,\u201d he said. \u201cToday, it\u2019s probably 3 pounds less than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luke Jaindl said the COVID pandemic had an impact on customer tastes.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrior to COVID, it would be larger quantities,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen COVID occurred, everyone had smaller gatherings, and I think that kind of stuck, along with the convenience factor for people; less waste and boneless and bone-in turkey with a quicker cook time and more convenience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like every November, Jaindl Farms in North Whitehall Township is gearing up for the holiday season. The iconic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,60,433,182,139,3656,28,432],"class_list":["post-38538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-business","tag-lehigh-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-north-whitehall-township","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}