Gitnux/Report 2026

Poultry Farming Industry Statistics

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Poultry Farming Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Before any source is gathered, an editor locks the question, what qualifies, and how the piece will be judged.

02Source Research

Search agents collect the source set and pull each data point out with its provenance attached.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The poultry farming industry at a glance

The U.S. poultry industry generated $81.7 billion in sales in 2025, with broilers contributing $44.6 billion and eggs $31.5 billion amid strong consumption and ongoing avian-influenza risk.

$81.7B[67]
Total sector sales, 2025
9.40B[67]
Broilers produced, 2025
105B[67]
Eggs produced, 2025
51.5%[26]
Top three broiler share, 2024
Market size
U.S. poultry-sector sales reached $81.7 billion in 2025, up from $70.3 billion in 2024. Broilers represented $44.6 billion, eggs $31.5 billion, turkeys $5.6 billion, and other chickens about $6.9 million.[67][20]
Forecast & CAGR
USDA projected table-egg production at 7,851 million dozen in 2026 and 8,010 million dozen in 2027, implying an approximately 1.0% compound annual growth rate from 2026 to 2027. The 2026 projection was 4.7% above 2025 production.[20]
Market share & regions
The United States exported 13.9% of domestic broiler production in 2025, while 8.7% of turkey-meat production and 2.3% of egg production were exported. Mexico was the most significant foreign market for U.S. broiler meat, and global poultry production is concentrated in Asia and the Americas.[20][100]
Segmentation
The U.S. sector is divided primarily into broilers, eggs, turkeys, and other chickens. In 2025, broilers accounted for 54.6% of poultry-sector value, eggs for approximately 38.6%, turkeys for 6.8%, and other chickens for less than 1%.[20][67]
Key players & concentration
The three largest U.S. broiler producers—Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, and Wayne-Sanderson Farms—accounted for 51.5% of ready-to-cook broiler volume in 2024. The ten largest producers accounted for approximately 82.8%, indicating a concentrated, vertically integrated processing market.[26][101]
Pricing
The national composite wholesale whole-broiler price averaged 116.98 cents per pound in August 2026, down 1.4 cents from July. USDA reported that benchmark broiler prices in 2025 were about 5 cents per pound below 2024, while annual average wholesale table-egg prices increased in both 2024 and 2025.[20]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Demand for boneless chicken supported broiler output in 2025, while foodservice demand and expanded consumption continued to favor chicken. Key challenges include highly pathogenic avian influenza, feed-cost volatility, export-market conditions, and disease-related flock losses; USDA projected 2026 broiler consumption at 106.6 pounds per person on a retail basis.[26][20]
Consumer behavior & competition
Broiler meat availability was projected at 102.7 pounds per person in 2025, making it the most-consumed animal product in the United States. Competition centers on price, convenience, boneless and skinless cuts, foodservice distribution, and differentiated claims such as organic, antibiotic-free, and cage-free eggs.[20][26]
Regulation
USDA APHIS requires a mandatory biosecurity audit before farms affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza can restock if they are seeking eligibility for indemnity. Federal poultry oversight also covers inspection, disease control, animal-health reporting, and food-safety requirements across farms, processors, and hatcheries.[17][102]
Latest news
USDA's September 2026 outlook raised projected 2026 table-egg production to 7,851 million dozen as the laying flock recovered; July 2026 production was 666.3 million dozen, up 4.7% year over year. The same outlook reported an August 2026 whole-broiler wholesale price of 116.98 cents per pound.[20]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Poultry Farming Industry

The leading companies in the poultry farming industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

MHP leads Gitnux's 2026 poultry farming ranking with an Overall score of 9.4, with $1.926 billion poultry and related revenue in 2025, driven by 23.6% growth. LDC is the runner-up at 8.8, with 123 European production sites, backed by its dedicated poultry division.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in integrated poultry production

    MHP

    UA

    Ranked #1 · 9.4 · Integrated poultry production

    Why we picked it: Integrated poultry production in Ukraine and Europe, with 2025 poultry revenue of $1.926 billion.

    See in ranking ↓Visit mhp.com.ua ↗

  2. #2 overall

    LDC

    FR

    Ranked #2 · 8.8 · Integrated poultry production

    Why we picked it: European poultry production and processing footprint defined by a dedicated poultry division and 123 sites.

    See in ranking ↓Visit ldc.fr ↗

  3. #3 overall

    JBS

    BR

    Ranked #3 · 8.8 · Integrated poultry production

    Why we picked it: Global poultry meat scale is tied to Seara and Pilgrim's, including a global positioning claim for Seara.

    See in ranking ↓Visit jbs.com.br ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. No other segment places in the top 5, so picks 2 and 3 follow rank.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the poultry farming industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

MHP

Integrated poultry production · UA

9.4
2

LDC

Integrated poultry production · FR

8.8
3

JBS

Integrated poultry production · BR

8.8
4

Wayne-Sanderson Farms

Integrated poultry production · US

8.7
5

Charoen Pokphand Foods

Integrated poultry production · TH

8.5
6

Japfa

Integrated poultry and livestock, Southeast Asia · SG

8.1
7

Suguna Foods

Integrated broiler production, India · IN

7.6
8

Perdue Farms

Family-owned poultry and agricultural production · US

7.5
9

Koch Foods

Integrated U.S. broiler production and processing · US

7.5
10

Mountaire Farms

Family-owned integrated U.S. chicken production · US

7.4

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the poultry farming industry. In Poultry Farming Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/poultry-farming-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

West Virginia average number of laying hens

West Virginia average number of laying hens grew from 1,232 1000 birds in 2018 to 1,233 1000 birds in 2023.

