Turkeys Raised - Release

Turkeys Raised
ISSN: 1949-1972
Released September 27, 2023, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Turkeys Raised Up 4 Percent from 2022
Turkeys Raised in the United States during 2023 is forecasted at 219 million, up 4 percent from the number raised during
2022.
The top six states account for 68 percent of the turkeys produced in the United States during 2023. The largest turkey
producing state is Minnesota, at 39.0 million turkeys, up 5 percent from the previous year. North Carolina produced
29.0 million turkeys, up 4 percent from a year ago. Arkansas produced 27.5 million turkeys, up 6 percent from last year.
Indiana produced 20.0 million turkeys, unchanged from last year. Missouri produced 18.0 million turkeys, up 6 percent
from last year. Virginia is up 1 percent from the previous year at 15.4 million turkeys.

Turkeys Raised – United States
Million head
250
245
240

235
230
225
220
215
210
205
2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Turkeys Raised – States and United States: 2022 and 2023
Turkeys raised
State

2022

2023

2023 as
percent
of 2022

(1,000 head)

(1,000 head)

(percent)

Arkansas ...........................................................................
California ..........................................................................
Indiana ..............................................................................
Iowa ..................................................................................
Michigan ...........................................................................
Minnesota .........................................................................
Missouri ............................................................................
North Carolina ...................................................................
Ohio ..................................................................................
Pennsylvania ....................................................................

26,000
6,200
20,000
11,700
5,200
37,000
17,000
28,000
6,100
7,700

27,500
6,800
20,000
11,500
5,300
39,000
18,000
29,000
6,500
8,000

106
110
100
98
102
105
106
104
107
104

South Dakota ....................................................................
Virginia ..............................................................................
West Virginia .....................................................................

2,500
15,300
3,700

3,000
15,400
4,000

120
101
108

Other States 1 ...................................................................

23,600

25,000

106

United States ....................................................................

210,000

219,000

104

1

Includes State estimates not shown and States withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.

Statistical Methodology
Survey Procedures: Data for turkeys raised estimates are collected from all known operations raising 1,000 or more
turkeys annually. NASS regional offices maintain a list of all known turkey grow-out operations. Approximately
254 turkey grow-out operations are contacted in September and February. The data collected were received by electronic
data reporting, mail, and telephone.
Estimating Procedures: Turkeys raised preliminary estimates include young turkeys intended for meat production and
breeder turkeys reaching maturity during the calendar year. These estimates exclude turkeys lost to disease or those
destroyed. Placement of turkey poults from the monthly Turkey Hatchery Survey and indications from the September
Turkeys Raised Survey provide the basis for the preliminary estimates published in September. Final estimates, published
in April, use indications from the February Turkeys Raised Survey in addition to updated hatchery data. Other indications
for the final estimates are obtained from monthly slaughter totals and check-off data provided by state turkey or poultry
associations.
Revision Policy: Estimates from the previous year are subject to revision when final raised estimates are made in April.
Revisions are primarily based on updated hatchery and slaughter data. Estimates will also be reviewed after data from the
five-year Census of Agriculture are available. No revisions will be made after that date.

2

Turkeys Raised (September 2023)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

Reliability: Turkeys raised estimates are based on a census of all known turkey grow-out operations, and therefore have
no sampling error. However, estimates are subject to errors such as omissions, duplication, mistakes in reporting or
recording, and processing of the data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict
quality controls in the data collection process, and through a careful review of all reported data for consistency and
reasonableness.
To assist in evaluating the reliability of the estimates in this report, the “Root Mean Square Error” for number of turkeys
raised is shown in the following table. The “Root Mean Square Error” is a statistical measure based on past performance
and is computed using the differences between first and final estimates. The “Root Mean Square Error” for number of
turkeys raised over the past 10 years is 1.9 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not
be above or below the current estimate of 219 million turkeys by more than 1.9 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the
difference will not exceed 3.4 percent.
Reliability of September Turkeys Raised Estimates
[Based on data for the past ten years]

Item

Difference between first and latest estimate

Root mean
square error

90 percent
confidence
level

Average

Smallest

Largest

Below
latest

(percent)

(percent)

(1,000)

(1,000)

(1,000)

(number)

Turkeys raised .................................

1.9

3.4

Years

3,210

1,000

11,000

Above
latest
(number)
5

5

Information Contacts
Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to
contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to [email protected]
Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch ......................................................................................................... (202) 692-0069
Jean Porter, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section ..................................................................... (202) 690-3223
Holly Brenize – Poultry Slaughter............................................................................................................. (202) 720-0585
Liana Cuffman – Catfish and Trout, Mink, Census of Aquaculture ........................................................ (202) 720-8784
Fatema Haque – Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised ................................................................................. (202) 720-3244
Derron Martin – Chicken Hatchery, Egg Products.................................................................................... (202) 690-3237
Seth Riggins – Honey, Honey Bee Colonies ............................................................................................ (202) 690-4870
Shulonda Shaw – Cold Storage, Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses .................................................. (202) 720-3240
Autumn Stone – Layers, Eggs .................................................................................................................. (202) 690-3676
Takiyah Walker – Broiler Hatchery .......................................................................................................... (202) 720-6147

Turkeys Raised (September 2023)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

3

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USDA Fall Data Users’ Meeting
Virtual Meeting
October 17 & 18, 2023
12:00 – 3:00 pm ET
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will hold a virtual meeting for users of U.S. domestic
and international agriculture data. NASS is organizing the 2023 Fall Data Users’ Meeting in cooperation with
five other USDA agencies – Agricultural Marketing Service, Economic Research Service, Farm Service
Agency, Foreign Agricultural Service, and World Agricultural Outlook Board – and the Census Bureau’s
Foreign Trade Division. Representatives will provide agency updates, answer questions, and listen to concerns
from data users.

Abbreviated Agenda
Day 1 – October 17
Agency Updates– All agencies
Focus on the 2022 Census of Agriculture - National Agricultural Statistics Service
The Use of Weather Information In Producing the WASDE - World Agricultural Outlook Board
NASS Historical Revisions and Estimating Program Review - National Agricultural Statistics Service
AMS Data Visualizations - Agricultural Marketing Service
Day 2 – October 18
Open Forum – All agencies
ERS Feed Grains Database: A comprehensive look at this valuable resource – Economic Research Service
Understanding Publicly Available Data from USDA-Risk Management Agency – Risk Management Agency
For registration details or additional information about the Data Users’ Meeting, see the meeting page on the
NASS website (https://www.nass.usda.gov/go/data_users).