Values on animal proteins remained rangebound, with most calling the market quiet for the day, with several participants attending the NARA meeting in Florida. 

The most recent USDA Poultry Slaughter report relayed higher slaughter levels in 2023 for both broiler and turkey. As of September, broiler slaughter was at 758.42 million head, down six percent from last year and 10.8 percent from August. Year-to-date poultry head counts for 2023 were at 7.067 billion head, up 0.2 percent from 2022, which was at 7.051 billion head. (Fig. 1)

Commercial broiler weights for the first half of the year have been higher than last year by 0.9 percent, or less than one pound, and up from the three-year average by 1.2 percent. The higher-than-average weights for broilers in 2023 have contributed to increases in production levels by around 416,159 pounds. (Fig. 2)

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