1,232 1000 birds
Start
+0.02%
CAGR · 5y
1,233 1000 birds
Projected
20182023
source-verifiednass.usda.gov2023

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Adoption metrics cover sensing, monitoring, and AI modules across farms, with deep-learning disease detection reporting over 90% accuracy through 2024.

AI in the poultry farming industry

  • 36% of large farms in Northern Ireland adopted at least one AI technology in 2022.[1]
  • 15% of large farms in Northern Ireland used robotics in 2022.[1]
  • 6 AI-powered modules were described in a poultry-farm intelligence platform covering monitoring, egg counting, forecasting and recommendations in 2025.[2]
  • 11% of medium-sized farms in Northern Ireland used precision-farming technology in 2022.[1]
  • 27% of large farms in Northern Ireland used precision-farming technology in 2022.[1]
  • Over 90% accuracy was reported for deep-learning models detecting poultry diseases and monitoring bird health in studies published through 2024.[3]

Automation in the poultry farming industry

  • 16% of more than 300 floor eggs tested with PoultryBot were missed completely in 2018.[4]
  • 85.2% of Tennessee broiler producers surveyed in 2024 had water meters.[5]
  • 25% of Tennessee broiler producers surveyed in 2024 used cameras.[5]
  • 37% of more than 300 floor eggs tested with PoultryBot were not collected successfully in 2018.[4]
  • 84% of U.S. broiler houses used integrated electronic controls in the USDA’s 2011 survey.[5]
  • 98.1% of Tennessee broiler producers surveyed in 2024 had temperature sensors.[5]

Digital Transformation in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 3.4% had very high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 2.1% in 2021.[6]
  • In the United States, 61% of farmers reported adopting digital agronomy technologies in 2024.[7]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 15.4% had high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 13.0% in 2021.[6]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 51.2% had very low digital intensity in 2023, down from 55.1% in 2021.[6]
  • Across the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem, 20% of companies had a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024.[6]

Technology Adoption in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • In Germany, 85.5% of surveyed farms used at least one digital technology in 2024–2025.[8]
  • In Chile, 12% of agricultural production units reported using a technological tool such as mobile applications, drones, or sensors in 2021.[8]
  • In Czechia, 30% of crop-production farmers used at least one precision-agriculture technology in 2023.[8]
  • In Canada, 84% of field-crop operations used GPS equipment in 2021.[8]
  • Across EU farms with utilised agricultural area, about 18% used some form of precision-farming technology or practice in 2023.[8]
  • Across EU farms, 43% had internet access, 11% used farm-management information systems, and 7% used robotics in 2023.[8]

Cloud Computing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 26% used cloud computing in 2023.[6]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 37% used cloud computing in 2024, up from 26% in 2023.[6]
  • Among EU large businesses, 78% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023, compared with 44% of SMEs.[9]
  • Across EU businesses, 45% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023.[9]

Big Data in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 17% used big-data technologies in 2023.[6]
  • In Germany, 5.0% of surveyed farms used artificial-intelligence or big-data technologies in 2024–2025.[8]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 13% used big-data technologies in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023.[6]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Analytics performance varies by deployment method, including edge-optimized disease monitoring at 89.74% accuracy in a 2026 study.

Business intelligence in the poultry farming industry

  • 3% of farmers in Northern Ireland adopted visual analytics during 2019–2020.[1]
  • 3% of farmers in Northern Ireland adopted machine-learning programmes during 2019–2020.[1]
  • 27% of large farms in Northern Ireland adopted Internet-of-Things technologies during 2019–2020.[1]
  • 8% of farmers in Northern Ireland adopted some form of artificial-intelligence technology during 2019–2020.[1]
  • 21% of large farms in Northern Ireland adopted data-capture techniques during 2019–2020.[1]
  • 14% of farmers in Northern Ireland used Internet-of-Things technology during 2019–2020.[1]

Data analytics in the poultry farming industry

  • 26% of the U.S. pullet population was represented in the 2010 egg-production dataset used for life-cycle and performance analytics.[10]
  • 2 times faster inference was achieved by an optimized video-analytics pipeline for poultry-welfare monitoring in a 2025 case study.[2]
  • 87% area under the curve was achieved by a machine-learning classifier monitoring mortality events in floor-raised broilers in a 2024 study.[11]
  • 89.74% accuracy was achieved by an edge-optimized Swin-Tiny model for poultry-disease monitoring in a 2026 study.[2]
  • 64.86% accuracy was achieved by an isolated single-farm federated-learning baseline for poultry-disease detection in a 2026 study.[2]
  • 55% area under the precision-recall curve was achieved by the strongest classifier monitoring mortality events in floor-raised broilers in a 2024 study.[11]

