The United States is the world’s largest turkey producing and turkey product exporting country, according to the National Turkey Federation.
How much turkey do Americans eat?
In 2021, U.S. turkey consumption was 15.3 pounds per capita. That’s almost double what it was in 1970 (8.2 pounds per capita).
How many turkeys does the U.S. produce each year?
In 2021, total U.S. turkey production was 216.5 million birds (5.56 billion pounds). The total value of that turkey production was $5.89 billion, according to the USDA.
How much turkey does the U.S. export each year?
In 2021, the U.S. exported 548 million pounds of turkey meat. This is a decrease from prior years:
- 2017: 622 million pounds
- 2018: 611 million pounds
- 2019: 639 million pounds
- 2020: 571 million pounds
- 2021: 548 million pounds
How many turkey farms exist in the U.S.?
There are approximately 2,500 turkey farms in the United States, many of which are family farms.
Which states produce the most turkeys?
These are the 10 states which produced the most turkeys in the United States in 2021:
- Minnesota – 40.5 Million turkeys
- North Carolina – 30 Million turkeys
- Arkansas – 27 Million turkeys
- Indiana – 20.5 Million turkeys
- Missouri – 17 Million turkeys
- Virginia – 14.5 Million turkeys
- Iowa – 11.7 Million turkeys
- Pennsylvania – 6.9 Million turkeys
- California – 6 Million turkeys
- Ohio – 6 Million turkeys
What is the rate of turkey price inflation?
According to the USDA, average wholesale prices for frozen whole turkey hens over the past 6 years have been:
- 2017: $0.96 per pound
- 2018: $0.80 per pound (deflation!)
- 2019: $0.89 per pound
- 2020: $1.07 per pound
- 2021: $1.23 per pound
- 2022: $1.55 per pound (according to the Nov 2022 WASDE projection)
According to USDA and WASDE price statistics, turkey inflation from 2021 to 2022 was 26%.
How is turkey production measured?
There are two main units of measurement for turkey meat:
- Live weight: The weight of a still living bird.
- Dressed weight: The ready-to-cook weight of a bird after removing the head, plucking, etc.
Turkey hens are traditionally raised to a live weight of 14-18 pounds. From that, the dressed weight would typically be 9-12 pounds. The toms (males) are raised to a life weight around 30 pounds and dressed weight of 14+ pounds.
Large turkeys raised for institutional consumption are grown to a live weight of 45 pounds or more, yielding about 30 pounds of dressed weight.
What are the largest turkey companies in the United States?
These are the top 10 turkey-producing companies in the U.S.
| Company | Live Weight of Turkeys Slaughtered in 2021 | Notes | |
| 1 | Butterball, LLC | 1.25 Billion Lbs | Butterball, LLC is a turkey production company headquartered in the Raleigh-Durham area of NC. Seaboard Corporation (NYSEAMERICAN: SEB) owns a 50% non-controlling interest in Butterball, LLC, plus another ~2.5% additional interest from warrants. |
| 2 | Jennie-O Turkey Store, LLC | 1.20 Billion Lbs | Jennie-O Turkey Store is a subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL). The Jennie-O Turkey segment of Hormel generated $1.5 billion of net sales on an output (dressed weight) of 824 million pounds of turkey in FY 2021. The profit margin was 5.1%. *NOTE: Hormel’s FY 2021 ended Oct 31, 2021. |
| 3 | Cargill Turkey Production, LLC | 908 Million Lbs | Cargill is the largest privately owned company in the U.S. by revenue. Cargill Turkey Production, LLC (a subsidiary of Cargill based in Springdale, Arkansas) sells turkey under the Honeysuckle White, Shady Brook Farms, and Honest Turkey brands. |
| 4 | Farbest Foods, Inc. | 605 Million Lbs | Farbest Foods is a turkey farming company headquartered in Jasper, Indiana. |
| 5 | Tyson Foods | 352 Million Lbs | Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) is one of the largest food companies in the world and owns a vertically integrated turkey business. |
| 6 | Kraft Heinz | 325 Million Lbs | Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ: KHC) is a food conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. |
| 7 | Perdue Farms | 281 Million Lbs | Perdue Farms is a fourth-generation family owned food & agriculture company headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland. |
| 8 | Cooper Farms | 273 Million Lbs | Cooper Farms is a family-owned, Ohio-based farm and food company. |
| 9 | Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative | 261 Million Lbs | VPGC is a co-op owned and operated by independent poultry farmers in Virginia. |
| 10 | Michigan Turkey Producers | 235 Million Lbs | Michigan Turkey Producers is a co-op of family turkey farmers in Michigan. |
Is Butterball a good business?
Despite being a premium brand which charges more per pound than many other turkey brands, the Butterball company has struggled with profitability for years. In 2021, Butterball, LLC generated $65 million in operating losses and $73 million in total net losses (see the turkey segment results from Seaboard Corporation). Part of that can be attributed to the poor margins of the turkey industry in general (we’re talking 2.9% net profit margins). However, the margins are still worse than some other turkey businesses so no, Butterball, LLC does not appear to be a good business.