As US consumers shift from beef to chicken due to elevated supermarket prices, exacerbated by a rapid decline in US cattle herds, one of the world’s largest chicken producers has issued a dire warning that chicken prices could soon increase.

Bloomberg reports that Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. and the industry as a whole have developed ‘hatchery issues’, which means a large number of eggs in incubators aren’t hatching.

On Thursday, Pilgrim’s Chief Executive Officer Fabio Sandri told investors during an earnings call that the hatchery issues stem from a new breed of rooster (Frankenchickens?) that requires closer management, indicating this is the primary cause of the decline in fertility rates industrywide.

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/us-frankenchickens-supply-hit-hatchery-issues-production-woes-may-send-prices-higher

 

Declining Fertility Rates — where elso have we heard that recently and what was the cause?