Data Quality in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 42% of manufacturers reported having a process to verify operational data accuracy or quality in 2025, indicating that most lacked a formal validation process.[12]
  • 44% of manufacturers reported that AI projects had failed because of poor data quality in 2025, according to a survey of manufacturing organizations.[13]
  • 49% of manufacturing respondents rated their operational data as having low AI readiness in 2024, meaning it was insufficiently labeled, contextualized, governed or accessible.[12]
  • 41% of manufacturers said they distrusted the data used for supply-chain operations in 2025, reflecting persistent data-quality concerns in production and procurement.[13]
  • 30% of manufacturing respondents identified poor-quality data as one of their top three challenges when working with AI-related data in 2024.[12]

Data Governance in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 61% of manufacturers reported having a corporate-wide governance plan, strategy or formal guidelines for how data is collected, organized, accessed and used in 2024.[12]
  • 40% of food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their biggest barrier to moving faster in 2026.[14]
  • 69% of food and beverage companies still relied on spreadsheets and email for core operations in 2025, limiting standardized access and control of business data.[14]
  • 15% of manufacturers said their data strategy was entirely aligned with their overall business strategy in 2024, while 31% said it was very closely aligned.[12]
  • 61% of supply-management organizations reported having a dedicated data-governance function in 2024, while 90% agreed that data governance was necessary.[15]
  • 6% of food and beverage leaders reported fully integrated digital systems in 2025, despite 82% saying technology adoption was a strategic priority.[14]

KPIs in the poultry farming industry

  • Approximately 7% mortality is an expected commercial-layer performance KPI under optimal conditions.[16]
  • 0.18% weekly mortality is the upper normal-range KPI cited for older laying-hen flocks in the United States.[17]
  • 359 or more eggs per hen is an expected commercial-layer production KPI for a 50-week cycle.[16]
  • 1.93 kilograms of feed per egg is an expected feed-conversion KPI for commercial layers under optimal conditions.[16]
  • 95% peak production is an expected performance KPI for commercial laying hens under optimal conditions.[16]
  • 0.05% weekly mortality is the normal lower-range KPI for young to mid-age laying hens in the United States.[17]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

The growth picture ties consumption and export conditions to output values; U.S. poultry-sector sales rose to $81.7B in 2025.

Growth in the poultry farming industry

  • $9.9 billion was the value of Brazil’s chicken-meat exports in 2024.[18]
  • 14.972 million metric tons of chicken meat were produced in Brazil in 2024, compared with 14.833 million tons in 2023.[19]
  • $81.7 billion was the total value of U.S. poultry-sector sales in 2025, up from $70.3 billion in 2024.[20]
  • $31.5 billion was the value of U.S. egg production in 2025, up 49% from 2024.[20]
  • 15,000 thousand tons was Brazil’s chicken production in 2024, up from 14,900 thousand tons in 2023.[21]
  • 14.2 million metric tons of chicken meat were produced in Brazil in 2025, a 3.4% increase from 2024.[22]

Differentiation in the poultry farming industry

  • 9 million birds were covered by Perdue Farms’ 2024 video reviews for animal-welfare audits.[23]
  • 25.4 million organic layer hens were raised across 40 U.S. states as of December 31, 2021.[24]
  • 205,000 animal-welfare audit events were reviewed by Perdue Farms in 2024.[23]
  • 34% of poultry-production survey respondents said 100% of their production was antibiotic-free in 2024.[25]
  • 269 eggs per inhabitant was Brazil’s per-capita egg consumption in 2024.[18]
  • 100% of Fieldale Farms’ products were reported as antibiotic-free or No Antibiotics Ever in its 2024 survey response.[26]

Mergers and acquisitions in the poultry farming industry

  • $400 million was the approximate 2023 revenue of the product portfolio Phibro agreed to acquire from Zoetis in 2024.[27]
  • 80 countries were served by the poultry-related product portfolio acquired by Phibro from Zoetis in 2024.[27]
  • 100% of Georgia poultry producer Harrison Poultry was acquired by Wayne-Sanderson Farms in 2025.[28]
  • $4.5 billion was the reported value of the 2026 offer by JBS to acquire the remaining shares of Pilgrim’s Pride.[29]
  • €17.0 million was paid by Olam Agri to acquire 100% of West African poultry-feed supplier Avisen in 2024.[30]
  • 37 product lines were included in Phibro Animal Health’s acquisition of Zoetis’s medicated-feed-additive portfolio in 2024.[27]

Strategic partnerships in the poultry farming industry

  • 2001 was the year Vepymo began distributing Hendrix Genetics’ ISA, Bovans and Dekalb laying-hen brands before formalizing its strategic partnership with Maatman Opfok.[31]
  • 9 field-service representatives were active in Senegal’s poultry partnership program in 2024.[32]
  • 30% of Tyson Foods’ contract poultry farmers had been raising birds for the company for three generations.[33]
  • 5,175 U.S., Mexican and European poultry family farms partnered with Pilgrim’s in 2024.[34]
  • The Central Virginia Poultry Cooperative negotiated a 13-year contract with Dutch Country for egg processing and distribution.[35]
  • More than 6,700 family farms supplied poultry, hog and lamb products through Pilgrim’s partnerships in 2024.[34]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce capacity and retention are tracked with sector employment estimates, including 374,063 direct employees across the U.S. poultry and egg sector.

