The turkey population in the United States is lower than it has been in 40 years, sending wholesale turkey prices soaring 40%, according to officials.
Only 194.5 million gobblers were raised commercially in 2025, down 3% from 2024 — and the lowest mark since 1985 when 185 million turkeys were raised, according to the American Farm Bureau.
The short supply is resulting in the rise in wholesale turkey prices, which have shot up to $1.31 cents per pound from 2024’s $0.94, according to the USDA.
Only 194.5 million turkeys were raised in the United States in 2025, the lowest mark in 40 years, according to the USDA. Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesThe declining numbers are attributed to the avian flu pandemic which broke out in September 2022, afflicting farms across the country who lost millions of birds to culling and illness.
Avian flu, after waning for most of 2025, came back strong in September, The New York Times reported.
Nearly seven million farmed turkeys were killed as a result of the avian flu in just the last two months, according to the outlet.
The National Turkey Federation touted the resilience of the industry.
“We don’t just prepare Thanksgiving a week before or the month of November. We’re planning for Thanksgiving a year in advance and [farmers] are working so that we can deliver the star of the table,” president Leslee Oden told The Post.
“While you’re looking at the wholesale prices of turkeys right now, and you will see an increase in that, retailers are still able to lock in those lower prices earlier in the year so that they can offer those discounted prices when Thanksgiving rolls around,” Oden said.
Despite the record low numbers, retail grocery shoppers can still purchase many frozen turkeys for less than a $1 per pound. sheilaf2002 – stock.adobe.comDespite the dearth of turkeys and the rise in wholesale prices, many stores offer frozen turkeys from brands like Butterball at less than $1 per pound.
Heidi Diestel, whose Diestel Family Turkey Ranch sells high-end birds that retail for nearly $9 per pound, told The Post the low prices were a strategy and not necessarily representative of the cost of raising a turkey.
“So a lot of retailers will use turkeys as a ‘loss leader,’” the farming scion told The Post. “[They] put it at a really low price to get the shopper in the door.”
“It’s much more expensive than that but the retailer is just choosing to lose,” she said.
