US turkey production forecast for 2013 projects 5 percent drop

The USDA is projecting fewer turkeys produced in 2013 than any other year in the past decade.

The forecast for turkeys raised in the United States in 2013 is at 242 million, down 5 percent from the 253.5 million raised in 2012. The year 2013 will also mark the lowest number of turkeys produced in the past decade, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Turkeys Raised report, released on September 30.
The previous decade-low year in terms of U.S. turkey production was in 2010, when an estimated 244 million were raised. The high point of the decade came in 2008, when an estimated 273 million turkeys were raised.
Nearly two-thirds of the turkeys raised in 2013 are produced in six states. Of those six states, Indiana is the only one to increase production in 2013, raising 17 million head, a 3 percent jump. Turkey production in Arkansas is unchanged in 2013, with 29 million produced.
Minnesota, the nation's leading turkey-producing state, produced 2 million less head at 45 million. North Carolina and Missouri both decreased turkey production by 3 percent, and Virginia's turkey production dropped 6 percent.
The state with the largest decline in turkey production in 2013 is Ohio, which saw a 10 percent drop. Ohio ranks 10^th in the nation, with 5,000 head produced in 2013.