Hiring in the poultry farming industry

  • 19,500 workers were employed in Brazil’s Chapecó poultry and meat sector, according to a 2026 report.[36]
  • 633,025 induced jobs were associated with employee spending in the U.S. poultry industry.[37]
  • 39.3% of Canadian poultry and egg farms had both men and women operators, according to 2023–24 reporting.[38]
  • 374,063 direct employees were employed across the U.S. poultry and egg sector in the latest industry estimate.[37]
  • 31% of Canada’s poultry and egg industry workforce consisted of immigrants in 2023–24 reporting.[38]

Employee retention in the poultry farming industry

  • 35% of Canadian poultry and egg producers identified physically demanding work as a retention challenge.[39]
  • 2.0% was the involuntary turnover rate for Canadian poultry and egg producers in the cited labour-market study.[39]
  • 43.59% of poultry live-production professionals identified retirement as their most likely next move in a 2026 survey.[40]
  • 30% of Canadian poultry and egg producers identified insufficient wages and benefits as a retention challenge.[39]
  • 94.1% of U.S. live chicken farmers were retained by their companies in 2021.[41]

Remote Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. agriculture and food employers, 35% offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024, according to AgCareers’ industry hiring report.[42]
  • Across U.S. agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, about 12% of workers worked remotely during October 2023–September 2024, including hybrid and fully remote work.[41]
  • Across U.S. crop and animal production, 14.4% of workers worked remotely in 2021, compared with 14.7% in 2019 and 15.4% in 2020.[43]
  • Across U.S. accommodation and food services, 4.8% of workers worked remotely in 2021, up from 1.9% in 2019 and 5.3% in 2020.[43]

Hybrid Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed globally in 2024, respondents averaged 2.1 work-at-home days per week.[44]
  • 35% of U.S. agriculture and food employers offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024.[42]
  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed in 2024, 36% reported having no work-at-home days per week.[44]
  • Across employers discussed in a food-industry hybrid-work survey, about 90% had adopted some form of hybrid work, although the figure was not limited to agriculture and food production.[44]
  • 21% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working fully remotely in 2024.[45]

Upskilling in the poultry farming industry

  • 5 additional animal-care training sessions were conducted by trained trainers at Burnbrae Farms in 2024.[46]
  • 131 employees completed poultry-production and poultry-processing learnerships at Rainbow Chicken in FY2025.[47]
  • 13 animal-care training sessions were conducted by Burnbrae Farms’ animal-care specialist in 2024.[46]
  • 5,413 training hours were delivered through Avian Brands’ competence-development programmes in 2024.[47]
  • R19.2 million was Rainbow Chicken’s training spend for the designated FY2025 period.[48]

Employee Engagement in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 60.9% on enablement in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[49]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 59.3% on leadership in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[49]
  • At Europe Snacks, a multinational food manufacturer, employee engagement reached 79% across its international workforce and 88% in its UK business after a structured listening program.[49]
  • In the agriculture industry, employees averaged 7.68 out of 10 for engagement and an eNPS of +5 in CultureMonkey’s 2026 benchmark.[50]
  • Manufacture, distribution and storage organizations recorded an average employee-engagement score of 72.9% in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[49]

DEI in the poultry farming industry

  • 100% of broiler-sector respondents reported harassment and discrimination training for workers in the 2024 U.S. poultry sustainability framework data.[51]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Customer interest in smart planning appears in surveys, while trust levels remain limited; fewer than 25% of U.S. consumers completely trusted the industry on food safety and quality in 2025.

Customer experience in the poultry farming industry

  • 24 participants in U.S. poultry focus groups said they would pay an average of 37% more per pound for chicken with preferred ethical attributes in 2022.[52]
  • Fewer than 25% of U.S. consumers completely trusted the chicken industry on food safety and quality in 2025.[53]
  • 73% of U.S. fresh-chicken buyers were at least somewhat interested in smart technology for planning and shopping in 2025.[54]
  • Most of the 14 U.S. poultry focus-group participants specifying a premium capped the increase at $0.50 per pound in 2022.[52]
  • 14 U.S. poultry focus-group participants specified a premium amount, averaging $0.80 more per pound for chicken in 2022.[52]

Customer retention in the poultry farming industry

  • 1.7% of surveyed U.S. poultry growers left because of retirement in 2021.[41]
  • 6.3% of surveyed U.S. poultry growers left their company in 2021, including retirements and other departures.[41]
  • 2.2% of surveyed U.S. poultry growers left for all other recorded reasons in 2021.[41]
  • 94.1% of surveyed U.S. poultry growers were retained by their company in 2021.[41]
  • 70% of U.S. poultry growers had been with their current dealer for more than five years in 2021.[41]

Customer acquisition in the poultry farming industry

  • 16.61% of large broiler farms' sales moved directly from producer to consumer in the studied region in 2024.[55]
  • 30% of surveyed Kansas poultry producers identified farmers or retail markets as part of their customer base in 2023.[56]
  • 63.39% of small broiler farms' sales moved through producer-wholesaler-retailer-consumer channels in the studied region in 2024.[55]
  • 19.45% of small broiler farms' sales moved through producer-retailer-consumer channels in the studied region in 2024.[55]
  • 70% of surveyed Kansas poultry producers rated their website important or very important as a marketing channel in 2023.[56]

