Turkey heats up ahead of Christmas demand

Turkey producers are showing confidence ahead of their peak Christmas season, reporting a rise in poult placements this year.

Kelly Bronze managing director Paul Kelly said he had seen sales of poults produced by their hatchery increase by 5.2%.

He attributed this increase to growing confidence from producers after an expected downturn in the seasonal market last Christmas failed to materialise.

“More and more farmers are starting to realise that there is a steadily growing demand for the very best turkey at Christmas, as long as it is genuinely better.

“There will always be cheaper turkeys on the market. But trying to compete with these on price is not a viable option for the smaller producer who is rearing birds to maturity and then dry plucking and hanging to enhance the quality.”

KellyBronze has added an extra five growers to its stable of producers this year and say they are working to expand operations.

“We are putting more resources into developing this sector of our business in the coming year,” says Mr Kelly.

“It provides the ideal entry into the premium market and we shall be looking to recruit 10 new KellyBronze farmers every year.”