The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report is calling for lower poultry production for 2026, but it noted an increase in the recent pace of processing.
Turkey production was also raised on recent hatchery data, and egg production was raised on recent layer inventory and production data.
Broiler exports were lowered in the second half of the year based on reduced competitiveness in international markets. Turkey exports were raised for the first two quarters on recent trade data and increased production.
Broiler prices were lowered in the first two quarters and settled at 124 cents per pound on an annual basis based on reported data and higher forecast supplies of 48,900 million pounds on a yearly basis.
Turkey prices were raised in the first quarter based on reported prices, but remain unchanged for the rest of the year at 156 cents per pound. Production was estimated at 4,955 million pounds on a yearly basis.
Egg prices were lowered on recent data, and the expectation was that the recovery in the laying flock and egg production will continue to apply downward pressure to prices. The price for eggs was estimated at 103 cents per dozen, down 15 cents per dozen from a month ago. Production was estimated at 9.2 million eggs.
The USDA’s Egg Markets Overview, issued April 10, said supplies are moderate to heavy and trading is mostly slow. Wholesale prices for national trading of truck-lot quantities of graded, loose, white large shell eggs decreased $0.25 to $0.21 per dozen with a weak undertone.
In the major Midwest production region, wholesale prices for large, white shell eggs delivered to warehouses entered the week down $0.66 at $0.80 per dozen with a lower undertone, while the price to producers for large cartoned shell eggs declined to $0.62 per dozen.
The overall pace of grocery store featuring declined rapidly in the immediate post-holiday week, with a focus on non-organic cage-free types. Featuring of conventional caged shell eggs has slowed considerably, and the average ad price increased slightly, up $0.09 to $1.70 per dozen.
No new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza were reported this week. In 2026 to date, based on the latest data from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, HPAI in commercial table egg layer flocks has resulted in the depopulation of 15.2 million birds in 23 confirmed outbreaks in five states: Colorado, Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The 15.2 million birds lost included 13 million (85% ) in conventional caged systems and 2.2 million (15%) in cage-free systems. These losses represent 7.8% of the conventional caged layer flock and 1.8% of the non-organic cage-free flock on Jan. 1, 2026.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