Customer loyalty in the poultry farming industry

  • 46% of U.S. consumers somewhat or completely trusted the poultry industry in a 2018 national survey.[57]
  • 59% of U.S. organic-chicken buyers were occasional buyers in the cited survey period.[58]
  • 59% of U.S. consumers with household incomes below $50,000 considered animal welfare important but would not pay more than $0.50 extra for welfare-certified chicken in 2018.[57]
  • $8.37 per pound was the estimated willingness to pay among habitual U.S. organic-chicken buyers for USDA-organic labeling in the cited study.[58]
  • 15% of U.S. consumers bought organic chicken always or often in the cited survey period.[58]

Lead generation in the poultry farming industry

  • 54% of surveyed Missouri niche meat and poultry businesses used signs or billboards to promote products and services in 2019.[59]
  • 71% of surveyed Missouri niche meat and poultry businesses used their own website to promote products and services in 2019.[59]
  • 20% of surveyed Missouri niche meat and poultry businesses used Twitter to promote products and services in 2019.[59]
  • 20% of surveyed Missouri niche meat and poultry businesses used direct mail to promote products and services in 2019.[59]
  • 7% of surveyed Missouri niche meat and poultry businesses used a third-party website to promote products and services in 2019.[59]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Marketing channels skew toward social media, where 70% of surveyed poultry producers rated it as important or very important for marketing.

Marketing in the poultry farming industry

  • 90% of surveyed poultry producers rated local newspaper advertising as unimportant or unused.[56]
  • 70% of surveyed poultry producers rated social media as important or very important for marketing.[56]
  • $70.3 billion was the value of U.S. poultry-sector sales in 2024.[20]
  • 21.3% was Tyson Foods’ share of U.S. broiler production volume in 2024.[60]
  • $81.7 billion was the value of U.S. poultry-sector sales in 2025.[20]

Digital marketing in the poultry farming industry

  • 73% of U.S. fresh-chicken buyers were at least somewhat interested in smart technology for meal planning and shopping in 2025.[54]
  • 625 U.S. adults aged 18–67 participated in the 2025 fresh-chicken digital-consumer survey.[54]
  • Nearly 25% of surveyed U.S. fresh-chicken buyers used smart appliances such as refrigerators for shopping or meal-planning tasks in 2025.[54]
  • 38% of U.S. raw-chicken buyers said organic chicken was worth paying more for in 2025.[61]
  • 42% of U.S. raw-chicken buyers said free-range chicken was worth paying more for in 2025.[61]

Branding in the poultry farming industry

  • 4.2% was Aldi’s brand share of U.S. egg-category sales in 2024.[62]
  • 20.6% was Walmart Great Value’s share of U.S. egg-category sales in 2024.[62]
  • 7.1% was Eggland’s Best’s share of U.S. egg-category sales in 2024.[62]
  • 69% of U.S. egg-category dollars went to private-label brands in 2024.[62]
  • 14.2 million U.S. households bought the leading tracked shell-egg brand in 2025.[63]

Social media in the poultry farming industry

  • 33.84% of surveyed poultry farmers in Delta State, Nigeria, used Google Meet in 2024.[64]
  • 36.50% of surveyed poultry farmers in Delta State, Nigeria, used Twitter in 2024.[64]
  • 66.92% of surveyed poultry farmers in Delta State, Nigeria, used YouTube in 2024.[64]
  • 4.18% of surveyed poultry farmers in Delta State, Nigeria, never used social media in 2024.[64]
  • 8.36% of surveyed poultry farmers in Delta State, Nigeria, used social media occasionally in 2024.[64]

Influencer Marketing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Food and drink influencer content generated 42.7 billion engagements globally in 2023.[65]
  • Food and drink influencer content involved 78,800 profiles globally in 2023, based on Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[65]
  • Food and drink influencer posts achieved a 1.19% average engagement rate globally in 2023.[65]
  • 11.5 million influencer posts covered food and drink globally in 2023, according to Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[65]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 392 billion impressions globally in 2023.[65]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operational throughput data includes processing outcomes such as 0.43% condemned broiler mass post-mortem in May 2025 and Campylobacter prevalence measures from USDA sampling.

