Late last month, the United States Department of Agriculture released its National Agricultural Statistics Service poultry production report for May 2026.
The report, issued on June 26, states “that the ready-to-cook weight of poultry certified as wholesome in May 2026 reached 4.47 billion pounds, a 1 percent rise from the May 2025 figure.”
Additionally, “the revised total for April 2026 stood at 4.64 billion pounds, marking a 6 percent increase from April 2025, with the revision adding 14.9 million pounds compared to the prior month’s preliminary estimate.”
That all said, the amount of poultry under federal inspection for May 2026 decreased slightly from same month the previous year from 5.77 billion to 5.76 billion.
On July 8, the USDA released that “Broiler growers in the United States weekly program placed 197 million chicks for meat production during the week ending July 4, 2026, up 1 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 10, 2026 through July 4, 2026 for the United States were 5.11 billion. Cumulative placements were up 2 percent from the same period a year earlier.”
Brownfield Agriculture News provided more in-depth information, sharing in a June 24 report that “Hatchery numbers continue to imply increased chicken production in 2026. It added for that week that 254 million broiler-type eggs were put into incubation. While slightly more than half a million less than the previous week, that number was also up one percent higher than the same week in the previous year.
The report added that the average hatchability rate was at 79.2 percent.
Yet with rising production comes a problem of rising costs. Wade Malcolm with the West Virginia Poultry Association stated that growers especially have seen increased burdens of costs.
“Propane and fuel prices” serve as strong concerns, he began, adding that poultry farmers “spend a lot of dollars on propane” and estimating that many have to lay out $100,000 a year or more.
Gasoline and diesel fuel costs also contribute to the problem. “Fuel is always a concern. Fuel makes the world go round. Our whole economy is based on energy. “ Those contribute also to the rising cost of feed for poultry and others.
Malcolm added that disease always remains a concern and shared that vaccines soon to be available may help. Some European countries have approved a vaccine for use to ward off avian flu. According to the European Medicines Agency, operated under the aegis of the European Union, “as of November 2025, EMA has authorized five veterinary vaccines against the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, subtype H5.”
These include Nobilis Influenza H5N2, Innovax ND-H5, Vectormune HVT-AIV, Vaxxitek HVT+IBD+H5, and Vaxxinact H5. That said, the EMA said “farmed poultry are not routinely vaccinated against avian influenza in the EU” but “vaccination against highly pathogenic avian influenza is common in some regions outside the EU.”
Malcolm shared that part of the American market has concerns about vaccines in animals produced for food and that with that in mind farmers must “be careful to not shoot yourself in the foot.”
He went on to state that in the Potomac Highlands, increased competition “helps a little bit now.” In addition to the two traditional buyers, Pilgrims and Rockingham, others have entered the market.
“Processors realize people have a choice,” said Malcolm.
