Trends in Turkey Marketing
efficient procedures in processing for improvement
of competitive position of state's turkey industry
John C. Abbott
California produces one-sixth of the
total United States supply of turkeystwice the amount produced at the end of
World War 11.
A high level of employment and consumer income, combined with restricted
marketings of beef in the years following the war, provided an exceptionally
favorable environment for an increase
in the consumption of turkey meat. However, lower prices since 1950 have raised
doubts as to whether the California turkey industry can be maintained on its
present expanded scale.
The possibility of local consumers
taking up the whole supply of California
turkeys is remote, and therefore, the continuance of the industry at its present
level of output depends on its ability
to sell turkeys profitably in other parts
of the United States.
On the New York market, far-western
turkeys have built up substantial prestige. A high proportion fall into the top
quality categories as a result of consistent
grading and inspection before despatch.
California birds are regularly quoted at
the highest prices, yet net returns to the
shipper are reduced by icing and rail
charges that are considerably in excess
of those borne by birds originating in
major competing areas.
Significant, therefore, is the tendency
for areas situated closer to the East Coast
cities to claim a higher proportion of
their market.
In the face of threatened over-production, output in California was cut down
in 1953, while that of Minnesota and the
West North Central Region continued to
expand. Thus it is cumulatively evident
that maintenance of the California industry's position will hinge almost entirely
upon superior e5ciency in all phases of
production and marketing.
The outstanding feature of the technical trend in the processing of turkeys is
the close interrelationship of metchandising advantage with economy in cost.
Formerly, poultry processing plants
mainly turned out New York dressed
birds-plucked and bled but with head,
feet, and entrails still intact. In contrast,
more turkeys are now sold on a ready-tocook basis.
Labor costs involved in dressing and
eviscerating turkeys may be cut substantially by sub-scalding-to loosen feathers
2
for easier removal-at 138-140" F-and
carrying birds to the ready-to-cook stage
in the same plant.
Until durable, transparent plastic coverings-which shrink to fit the carcass
and withstand the passage of moisturevapor-became
available, sub-scalding
remained impracticable because the outer
layer of skin is completely removed and,
on exposure to the air, the underlying
skin quickly darkens and turns brown.
The initial white finish may be retained
only so long as the carcass is protected
from dehydration.
Semi-scalding-at temperatures up to
130°F-leaves considerable hand work
after the birds pass through mechanical
pickers, and scalding at 160-180°F damages the skin and keeping qualities of the
carcass.
per hour may reduce costs 22% by
adopting sub-scalding techniques; the
smaller operations, 18%. The advantages of small plants in obtaining workers at lower wage rates will decline in
significance with the labor economies of
the sub-scald system.
Smaller commercial plants handling
some 300 birds per hour fail to obtain
the full potential advantages of specialization from the division of labor associated with the conveyor system employed
by the larger plants.
Farm processors operating at 1&20$
per turkey above the commercial cost
level must sell their birds at retail prices
if their outlay is to be repaid.
An operating season of 25 capacity
days for the farm plant and 80 days for
the commercial plants is required before
they pass out of the range of sharply increasing economies. Over very short seaCurrent Trends
sons, the simple farm plant is the most
The advantages of sub-scalding lie in efficient. Between 60 and 80 days, the
the possibility of dispensing with the rate of increase in cost saving is slower
bulk of the supplementary hand picking than over the shorter period. The advanand finishing labor, and in marketing tages of extending the season beyond 80
birds at an earlier age without pin feath- capacity working days are less substaners. Quick freezing of sub-scalded, tial.
Packaging materials and ice-for
plastic-wrapped birds results in a neat
product with a bright finish of great ap- slush cooling-have become major cost
peal. However, the costs of packaging items when evisceration is carried out
and freezing are sharply in excess of at the processing plants. Purchases of
those customary in the New York dressed these supplies amount to over 50% of
trade and consequently cancel out the
Concluded on page 16
saving in labor. Such processing, nevertheless, broadens the market for the product and conforms to contemporary
C A L I F O R N I A A G R l C U LTU R E
trends in merchandising.
Progress Reports of Agricultural Research.
Evisceration on the production line at
published monthly by the University of California Division of Agricultural Sriences.
the processing plant is more eficjent
than leaving that operation to retail
William F. Calkins. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Manager
butchers. If the butcher takes three
Agricultural Publications
W. Q. Wilde. . . . . , . . . .Editor and Manager
minutes to eviscerate one dressed turkey,
California Agriculture
the preparation of the bird for the conArticles
published
herein
may be republished
sumer costs 136 more-at current wage
or reprinted provided no endorsement of a
rates-than if dressing and evisceration
commercial product is stated or implied.