Process optimization in the poultry farming industry

  • 81% of the modeled U.S. egg ration is corn.[20]
  • 26% of the modeled U.S. broiler ration is soybean meal.[20]
  • 70% of the modeled U.S. turkey ration is corn.[20]
  • 8.5 billion day-old meat utility chicks were produced from EU incubation in 2024, an 80.8% conversion rate.[9]
  • 10.5 billion eggs were placed in EU incubators for meat-type utility chicks in 2024.[9]

Operational efficiency in the poultry farming industry

  • 92.9% of U.S. ready-to-cook broiler output was marketed chilled in May 2025.[66]
  • 75.5% was the U.S. whole-bird yield from ready-to-cook broilers in May 2025.[66]
  • Approximately 320 federally inspected plants supplied U.S. poultry-slaughter data in the USDA survey framework.[67]
  • 0.43% of U.S. processed broiler mass was condemned post-mortem in May 2025.[66]
  • U.S. broiler-type chick hatchings in April 2025 were 24.6 million above the five-year average.[68]

Quality management in the poultry farming industry

  • 38% of surveyed establishments reported Campylobacter prevalence below 10% under USDA-FSIS sampling in 2021.[69]
  • 60% of surveyed establishments reported Campylobacter prevalence below 10% under internal sampling in 2021.[69]
  • 62% of surveyed U.S. broiler-processing establishments monitored for Campylobacter in the cited industry survey.[69]
  • 74% of surveyed U.S. broiler-processing establishments had a Campylobacter control program for chicken parts.[69]
  • 3.4% of chicken carcasses tested positive for detectable Salmonella at U.S. processing plants in the report covering data through March 2023.[69]

Supply chain in the poultry farming industry

  • 10.5 billion EU eggs entered incubation for meat-type utility chicks in 2024, creating a major hatchery input flow.[9]
  • 8.7% of U.S. domestic turkey-meat production was exported in 2025.[20]
  • $31.5 billion was the value of U.S. egg production in 2025.[20]
  • 8.5 billion EU day-old meat utility chicks emerged from incubation in 2024.[9]
  • 13.9% of U.S. domestic broiler production was exported in 2025.[20]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • About 12% of firms in the 11-country World Bank Firm-level Adoption of Technology sample outsourced at least one food-processing function, compared with about 18% in apparel.[70]
  • 85% of Canadian food and beverage companies processed or manufactured products internally in 2020, while 13% both produced internally and outsourced production.[71]
  • 49% of U.S. growers surveyed outsourced at least some farm work to third-party service providers in 2022, with spraying services the most commonly outsourced activity.[72]
  • 2% of Canadian food and beverage companies outsourced production entirely to third-party manufacturers in 2020.[71]
  • 19% of surveyed Queensland food-processing businesses contracted work out in 2010, while 28% contracted work in and 15% did both.[73]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Pricing and farm income indicators move together with production costs and output value; the national composite wholesale whole-broiler price averaged 116.98 cents per pound in August 2026.

Pricing strategy in the poultry farming industry

  • 2.6% of U.S. domestic egg production, including hatching and table eggs, was exported in 2024.[20]
  • 9.5% of U.S. domestic turkey-meat production was exported in 2024.[20]
  • 5.8% was the increase in U.S. broiler production value from 2023 to 2024.[20]
  • $21.0 billion was the value of U.S. egg production in 2024, up 17.7% from 2023.[20]
  • $3.7 billion was the value of U.S. turkey production in 2024, down from $6.7 billion in 2023.[20]

Cost reduction in the poultry farming industry

  • 10.3% was the increase in U.S. table-egg production from 2015 to 2024.[20]
  • $3.6 billion was spent on other production expenses by specialized U.S. poultry and egg farms in 2022.[74]
  • $9.8 billion was spent on livestock and poultry purchases by specialized U.S. poultry and egg farms in 2022.[74]
  • $1.2 billion was spent on repairs and supplies by specialized U.S. poultry and egg farms in 2022.[74]
  • 17.3% was the increase in U.S. broiler production from 2015 to 2024, indicating expanded output over the period.[20]

Profitability in the poultry farming industry

  • $81.7 billion was the value of U.S. poultry and egg receipts in 2024, equal to 26.9% of animal-product receipts.[20]
  • $148,600 was the forecast dollar decrease in average net cash farm income for U.S. poultry-and-egg farm businesses from 2025 to 2026.[20]
  • 17.7% was the increase in U.S. egg-production value from 2023 to 2024.[20]
  • -$3,400 was the forecast average net cash farm income for U.S. farm businesses specializing in poultry and eggs in 2026.[20]
  • -$2,623 was the median farm income of U.S. poultry-specialized farm households in 2023.[20]

Financial planning in the poultry farming industry

  • 275 growers and industry personnel were trained to use the Broiler Buddy poultry financial-management tool by early 2025.[75]
  • 94 acres was the average land area of specialized U.S. poultry and egg farms in 2022.[74]
  • 85% of specialized U.S. poultry and egg farms had internet access in 2022.[74]
  • 9.2 billion broiler and other meat-type chickens were sold in the United States in 2022.[74]
  • 168,048 U.S. farms sold poultry and eggs in 2022.[74]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Equipment and production-stage volumes show where integration concentrates, including 9.33 billion broilers produced in the United States in 2024.

