Stocks of hams, turkeys, and butter are higher than 2023

The Fall and Winter holidays are still a few months out, but USDA says the essentials for holiday cooking have been accumulating in cold storage. Stocks of bone-in and boneless hams at the end of July totaled nearly 140 million pounds, 1.2 percent above last year. Whole-hen turkey stocks totaled nearly 110 million pounds at the end of July, an increase of 12.5 percent from the same time last year. That’s even though the 2024 turkey production is projected to be lower than a year ago.