Please credit: University of California
were performed at a single large plant.
Division of Agricultural Sciences.
In terms of 1953 values, the cost of
California Agriculture will be sent free upon
request
addressed to : Editor, California
processing may be reduced 20&per turAgriculture, University of California, 22
Giannini
Hall, Berkeley 4, California.
key, or approximately l$per pound, by
' To simplify the information in California
the use of sub-scald instead of semi-scald
Agriculturs it is sometimes necessary to use
water temperature. At the same time,
trade name8 of products or equipment. No
endorsement of named products is intended
closer attention to the timing of operanor is criticism implied of similar products
which are not mentioned.
tions up. to and including quick
freezing is needed if the sub-scalded
111
birds are to maintain quality and color.
Plants handling 600 turkeys or more
C A L I F O R N I A A G R I C U L T U R E , SEPTEMBER, 1954
Sodium in lemon Tree Collapse
relationship of sodium content of root tissues to
decline and collapse of lemon trees investigated
D. R. Rodney and S. B. Boswell
lemon trees have not responded consistently to applications of any of the
nutrient elements in studies at Riverside
directed toward learning whether their
collapse or decline is affected by nutritional factors. Neither have the trees
exhibited symptoms of leaf burn usually
associated with an excess of a nutrient
element.
However, there has been a rather consistent trend wherein the roots of declining trees have shown a greater content
of sodium than roots of healthy trees.
Six Strains Compared
Further evidence along this line was
recently obtained in a comparison of six
different lemon strains-three
Lisbon
and three Eurekas-which are growing
on two different rootstocks, Indian or-
chard sweet orange and Seville sour
orange. The trees on sweet orange were
planted in 1936 and those on sour orange
were planted in 1940. All trees had similar cultural treatments and the same
source of irrigation water. Two replications of leaf and root samples were taken
from these trees in August and again in
November, 1953.
The six strains selected for sampling
included one strain of Lisbon and one
strain of Eureka growing and producing
well on both sweet and sour orange rootstocks-the data are combined and designated as strains A in the bar graph on
this Dage-two strains of Lisbon which
have' diclined slightly on sour orange
rootstocks-strains B-and
two strains
of Eureka which have declined considerably on both sweet and sour orange rootstocks-strains C.
Sodium content of leaves and roots of lemon trees on sweet orange and sour
orange rootstocks as related to decljne. Decline i s arbitrarily visually rated on
a scale from 0 for normal trees to 100 for collapsed trees. On this basis, strains
comprising the A group rated 6% decline; those in the B group rated 36% deline; and those in C 56940 decline.
I
.48
t
SOUR ORANGE
SWEET
RooTsroca
ORANGE ROOTSTOCK
a .20
W
n
5: .08
.04
n
"
t
I
n
n
nA
A
B
C
LEAVES
14
B
G,
FEEDER ROOTS
A
B
C
ROOT BARK
A
B
C
ROOT W O O D
I
I
I
I
.4 8
:
40-
3
36
U
-
Y
32-
+
28-
Y
z
0 2 4
-
U
20-
1.
16-
3
;j 12
0
In
08
-
-
04
LflYES
0
0
25
50
DEGREE OF
75
100
DECLINE
Sodium content of Eureka lemon trees on
grapefruit rootstock as related to decline. The
scale for rating decline of trees I s from 0 for
normal trees to 100 for collapsed trees.
Sodium analyses of samples taken in
November showed that although the
leaves in all strains were practically
identical with respect to sodium content,
those strains with the greatest degree of
dec1ine-C-had definitely more sodium
in the various root tissues than the
strains-A-with
the least decline.
The trees on sweet orange rootstock
had generally declined to a lesser extent,
and among the strains, the differences
in sodium content of roots were smaller
than the differences among strains on
sour orange rootstock. There were also
some small differences among the strains
with regard to the content of phosphorus,
potassium, and magnesium, but only
sodium differences were associated with
the decline symptoms of the trees.
In another comparison, leaf and root
samples were taken in a grove in Santa
Barbara County from trees in various
stages of decline, ranging from slightly
declined to a completely collapsed condition. The trees were all of the same
Eureka strain, on grapefruit rootstocks,
and nearly seven years old. In sodium
content, the leaves were again all the
same regardless of stage of decline, but
the roots of the severely declined trees75% to lOO%b--contained several times
as much sodium as did the roots of the
slightly-25%-declined trees.
In theory, the relatively inactive roots
C A L I F O R N I A A G R I C U L T U R E , SEPTEMBER, 1954