Preliminary December broiler production was 3.8 billion pounds, which would bring 2022 annual production to 46.2 billion pounds. That is 103 percent of 2021.

The increase was driven by larger slaughter in the second half of 2022 and heavier bird weights in Q1 and, especially, in Q4.

Some of that momentum going into 2023 will be lost as hatchery data shows a drop back to nearer 2021 levels.  

While still ahead of last year, it’s a dramatic drop from the trend beginning in June, but June is when wholesale chicken prices started to drop. Likewise, June was when chicken in cold storage moved toward month-over-month increases through the end of the year. As of December, total stocks in cold storage were 931.8 million pou...