Product development in the poultry farming industry

  • 15% of Big Dutchman’s product-group turnover came from pig equipment in 2024, alongside its poultry product-development activities.[76]
  • 71% of Big Dutchman’s turnover came from poultry and egg activities in 2024, according to its product-group breakdown.[76]
  • More than 500 patents were held by Big Dutchman, a poultry and livestock equipment developer.[77]
  • 18% of Big Dutchman’s global turnover came from Europe excluding Germany in 2024, indicating the geographic reach of its poultry-equipment product portfolio.[76]
  • More than 40% of global turkey parent stock shipped to third parties was supplied by Hendrix Genetics’ turkey breeding business.[78]

Product lifecycle in the poultry farming industry

  • 304.111 million U.S. table-egg layers were recorded in August 2024.[67]
  • 9.33 billion broilers were produced in the United States in 2024, representing the primary production stage of the poultry product lifecycle.[67]
  • 6.58 billion pounds was total U.S. turkey production in 2024.[67]
  • 2.548 billion total U.S. chicks were hatched in the four weeks ending August 31, 2024, including broiler-type and egg-type chicks.[67]
  • 65.316 million U.S. hatching-egg layers were recorded in August 2024, supporting the next generation of poultry production.[67]

After-sales in the poultry farming industry

  • 5% of Big Dutchman’s global turnover came from the Middle East and Africa in 2024, representing customers served by its international agency network.[76]
  • More than 30 offices and locations were operated by Big Dutchman in 2024 to support customers using its poultry equipment.[77]
  • 7% of Big Dutchman’s global turnover came from Asia and India in 2024, where customer support covered poultry and other livestock systems.[76]
  • More than 200 agencies in 80 countries represented Big Dutchman in 2024, extending local sales and service coverage for poultry producers.[77]
  • 1.5 billion euros was Big Dutchman’s 2024 turnover from products and services for poultry, egg, pig and related agricultural operations.[77]

Value proposition in the poultry farming industry

  • 3.69 billion dollars was the value of U.S. turkey production in 2024.[67]
  • 45.4 billion dollars was the value of U.S. broiler production in 2024.[67]
  • 168,048 U.S. farms reported poultry and egg sales in 2022, up 2.4% from 164,099 farms in 2017.[74]
  • 31.5 billion dollars was the value of U.S. egg production in 2025, up from 21.2 billion dollars in 2024.[20]
  • 5.6 billion dollars was the value of U.S. turkey production in 2025, compared with 3.7 billion dollars in 2024.[20]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability reporting includes emissions, energy, and water-use intensity, with Tyson Foods reporting 4.00 million metric tonnes of global Scope 1 greenhouse-gas emissions in fiscal 2025.

Sustainability in the poultry farming industry

  • 10% was the approximate decrease in the environmental footprint of Canadian chicken feed between 2016 and 2023.[79]
  • 2% of Pilgrim’s global water withdrawals came from surface water in 2024.[34]
  • 1.3% was Pilgrim’s global increase in water-use intensity between 2019 and 2024.[34]
  • 14.8 billion gallons was Pilgrim’s total global water use in 2024.[34]
  • 21% of Pilgrim’s global water withdrawals came from groundwater in 2024.[34]

ESG in the poultry farming industry

  • 6% was Pilgrim’s reduction in energy-use intensity from 2019 to 2024.[34]
  • 4.00 million metric tonnes were Tyson Foods’ global Scope 1 greenhouse-gas emissions in fiscal 2025.[80]
  • 20% of Tyson Foods’ U.S. water withdrawals came from wells in fiscal 2025.[80]
  • 2.69 pounds per 100 pounds of finished product was Tyson Foods’ landfill-waste intensity in fiscal 2022.[80]
  • 62.41 million MMBtu was Tyson Foods’ total energy use in fiscal 2025.[80]

Ethics in the poultry farming industry

  • 0.22% was the share of bird-days treated with antibiotics on British laying-hen farms represented by BEIC in 2023.[81]
  • Approximately 140 million laying hens were represented in the U.S. antibiotic-use dataset covering 2016–2024.[37]
  • 87% of annual U.S. chicken production was represented in the 2024 poultry antibiotic-use dataset.[37]
  • More than 8 billion U.S. broiler chickens were represented in the antibiotic-use dataset covering 2013–2024.[37]
  • 72% of annual U.S. turkey production was represented in the 2024 poultry antibiotic-use dataset.[37]

CSR in the poultry farming industry

  • Nearly 5% was the year-over-year water-use reduction at Pilgrim’s Cold Spring, Minnesota, facility in 2023.[82]
  • 38 facilities had third-party ISO 14001 certification at Pilgrim’s in 2024, supporting environmental accountability across operations.[34]
  • 5.8 million fertile eggs per week was the cumulative loading capacity of six Pilgrim’s Mexico hatcheries using heating-efficiency improvements.[82]
  • 7.4 billion pounds of broiler exports were reported by the U.S. industry in 2020.[54]
  • 99% was the greenhouse-gas reduction reported for the 2025 Tyson Foods and Perdue Foods wastewater projects recognized by USPOULTRY.[53]

Circular economy in the poultry farming industry

  • 1.5% of Australian poultry manure in the relevant management category was assigned to anaerobic digesters or covered ponds in the 2020–2024 inventory period.[83]
  • 11.2 tonnes per month was the poultry-litter throughput of the farm-scale anaerobic-digestion system evaluated in the nutrient-capture study.[11]
  • 66,800 metric tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent were reduced annually by U.S. poultry-manure anaerobic-digestion systems as of 2021.[84]
  • 1.1 million trees was the EPA’s estimated annual tree-planting equivalent of the greenhouse-gas reductions from U.S. poultry-manure digesters in 2021.[84]
  • 24% of Australian poultry manure in the relevant housing-management category was assigned to passive-windrow composting in the 2020–2024 inventory period.[83]

