Overview
The U.S. poultry industry is the world's largest producer
and second largest exporter of poultry meat. U.S. consumption
of poultry meat (broilers, other chicken, and turkey)
is considerably higher than beef or pork, but less than
total red meat consumption. The United States is also
a major egg producer. The poultry and egg industry is
a major feed grain user, accounting for approximately
100 billion pounds of feed yearly. With about 15 percent
of total poultry production being exported, the U.S. poultry
industry is heavily influenced by currency fluctuations,
trade negotiations, and economic growth in its major importing
markets.
Features
Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
Outlook analyzes and presents short-term forecasts
for production, stocks, trade, and per capita consumption
of poultry and eggs; examines changes in poultry prices
at the wholesale and retail levels.
U.S. Broiler Industry: Background Statistics and Information offers
production, trade, and price data for the U.S. broiler industry.
Recommended Readings
The Economic Organization of U.S. Broiler Production (June 2008) describes, based on a large and representative survey of broiler operations, the industry's organization, housing features, contract design, fees and enterprise cost structures, and farm and household finances. Broiler production in the United States is coordinated almost entirely through systems of production contracts, and the industry is undergoing a gradual structural change as production shifts to larger broiler enterprises.
USDA Agricultural Projections to 2017 (February 2008) contains longrun projections covering supply, demand, prices, and other economic variables for major U.S. crop and livestock sectors.
Organic Poultry and Eggs
Capture High Price Premiums and Growing Share of Specialty Markets (December 2006) examines
trends in markets, animal numbers, and prices for organic poultry and eggs.
Markets for these products in the United States are expanding rapidly. Price
comparisons between organic and conventional broilers and eggs show significant
organic price premiums.
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
Livestock and Meat Trade Data contains monthly and annual data for imports and exports of live cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats, as well as beef and veal, pork, lamb and mutton, chicken meat, turkey meat, and eggs. The tables report physical quantities, not dollar values or unit prices. Data on beef and veal, pork, and lamb and mutton are on a carcass-weight-equivalent basis. Breakdowns by country are included.
Meat Price Spreads
contains data on retail and wholesale values for poultry
and eggs and the price spreads for these values, as well
as information on average U.S. prices of some retail poultry
and eggs.
Poultry
Yearbook contains monthly and annual data on production,
supply, disappearance, prices, and costs for eggs, broilers,
other chickens, and turkeys.
Retail Scanner Prices for
Meat provides information about monthly average retail
price data for selected cuts of beef, pork, poultry, lamb,
and veal, based on electronic supermarket scanner data.
Foreign Agricultural Trade of
the United States (FATUS) provides U.S. agricultural
exports and imports, volume and value, by country, by
commodity, and by calendar year, fiscal year, and month,
for varying periods, such as 1935 to the present or 1989
to the present. Updated monthly or annually.
Related Briefing Rooms
Animal Production
and Marketing Issues
Agricultural Baseline Projections
Farm Income and Costs
Farm Structure
Farm and Commodity Policy
U.S. Agricultural Trade
Related Links
Further information on the poultry
and egg industries is available from other USDA agencies.
Maps and Images Gallery
View a map from the 2002 Census of Agriculture illustrating the value of poultry and eggs as a percent of agricultural products sales in 2002.
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