The market for organic feed remains steady to soft, ahead of the Q3, which is generally when organic grain prices rise on a seasonal basis. Organic corn and organic soybeans that are not harvested in the US play a key role at this point. Demand at the retail level remains steady, according to The Jacobsen, but bottlenecks in the supply chain still exist.

It has not gone unnoticed that reported organic chicken weight slaughtered has declined just as several production plants have closed throughout the United States. Initially, the decline could have been viewed as seasonal, as the first week of April is generally weak. Unfortunately, the level of organic chicken weight slaughtered has remained at depressed levels for 4-consecutive weeks, which could be viewed as a trend.

The current level of organic chicken weight slaughtered is approximately 18% below the 52-week moving average of organic chicken weight slaughtered. In speaking with chicken producers, and merchandisers, several believe this is an anomaly and will need to see further proof that slaughter has declined so rapidly.

USDA Chief Said Supply Bottlenecks have Turned the Corner

Despite the drop in organic chicken weight slaughtered it appears that the USDA’s Chief Sonny Perdue believes the slaughter industry has turned the corner and meat plants will shortly resume operations. U.S. meat plants are starting to reopen, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said that plants are opening this week. The has based his assessment on uniform standards. Obviously, because of some infected employees, they will not be a strength, but the country will see more variety and more meat cases fully supplied soon.