WHAT HAPPENED: NCC installed the officers that will guide the organization through 2027. The installation took place last week at NCC’s 71st Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
OFFICER CORPS: Kevin McDaniel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wayne-Sanderson Farms, will serve as 2026-2027 Chairman. Kevin McAdams, Chief Executive Officer and President of Perdue Farms, will serve as Vice-Chairman. New to the officer corps, Brad Respess, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tip Top Poultry, was installed as Secretary-Treasurer. In addition to the three new officers, Harrison Kircher will serve his third term as NCC President.
ABOUT THE OFFICERS: For biographies and photos of the four officers, please visit NCC’s press release by clicking here.
NCC’s TAKE: “I want to commend and thank David Jackson for his tremendous leadership and support over this past year,” said Kircher. “Kevin McDaniel, Kevin McAdams and Brad Respess are proven leaders who bring decades of hands-on experience to our organization. I look forward to working alongside them as we advocate for policies that keep chicken affordable, safe and abundant, and as we advance an industry that produces America’s #1 protein and supports communities across the country.”
WHAT HAPPENED: Democrats definitively gained control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections on Tuesday, with the Associated Press reporting that Democrats have won 253 House seats to 155 Republican seats. CBS projects that Democrats have flipped 42 districts from Republicans, with dozens of races still uncalled. In the Senate, Democrats flipped seven seats, bringing the total to 54 to Republicans’ 44. Two seats, Mississippi and Alaska, remain outstanding.
In the Senate, Democrats flipped seats in South Carolina (Annie Andrews), Texas (James Talarico), Kansas (Adam Hamilton), Iowa (Josh Turek), Ohio (Sherrod Brown), North Carolina (Roy Cooper), and Maine (Troy Jackson). Democrats also won seats in Michigan (Abdul el-Sayed), Georgia (Jon Ossoff), Minnesota (Peggy Flanagan), and New Hampshire (Chris Pappas).
Two seats are outstanding: Mississippi and Alaska. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) trails Democrat Scott Colom (D-MS) by less than 2,000 votes, with over 96% of votes counted. In Alaska, incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) trails Democrat Mary Peltola (D-AK) by just a few hundred votes, with 74% of the votes counted.
WHY IT MATTERS: If projected results hold, Democrats will gain 56 seats in the Senate and over 260 seats in the House. So far, Democrats have gained 54 Senate seats and 253 House seats, according to AP. To pass legislation in the Senate, 60 votes are still needed, and 218 are needed in the House.
Tuesday’s results also have implications for key committee leadership. The House Agriculture Committee will feature a race between Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) and Jim Costa (D-CA) for chairmanship, while Rep. GT Thompson will face Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) for ranking member. The Senate Agriculture Committee will likely be led by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), with Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) as ranking member.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is positioned to become Speaker of the House, while Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is set to regain his role as Senate Majority Leader.
WHAT NCC IS SAYING: “NCC has always worked with leaders on both sides of the aisle and we stand ready to work with and educate new Members in the 120th Congress,” said NCC President Harrison Kircher. “We congratulate all of this year’s winners and look forward to welcoming new members to Washington and showing them how America’s chicken farmers and processors put an affordable, nutritious protein on families’ tables every day. Before we look to 2027, we are eager to work with Chairmen Boozman and GT Thompson, and ranking members Klobuchar and Craig to pass an important Farm Bill in the lame duck.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Multiple states are still counting votes, including Alaska, North Carolina, Mississippi, and California. Mississippi is likely to conduct a recount in its Senate race, as well as North Carolina in multiple House districts, many of which remain undecided. House Republicans plan to hold leadership elections next Tuesday, November 10. Senate Republicans plan to vote on the same day. House Democrats follow on the week of November 18 following new member orientation, while Senate Democrats have not yet set a date for leadership elections.
NCC’s 71st Annual Conference took place last week, Oct. 28-29, in Washington, D.C. Here are a few photos from the event.
