Eleven of 23 turkey producers in the U.S. cut production in 2013; only four increased production, according to WATT PoultryUSA's 2014 survey of top poultry companies. That's a dramatic reversal from the 10 that increased production and four that cut turkey production in last year's survey.
The irony is that a number of turkey producers were undeterred by $7 a bushel corn and $350 a ton soybean meal in 2012 but trimmed production during a period of lower feed ingredient costs in 2013.
Turkey company projections for 2014 are more bullish: Eight of the 11 companies offering a projection say they plan to increase production in 2014.
Poultry producers continue to surf on high red meat prices -- though there has been weakness in export demand for all meats.
Top 3 turkey producers in 2013
Butterball, the largest U.S. producer, held production steady in 2013. It slaughtered 1.3 billion pounds of live turkeys in 2013, no change from the previous year. The company projects it will slaughter 1.3 billion pounds of live turkeys in 2014.
No. 2 ranked Jennie-O Turkey Store cut production by 2 percent in 2013, slaughtering 1.25 billion pounds of live turkeys. The company projects it will boost production in 2014 by 2.4 percent.
Cargill Value Added Meats, the No. 3 ranked turkey producer, slaughtered 1.07 billion pounds of live turkeys in 2013, a 6.6 percent decrease from the previous year. The company projects it will decrease production by 6.6 percent in 2013.
Farbest Foods, Hillshire Brands grow production
No. 4 ranked Farbest Foods slaughtered 411.0 million pounds of live turkeys in 2013, an increase of 26.0 million pounds or 6.8 percent. The company projects it will increase production, again, in 2014 to 511 million pounds.
No. 5 ranked Hillshire Brands Company slaughtered 402.0 million pounds of live turkeys in 2013, an increase of 44 million pounds or 12.3 percent. Hillshire plans to cut production in 2014 to 318.0 million pounds.
No. 6 ranked Kraft Foods, Inc./Oscar Mayer slaughtered 280 million pounds of live turkeys in 2013, no change from the previous year.
Perdue Farms , at the No. 7 spot in the survey, slaughtered 277 million pounds of live turkeys in 2013, an increase of 6.0 million pounds or 2.2 percent.
No. 8 ranked Foster Farms slaughtered 270.7 million pounds of live turkeys in 2013, a decrease of 3.3 million pounds or 1.2 percent. The company projects it will slaughter 248.9 million pounds of turkeys in 2014.
VPGC cuts production but advances in survey
Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative, Inc. (VPGC) moved up to the No. 9 ranking in 2013 as House of Raeford Farms exited the turkey business in 2013.
VPGC slaughtered 239.0 million pounds of live turkeys in 2013, a decrease of 6 million pounds or 2.4 percent.
The No. 10 and 11 ranked turkey producers also cut production in 2013. West Liberty Foods slaughtered 239 million pounds of turkeys, down by 8.5 million pounds or 3.8 percent. Cooper Farms cut production by 1 percent, slaughtering 205 million pounds.
Who grew turkey production in 2013?
Michigan Turkey Producers, the No. 12 ranked firm in the survey, was one of only five turkey producers to increase production in 2013. The company slaughtered 190.0 million pounds of turkeys, an increase of 5.0 million pounds or 2.7 percent.
The other three turkey companies with production increases were Farbest Foods, Hillshire Brands and Perdue Farms.
Who cut turkey production the most in 2013?
Of the 10 turkey producers reporting production cuts in 2013, which companies made the deepest cuts?
Based on number of live pounds and percentage points, Zacky Farms had the biggest decrease in production in 2013, cutting production by 81.6 million pounds or 54.4 percent.
Other companies reducing production levels in 2013 included Dakota Provision (down 27 million pounds or 13.1 percent); Turkey Valley Farms (down 5 million pounds or 3.3 percent); White Water Processing (down 0.3 million pounds or 1.0 percent) and Koch's Turkey Farm (down 1.1 million pounds or 12.1 percent).
Bullish in turkey production in 2013
Eight of the turkey producers in WATT PoultryUSA's survey said they plan to increase production of live pounds in 2014. Topping that list is Farbest Foods, which projects it will increase production by 100 million pounds or 24.3 percent. Other producers reporting planned increases include Jennie-O Turkey Store by 30.0 million pounds or 2.4 percent; Turkey Valley Farms by 20.0 million pounds or 13.8 percent; Dakota Provisions by 11.0 million pounds or 6.1 percent; Michigan Turkey Producers by 10.0 million pounds or 5.3 percent; West Liberty Foods by 9.7 million pounds or 4.5 percent; Virginia Poultry Growers by 6.0 million pounds or 2.5 percent; and Cooper Farms by 5.0 million pounds or 2.4 percent.
