Statistics
During the last two decades, the turkey industry has come from a single-product,
holiday-oriented business into a fully integrated industry with a
diversified product line that competes with other protein products
on a year-round basis. The following information provides an overview
of the turkey industry's growth.
Turkey Consumption
Turkey consumption has increased 108 percent since 1970, due to
consumers' recognition of turkey's good taste and nutritional value.
In 2008, U.S. consumption of turkey was 17.6 pounds per person.
More and more Americans are realizing that turkey is not just
for the holidays. Although 50 percent of all turkey consumed in
1970 was during the holidays, today that number is around 29 percent
as more people enjoy delicious turkey year-round.
* Figures Rounded
In 2008, Turkey was the #4 protein choice for American consumers.
2008 Per Capita Consumption in Pounds
Chicken
Beef
Pork
Turkey
Lamb & Mutton |
83.5
62.8
49.5
17.6
1.0 |
Turkey Production
Turkey production in the United States has increased nearly 300
percent since 1970, meeting consumers' demand as more people choose
turkey. With the value added to turkey through processing into a
wide variety of cuts, parts and further processed products, the
total value of turkey processors' production in 2007 was more than
$13.9 billion.
An estimated 273 million turkeys will be raised in 2009.
As consumption rises to approximately 5.3 billion pounds, the number
of turkeys raised continues to increase in many states. The following
are America's top turkey producing states.
Turkeys: Number Raised 2007-2008*
| State |
2007
|
2008 |
%
of 2007 |
|
Minnesota
North Carolina
Arkansas
Missouri
Virginia
California
Indiana
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Iowa
Ohio
Other States
US Total
|
46.5
38.5
29.5
18.5
20.5
16.2
13.6
11.0
10.4
8.7
6.0
47.3
266.7 |
48.0
40.0
31.0
18.0
21.0
16.0
14.5
11.5
12.5
9.0
6.0
45.6
273.1
|
103
103
105
97
102
99
106
105
120
103
100
96
102
|
*Numbers raised in millions
Top Turkey Processors, 2008 *
| Top U.S. Turkey Processors |
Live Weight Processed (Million Pounds)* |
Butterball, LLC
Jennie-O Turkey Store
Cargill Meat Solutions
Farbest Foods, Inc.
Foster Farms
House of Raeford Farms, Inc.
Perdue Farms, Inc.
Kraft Foods Inc. (Oscar Mayer)
Virginia Poultry Growers Coop.
Prestage Foods
Sara Lee
West Liberty Foods
Cooper Farms
Hain Pure Protein Corp.
Michigan Turkey Producers
Norbest, Inc. (Western Sales LLC)
Dakota Provisions
Zacky Farms, LLC
Turkey Valley Farms
Whitewater Processing
Northern Pride Inc.
|
1450.0
1342.0
1047.0
302.0
273.5
265.0
274.6
252.0
236.5
220.0
220.6
263.0
185.0
182.0
178.7
162.0
144.0
131.3
120.0
42.4
40.0
|
Estimates
for 2008 from February 2009 Watt Poultry USA
Total Pounds of Turkey Produced
Live Weight and Ready to Cook (RTC)
| Year |
Number
of Turkeys* |
Live
Weight** |
RTC**
(Inspected) |
|
|
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
|
261
282
285
290
288
287
293
303
301
286
270
270
273
275
270
256
250
256
267
273
|
5.468
6.043
6.115
6.355
6.433
6.541
6.779
7.233
7.225
7.062
6.877
6.960
7.173
7.495
7.231
6.949
6.991
7.224
7.562
7.922 |
4.175
4.561
4.652
4.829
4.848
4.992
5.129
5.446
5.478
5.281
5.297
5.402
5.562
5.713
5.650
5.454
5.504
5.686
5.958
6.037
|
*In millions **In billions
of pounds
|
Turkey Production Gross Farm Income* |
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
|
2.39
2.35
2.40
2.51
2.64
2.78
3.13
2.88
2.68
2.81
|
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008 |
2.83
2.80
2.73
2.50
2.89
3.11
3.47
3.95
4.48
|
*In billions of dollars
Exports
Like domestic turkey consumption, turkey exports continued to grow
throughout the last decade. The following information shows the
worldwide popularity of American turkey products.
Total Export Value*
| 1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
| $151.4 |
$173.5 |
$197.4 |
$199.7 |
$254.6 |
$327.8 |
$241.9 |
$198.0 |
| 2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
| $225.6 |
$257.1 |
$201.8 |
$265.3 |
$299.2 |
$388.7 |
$359.2 |
$399.7 |
$481.9 |
*In millions of dollars
Turkey exports are an increasingly important aspect of U.S. turkey
production, especially for turkey parts and dark meat products.
U.S. Turkey Exports*
| Year
|
Whole
Body |
Parts
& Cut-Up |
Total
|
|
|
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
|
16.6
20.3
19.5
24.1
24.8
34.7
40.8
36.6
41.9
33.3
20.3
15.2
26.2
22.8
31.2
33.5
53.1
53.8
|
105.4
181.5
224.2
256.3
323.2
403.3
565.1
409.6
337.1
412.0
466.7
423.3
456.6
419.7
538.4
513.0
493.4
622.5
|
122.0
201.8
243.7
280.4
348.0
438.0
605.9
466.2
379.0
445.3
487.0
438.5
482.8
442.5
569.6
546.5
546.5
676.3
|
*In
millions of pounds
Top Five Export Markets for U.S. Turkey Meat, 2008*
Mexico
China
Russia
Canada
Hong Kong
|
358,351
85,623
26,056
22,292
19,372 |
*Thousand pounds |
|