Carbon footprint in the poultry farming industry

  • 19,268,640 metric tonnes were Pilgrim’s reported Scope 3 emissions in 2023.[34]
  • 1,576,550 metric tonnes of market-based Scope 1 and 2 emissions were reported by Pilgrim’s globally in 2024.[34]
  • 18.8% was Pilgrim’s global reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse-gas emissions from 2019 to 2024.[34]
  • 23.0% was Pilgrim’s global reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse-gas emissions intensity from 2019 to 2024.[34]
  • 2,032,021 metric tonnes were Pilgrim’s Scope 3 emissions from use of sold products in 2023.[34]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Trade concentration is reflected in export shares, including the United States exporting 13.9% of domestic broiler production in 2025.

Globalization in the poultry farming industry

  • Türkiye was forecast to produce 2.797 million metric tons of chicken meat in 2025.[92]
  • The United States was forecast to export 3.044 million metric tons of chicken meat in 2025, ranking second globally.[92]
  • Brazil was forecast to export 4.97 million metric tons of chicken meat in 2025, ranking first globally.[92]
  • Brazil accounted for 14% of global chicken meat production in 2024, according to USDA-based reporting.[36]
  • The European Union was forecast to export 1.735 million metric tons of chicken meat in 2025.[92]

Cultural adaptation in the poultry farming industry

  • 30% of Americans familiar with halal reported regularly consuming halal-certified foods.[93]
  • 2% of UK broilers entered the non-stunned halal market in 2022.[94]
  • 62% of Americans familiar with halal were more likely to buy halal-certified foods when the label also stated that animals were raised without antibiotics.[93]
  • 86% of Muslim Americans familiar with halal reported consuming halal-certified foods regularly.[93]
  • 11% of UK broilers entered the stunned halal market in 2022.[94]

Supplier management in the poultry farming industry

  • 65.7% of U.S. poultry operations that considered any part of their operation organic were certified organic in the cited USDA survey.[17]
  • 52% of U.S. broiler farms reported having only one or two integrators in their local areas in USDA-referenced data.[95]
  • 561,000 bushels of wheat were purchased by Delmarva chicken companies for feed in 2024.[96]
  • 2,000 farm partners supplied Wayne-Sanderson Farms in its 2024 reporting year.[28]
  • 41 million bushels of soybeans were purchased by Delmarva chicken companies for feed in 2024.[96]

Stakeholder management in the poultry farming industry

  • 42,000 Tyson U.S. employees were reported as immigrants in the cited 2024 disclosure.[21]
  • 33,000 Tyson U.S. employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements according to the company ecosystem disclosure.[97]
  • 17,000 birds were affected by an avian-flu outbreak at a Brazilian farm reported in May 2025.[36]
  • 35.4% of Pilgrim’s employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements as of December 29, 2024.[98]
  • 33% of Tyson’s U.S. meat-processing workforce was reported as immigrant workers in a 2024 company-related disclosure.[21]

Distribution channels in the poultry farming industry

  • $1.944 billion in Tyson chicken sales came through industrial and other customers in fiscal 2024.[99]
  • 10.3% of Pilgrim’s U.S. chicken and pork sales were prepared-foods sales in 2024.[21]
  • 65.8% of Pilgrim’s Europe chicken and pork sales were prepared-foods sales in 2024.[21]
  • $6.432 billion in Tyson chicken sales came through foodservice channels in fiscal 2024.[99]
  • $957 million in Tyson chicken sales came through international channels in fiscal 2024.[99]

Key questions about the poultry farming industry

What is the current market size for U.S. poultry farming?
The U.S. poultry industry generated $81.7 billion in sales in 2025. Broilers contributed $44.6 billion and eggs $31.5 billion.
How fast is production growing heading into 2026?
USDA projected 2026 table-egg production at 7,851 million dozen, which is 4.7% above 2025 production. The implied CAGR from 2026 to 2027 is approximately 1.0%.
Which companies lead the poultry farming industry?
MHP leads Gitnux's 2026 poultry farming ranking with an Overall score of 9.4, with $1.926 billion poultry and related revenue in 2025, driven by 23.6% growth. LDC is the runner-up at 8.8, with 123 European production sites, backed by its dedicated poultry division.
Which technology shifts are showing traction on farms?
Adoption data includes water meters (85.2%) and temperature sensors (98.1%) among Tennessee broiler producers surveyed in 2024. Robotics use is reported at 15% for large farms in Northern Ireland in 2022.
How concentrated is the broiler production market structure?
The top three broiler producers accounted for 51.5% of ready-to-cook broiler volume in 2024. The ten largest producers accounted for approximately 82.8%.
What is the central operational risk for poultry farming in the U.S.?
Highly pathogenic avian influenza remains the central risk, with ongoing avian-influenza risk cited alongside 2025 industry sales. USDA also requires a mandatory biosecurity audit before affected farms can restock if seeking eligibility for indemnity.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Poultry Farming Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/poultry-farming-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Poultry Farming Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/poultry-farming-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Poultry Farming Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/poultry-farming-industry-statistics.

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