As the holiday season begins, turkey growers are already thinking of 2021. Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council Vice-President Pete Klaphake says demand for a 20-pound turkey will be the target. “Right now, we’re selling birds that weigh less than that and if you lose three pounds per head, that ends up being a lot.” Ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, Klaphake was already making the transition to raising smaller hens for processing. The farm raised turkeys at 21.5-to-22 pounds and consumer preference started to shift to 20 pound birds. “We made a plan to renovate some farms that used to be just finished farms into brooders and de-commission older brooding barns. January through March, prior to COVID, our wheels were spinning pretty quickly. Then, COVID hit and threw a wrench in everything.”
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