A special thank you to USPOULTRY for the partnership, in planning support, financial assistance and execution, for many NCC public relations and consumer education campaign projects advancing the industry’s efforts for the mutual benefit of both our associations and our members! L-R: USPOULTRY President Nath Morris; NCC Chairman and Simmons Foods COO David Jackson; and Harrison Kircher, NCC President
Nikolas Badminton, Chief Futurist at The Futurist Think Tank, talks about the “Exponential Food Supply – Looking to 2030 and Beyond”
L-R: NCC Chairman and Simmons Foods COO David Jackson; Judge Stephen Vaden, Deputy Secretary, USDA; NCC President Harrison Kircher; NCC General Counsel Brian Eyink, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
Dr. Larry Sabato, Founder and Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, provides attendees with a 2026 Midterm Election outlook
L-R: NCC VP of Government Affairs David Elrod; Edward Fishman; and Tom Super, NCC SVP of Public Affairs. Fishman spoke about how businesses can navigate the age of economic warfare. He is a Senior Fellow and Director at the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomics, Council on Foreign Relations; and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs
L-R: Tom Super, Dr. Larry Sabato, Harrison Kircher, David Elrod, and Polina Burko, NCC Director of Meetings and Member Services
Trey Gowdy, former S.C. congressman and host of “Sunday Night in America” on FOX News, addresses attendees
Annual Conference Luncheon
David Jackson (R) passes the gavel to 2026-27 NCC Chairman Kevin McDaniel, President and CEO of Wayne-Sanderson Farms
The new 2026-27 NCC Officer Corp (L-R): Kevin McAdams, Chief Executive Officer and President of Perdue Farms, NCC Vice-Chairman; Harrison Kircher, NCC President; Kevin McDaniel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wayne-Sanderson Farms, NCC Chairman; Brad Respess, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tip Top Poultry, NCC Secretary-Treasurer
Thank you to all of our 2026 Annual Conference sponsors!
WHAT HAPPENED: NCC on Nov. 2 filed comments with USDA supporting USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics’ effort to update its rules for animal vaccines and similar products. These rules have not kept pace with modern chicken production and evolving science.
IN THE COMMENTS: NCC asked USDA to:
- Reduce animal testing by using newer and comparable lab methods.
- Improve access to vaccine ingredients so supply chain disruptions do not hold up production.
- Base withdrawal periods on science and make them both product and species specific. Today, all livestock and poultry, including chickens, must wait 21 days after certain vaccines are administered before going to market.
- Accept quality research from other countries instead of making companies repeat the same studies domestically.
- Speed up access to vaccines for emerging or rare diseases.
- Update rules for custom-made “autogenous” vaccines, including how long these vaccines can be used.
WHAT WE’RE SAYING: “Updates should be science-based, data-driven, and reflect current production practices,” said Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., NCC senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. She emphasized that USDA should keep its high standards for safety and effectiveness while making the process faster and more predictable.
WHAT’S NEXT: USDA will review the comments as it considers changes to existing regulations.
WHAT HAPPENED: USDA on October 29th announced plans to buy up to $472.5 million in U.S.-grown and U.S.-raised agricultural commodities under its Section 32 authority, including $20 million for chicken. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will make purchases of a variety of foods, including chicken, destined for food banks and other nutrition assistance programs.
WHAT ELSE IS INCLUDED: Chicken is one of 15 commodities in the package, along with dairy ($165.5 million), pork ($41 million), split peas ($37 million), almonds ($30 million), lentils ($29 million), and farm-raised catfish ($20 million), among others.
WHY IT MATTERS: The program lets the department buy commodities during periods of market imbalance. For chicken, the purchase moves high-quality, affordable protein to families who rely on the charitable food network and federal nutrition programs. At the same time, it supports growers and processors who produce it. These programs aid in providing food security to thousands of families across the country, and chicken continues to serve as a protein allowing USDA’s dollars to go even further.
WHAT’S NEXT: AMS will issue solicitations for the chicken purchase. Eligible vendors can then submit bids through the agency’s standard commodity procurement process. NCC will share more details as they become available.
WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation and United Egg Producers released an updated economic impact study that highlights the positive impact the poultry industry has on jobs, wages, and federal and state revenue in the United States. The study breaks down poultry into three subcategories: broilers, turkey and eggs, and calculates the direct, supplier, induced, and total economic impact of each.
WHAT IT FOUND: The broiler industry supports 1,555,821 total jobs, generating $118.7 billion in wages, contributing $532.9 billion in total economic activity and providing $49.5 billion in government revenue. Since the last study in 2024, the chicken industry supports nearly 180,000 additional jobs, generates $27.8 billion more in wages and contributes an additional $83.4 billion in economic activity. Government revenue has also increased by $12.8 billion. These gains represent approximately 13% growth in employment, 31% in wages, 19% in economic activity and 35% in government revenue.
