North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama and Texas were the top five states for liveweight broiler production in 2025, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). North Carolina reclaims its position from Georgia as the number one producing state by liveweight.
2025 Production (Liveweight/1,000 lbs)
- N. Carolina: 8,271,500
- Georgia: 8,167,300
- Arkansas: 7,790,000
- Alabama: 6,628,200
- Texas: 5,049,400
- Mississippi: 4,697,400
- Maryland: 2,093,000
- Delaware: 2,025,100
- Kentucky: 1,978,800
- Virginia: 1,564,900
2025 Production (Broilers/1,000 head)
- Georgia: 1,317,300
- Alabama: 1,183,600
- Arkansas: 1,052,700
- N. Carolina: 984,700
- Texas: 731,800
- Mississippi: 701,100
- Maryland: 322,000
- Kentucky: 291,000
- Missouri: 284,200
- Delaware: 263,000
North Carolina edges out Georgia for the top liveweight spot in 2025 (flipping from 2024 when Georgia led), but Georgia still holds the #1 position by head. Louisiana and Florida dropped out of the individually-reported states in 2025 and were folded into the “Other States” combined category. The full report can be found by clicking here.
WHAT HAPPENED: USDA on Thursday published a final rule updating stocking standards for retailers authorized to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under the new rule, SNAP-authorized retailers must now carry seven varieties of items across four staple food categories: protein, grains, dairy, and fruits and vegetables.
WHY IT MATTERS: The changes more than double current stocking requirements, place a greater emphasis on whole foods, increase the perishable food requirement, and close loopholes that had long allowed retailers to count certain snack foods toward their staple food minimums. Protein, including chicken, is now explicitly required as one of the four staple food categories retailers must stock. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins noted that SNAP-authorized retailers accept over $90 billion a year in taxpayer dollars, and the rule is intended to ensure those dollars go toward actual food.
NCC’s TAKE: The House passed the Farm Bill last week with an amendment — by a sweeping 384-35 margin — that would allow SNAP recipients to purchase hot rotisserie chicken, which is currently prohibited under an outdated technicality. As USDA raises the bar on what SNAP retailers must stock and prioritizes real, nutritious, protein-rich food, hot rotisserie chicken is a natural fit: it is affordable, ready-to-eat, and one of the most practical meals a family can bring to the table.
Source: Juanmonino / Getty Images
WHAT’S NEXT: USDA plans to issue additional guidance to retailers in the coming weeks ahead of the Fall 2026 implementation date. Action on the Farm Bill — and the hot rotisserie chicken provision — now moves to the Senate, with the timing unclear.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “This rule puts real food back at the center of SNAP,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “I thank Secretary Rollins for her leadership in advancing these commonsense reforms. It demands more from retailers and delivers better options for the families who depend on this program. This is how we Make America Healthy Again.”
Source: New York Post
“Because of the filibuster, we need 60 votes to get things passed. We have the opportunity to lose some Republicans, and we have the opportunity to lose a bunch of Democrats. We’ve got to get probably nine, ten or more to vote with us on the Farm Bill. What I’d like to do is take the things where I feel like there is support on both sides and maximize our time building a coalition with those things and get them passed. If you remember, during Reconciliation, we passed about 85% of the Farm Bill.” — Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR)
Sen. Boozman speaks with farm broadcasters at the NAFB’s 2026 Washington Watch (Photo by Brent Barnett/Brownfield)
U.S. total broiler slaughter data for the week ending May 2, 2026, is estimated by USDA’s Poultry Market News Service to be 171,230,000 broilers, a 3-percent increase from the same week a year earlier.
The 3-percent increase in slaughter compares with a 2-percent increase in eggs set in the United States, 10 weeks earlier, and a 2-percent increase 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- | % | |
| Mar | ||||||||||
| 28 | 256,471 | 103 | 195,765 | 102 |
254,388 | 103 | 195,573 | 102 | 168,527 | 101 |
| Apr | ||||||||||
| 4* | 253,609 | 102 | 196,663 | 103 |
253,842 | 102 | 195,378 | 102 | 168,174 | 100 |
| 11 | 256,827 | 103 | 197,285 | 103 |
251,111 | 101 | 192,408 | 101 | 171,173 | 102 |
| 18 | 256,464 | 102 | 198,480 | 104 |
254,036 | 102 | 193,098 | 101 | 168,744 | 103 |
| 25 | 256,968 | 103 | 195,753 | 102 |
254,580 | 102 | 195,286 | 102 | 170,854 | 103 |
| May | ||||||||||
| 2 | 256,758 | 102 | 198,584 | 103 |
254,948 | 102 | 196,241 | 102 | 171,230 | 103 |
| 9 | — | — | — | — |
254,423 | 102 | 196,001 | 102 | — | — |
*Easter Holiday Weekend
