Turkey production has become increasingly competitive and specialized in recent years. United States turkey production has nearly doubled since 1940, while the number of farms raising turkeys has steadily decreased. An increasing number of producers are looking toward savings in feed costs and better marketing methods as important aids in maintaining or increasing profits. The objective of this study is to provide turkey producers with useful predictions of least~cost rations and most profitable, or optimum, marketing weights for a wide range of price relationships.

Empirical data were obtained from Experiment 322 conducted by the Department of Poultry Husbandry in the summer of 1955. In this experiment, 600 turkeys were fed rations of (a) 21 to 31 percent protein from 0 to 6 weeks of age, (b) 15 to 25 percent protein from 6 to 12 weeks of age and (c) 10 to 20 percent protein from 12 to 24 weeks of age. Various types of regression equations, predicting gain as a function of the corn and soybean oilmeal fed, were fitted to the data for each of the three time intervals. These production functions were then used in predicting gain isoquants, marginal rates of substitution of soybean oilmeal for corn and feed input-gain output relationships for various rations. Economic analysis applied to these physical relationships allowed prediction of least-cost rations and optimum marketing weights.