NCC’s TAKE: “Chicken producers’ positive economic impact stretches from coast to coast, hits every sector of the U.S. economy and is felt in every congressional district,” said NCC President Harrison Kircher. “We know that chicken is nutritious, affordable and versatile, but chicken also means jobs – whether it’s on the farm, in the processing plant, the transportation sector, manufacturing, retail or restaurants. This data will prove extremely helpful as we welcome a new Congress to Washington next year. I want to thank USPOULTRY for funding and coordinating this effort.”
THE DATA: The data is hosted on interactive websites that can be viewed collectively or by individual species, and then sorted nationally, by state, congressional district, state house district or state senate district, and county. For more information about the U.S. chicken industry’s economic impact visit: www.chickenfeedsamerica.org.
METHODOLOGY: The economic impact study was funded by USPOULTRY and conducted by John Dunham & Associates, a New York City-based economic research firm. The study was updated using the most current methodology available and uses data from 2026. For more information on the study’s methodology and model description, please click here.
WHAT HAPPENED: NCC Chairman Kevin McDaniel will be appointing members to NCC’s standing committees in the near future. As such, NCC has begun reaching out to the official reps of all of our Allied Leaders and Allied Members to request company appointments to NCC Standing Committees for 2027.
WHAT TO DO: Allied Leader Members are entitled to a single appointment on two of NCC’s committees. Allied Members are entitled to a single appointment on one of NCC’s committees. If you are an official rep and did not receive an email about 2027 committee appointments, please contact Phouth Gonzalez: [email protected].
ABOUT NCC COMMITTEES: For a full list of NCC’s Standing and Joint Committees, and information on each, please click here.
WHAT HAPPENED: Lew Thompson & Son Trucking, Inc., based in Huntsville, AR, has joined the National Chicken Council as an Allied Leader member company. Billy Cartright, Executive Vice President, will serve as the official representative to NCC.
ABOUT LEW THOMPSON & SON TRUCKING: Founded in 1983 with a single truck, Lew Thompson & Son Trucking, Inc. has grown into a poultry transportation company operating a fleet of more than 700 tractors and 1,400 trailers. With operations spanning from California to Delaware, the company provides transportation services throughout the poultry supply chain. Its operations include delivering young birds from hatcheries to farms, transporting feed and live poultry, and distributing finished products to grocery stores, distribution centers, and cold storage facilities.
To learn more about Lew Thompson & Son Trucking, Inc., visit their website here.
U.S. total broiler slaughter data for the week ending October 31, 2026, is estimated by USDA’s Poultry Market News Service to be 167,853,000 broilers, a 3-percent decrease from the same week a year earlier.
The 3-percent decrease in slaughter compares with a 1-percent increase in eggs set in the United States 10 weeks earlier, and no change in chicks placed 7 weeks earlier in the United States. USDA’s latest Broiler Hatchery report can be viewed here.
| U.S. Eggs Set, Chicks Placed, Broiler Slaughter Report | ||||||||||
| Week ending | Eggs set | Chicks placed | Eggs set | Chicks placed | Broilers slaughtered | |||||
| change from | change from | 10 weeks previous | 7 weeks previous | |||||||
| 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | ||||||
| -000- | % | -000- | % | -000- | % | -000- | % | -000- | % | |
| Sep | ||||||||||
| 19 | 244,999 | 102 | 194,499 | 100 |
251,893 | 102 | 194,575 | 101 | 168,013 | 96 |
| 26 | 248,810 | 102 | 192,940 | 99 |
252,493 | 101 | 195,784 | 101 | 172,874 | 99 |
| Oct | ||||||||||
| 3 | 243,244 | 100 | 189,261 | 98 |
253,586 | 102 | 196,464 | 102 | 170,627 | 98 |
| 10 * | 243,648 | 101 | 190,604 | 103 |
252,434 | 101 | 195,176 | 101 | 172,328 | 100 |
| 17 | 245,700 | 103 | 193,281 | 102 |
250,870 | 101 | 194,483 | 101 | 172,933 | 100 |
| 24 | 245,695 | 103 | 188,393 | 100 |
249,495 | 100 | 193,413 | 100 | 168,505 | 98 |
| 31 | 245,728 | 100 | 189,600 | 101 |
252,010 | 101 | 195,127 | 100 | 167,853 | 97 |
| Nov | ||||||||||
| 7 | — | — | — | — |
250,272 | 101 | 194,499 | 100 | — | — |
*Columbus Day Holiday Weekend
