Washington Report

In the U.S., chicken is king among all animal protein options because it’s affordable, safe, nutrient-dense and delicious. In fact, the average American consumes nearly 100 pounds of chicken per person, each year. This equates to approximately 160 million servings of chicken every day.

This blog post, “Contract Farmers + Chicken Company Partnerships = Healthy, Affordable Protein,” originally appeared this week on Chicken Check In.

Without the key business partnerships between contract farmers and processing companies, chicken may not be America’s No. 1 protein. What exactly is a contract grower? A contract grower is an independent farmer who works under contract with a chicken company to raise broiler chickens, or chickens for meat. More than 90% of all U.S. chickens raised for meat are cared for by contract growers. According to a March 2022 study conducted by FarmEcon LLC, Live Chicken Production Trends, found that when chicken farmer and chicken company business partnerships are mutually beneficial, successful and profitable, consumers win big, too.

What’s more, such financial figures entice others to become chicken farmers as well. As of 2021, 20 processor companies reported 1,672 applications to enter chicken production and 335 requests to expand existing operations. Meanwhile, only 6% of chicken farmers left their processor company—including retirements.

Chickens are also healthier due to being raised by contract farmers. The average on-farm livability rate of U.S. broiler chickens was 95% in 2021, but only 82% in 1925. That’s because the chicken industry significantly invests in innovation to keep improving animal husbandry. The National Chicken Council also established the Animal Welfare Guidelines and Audit Checklist to ensure all birds are treated with respect, from the hatchery to the processing plant. This means good animal welfare includes chickens being healthy, comfortable and well-nourished.

To learn more about how contract farmer and chicken company processor partnerships yield big benefits, view the complete Live Chicken Production Trends report here.