A livestock economist says market conditions and lack of efficiency contributed to a couple of major meat processors recently announcing the closure of several facilities across the U.S. University of Missouri’s Scott Brown says broiler returns are currently 60% of year-ago levels. “Lower chicken prices, especially at the wholesale level, and feed costs that continue to be high, have certainly made margins extremely difficult,” he says. “I think that has something to do with some of the announcements that we’ve seen.”
Tyson recently announced due to lower costs, it is closing four chicken processing facilities in the first two quarters of 2024.
