Animal Production NAICS 112

Oct 23, 2025 - Bird Flu Hits Turkey Flocks

• America’s turkey flock has shrunk to its smallest size in 40 years amid a resurgence of bird flu, the American Farm Bureau Federation reported in October. The bird flu virus, known as H5N1, has infected dozens of commercial and backyard poultry flocks, resulting in the deaths of nearly seven million farmed birds in the US since the beginning of September, including about 1.3 million turkeys in the run-up to Thanksgiving. According to the USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service, as of October 23 the virus had been confirmed in 61 flocks, including 32 commercial flocks. Hard hit states include Minnesota (the nation’s top turkey producer), South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Washington. Bird flu has proved has proved stubborn to eradicate. The virus has affected more than 180 million farmed and wild birds since 2022 and has spilled over into herds of dairy cows across 18 states.
• Turkey production and consumption in the US is declining, data from the USDA’s Turkeys Raised report shows. The report, released on Sept. 26, estimates that 195 million turkeys were raised in 2025, down 3% from 2024, and down 36% from a peak of about 303 million in 1996. This marks the lowest estimate in 40 years when 185 million turkeys were raised in 1985 and will lead to higher prices for consumers. Currently, wholesale turkey prices are about 40% higher than in fall 2024, while retail prices are expected to rise to $1.32 per pound, up 38 cents per pound over last year, according to American Farm Bureau Federation estimates. Meanwhile, the USDA’s latest WASDE report projects 4.49 billion pounds of turkey will be consumed or exported in 2025, down 610 million pounds, or 12%, from 2015.

• Smithfield Foods, the largest US pork supplier, recently rolled out a new genetic line of hogs that grow faster on less feed, The Wall Street Journal reports. Pork production is a low-margin business, with feed accounting for about 60% of the cost of raising a hog. As such, reducing the amount of feed used to raise hogs boosts producers’ profits. To produce hogs that gain weight faster on less feed, Smithfield crossed three different breeds that each have different traits, according to WSJ. The maternal line, responsible for characteristics such as the number of piglets produced in a year, incorporates commercially available genetic traits from outside companies. The father’s side focuses on traits related to growth and meat quality, using a male pig bred by Smithfield. The new “more efficient” hog line took about five years to develop and is beginning to make an impact on Smithfield’s profits, according to its CEO.
• Lucrative niche markets for breeding pigs and other US livestock genetic material including cattle semen have dried up since President Trump started a trade war with China, Reuters reports. Valued between $2,500-$5,000 each, breeding pigs are a small but profitable market for US exporters. However, retaliatory tariffs levied by China in response to US import tariffs resulted in some pigs being sent to slaughter for less than $200 a piece, per Reuters. US farmers and exporters said the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing has cost them millions of dollars and jeopardized hard-won trade relationships, with China turning to Denmark for breeding pigs. China was also the biggest importer of semen from US dairy cows. However, “Not one unit of semen is going to China right now,” Jay Weiker, president of the National Association of Animal Breeders, told Reuters in May.