If chicken processors feel like the rope in a game of tug-of-war, they have good reason. Prices are historically high, but that may not last. Trade disputes are a big unknown for poultry exports. And colder weather in the Northern Hemisphere already is ushering in new outbreaks of HPAI across the globe.

Nan-Dirk Mulder is a senior global specialist for animal protein with RaboResearch in the Netherlands. He also is the author of its quarterly outlook for the poultry industry. Nan-Dirk doesn’t have a crystal ball into exactly what will happen in poultry in 2026, but he has some well-informed predictions, and he shares them in this episode of MeatingPod.

As storied as the history of the meat business is in the United States, the “old ways” are falling by the wayside now. They are being replaced by technology and training. Meanwhile, the meat industry’s workforce also is seeing upheaval. While traditional sources of labor are coming under fire, processors also are having trouble finding a new breed of employee, who can manage the electronics that are filling up the space in the once-humble meat plant.

In this episode of MeatingPod, the editors of Meatingplace engage in a roundtable discussion of these trends, and their implications for processing companies. Joining us today are Tom Johnston, editor in chief, managing editor Peter Ricci, and Chris Moore, our news editor.

The economics of the turkey market are changing. HPAI and other diseases have tightened supplies but prices are down. And decades-long annual sales cycles seem to have been permanently altered by the pandemic’s effects on social gatherings — but ground product isn’t picking up the slack.

As the holiday season, and holiday meals, draw closer on the calendar, Mark Jordan of LEAP Analytics joins MeatingPod to help make sense of this fast-changing market, with an eye on what to expect in 2026.