I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

USDA Confirms

Highly Pathogenic

H7 AI Commercial

Flock in Tennessee

1

Poultry Operators

Urged to Review

Biosecurity Plans

2

Summer is Coming -

Prepare Broiler

Houses Now

4

Operation to Offer

Solution for Utilizing

Region’s Litter

7

Chicken Industry, A

Mainstay of

Delmarva’s Economy,

Shows Sensible

Growth

8

Commercial Poultry N E W S L E T T E R S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 2

USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic H7 Avian

Influenza in a Commercial Flock in

Lincoln County, Tennessee

The University of Maryland is an

Equal Opportunity Employer and

Equal Access Program

March 5, 2017, Washington – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of

highly pathogenic H7 avian influenza (HPAI) of North American wild bird lineage in a

commercial chicken breeder flock in Lincoln County, Tennessee. This is the first

confirmed case of HPAI in commercial poultry in the United States this year. The flock

of 73,500 is located within the Mississippi flyway. Samples from the affected flock,

which experienced increased mortality, were tested at Tennessee’s Kord Animal Health

Diagnostic Laboratory and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services

Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. Virus isolation is ongoing, and NVSL expects to

characterize the neuraminidase protein, or “N-type”, of the virus within 48 hours.

APHIS is working closely with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture on a joint

incident response. State officials quarantined the affected premises and birds on the

property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock

will not enter the food system.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is working directly with poultry workers at

the affected facility to ensure that they are taking the proper precautions to prevent

illness and contain disease spread. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of

poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses.

To help combat A.I., please take advantage of the University of Maryland

Poultry Extension’s BIOSECURITY VIDEOS:

Commercial Poultry Growers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTkfTdz32EU

Technical Service Personnel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd10vQuT6KM

Backyard Flock Owners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFEYn9V0d7s

These videos are a major component of our project, “Preventing

Outbreaks of Avian Influenza Through Timely Dissemination

of Practical Science-Based Information”, which was funded in

part by a USDA-NIFA Smith-Lever Special Needs grant designed

to enhance knowledge and understanding of avian influenza and

promote biosecurity awareness and preventive practices.

P A G E 2

C O M M E R C I A L P O U L T R Y

USDA Confirms Avian Influenza (continued)

As part of existing avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners are working jointly on additional

surveillance and testing in the nearby area. The United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the

world, and USDA is working with its partners to actively look for the disease in commercial poultry operations,

live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.

USDA will be informing the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as well as international trading partners

of this finding. USDA also continues to communicate with trading partners to encourage adherence to OIE

standards and minimize trade impacts. OIE trade guidelines call on countries to base trade restrictions on sound

science and, whenever possible, limit restrictions to those animals and animal products within a defined region that

pose a risk of spreading disease of concern.

These virus strains can travel in wild birds without them appearing

sick. People should avoid contact with sick/dead poultry or

wildlife. If contact occurs, wash your hands with soap and water

and change clothing before having any contact with healthy

domestic poultry and birds.

All bird owners, whether commercial producers or backyard

enthusiasts, should continue to practice good biosecurity, prevent

contact between their birds and wild birds, and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to State/Federal officials,

either through their state veterinarian or through USDA’s toll-free number at 1-866-536-7593. Additional

information on biosecurity for can be found at www.aphis.usda.gov/animalhealth/defendtheflock

Additional background

Avian influenza (AI) is caused by an influenza type A virus which can infect poultry (such as chickens, turkeys,

pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese and guinea fowl) and is carried by free flying waterfowl such as ducks,

geese and shorebirds. AI viruses are classified by a combination of two groups of proteins: hemagglutinin or “H”

proteins, of which there are 16 (H1–H16), and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, of which there are 9 (N1–N9).

Many different combinations of “H” and “N” proteins are possible. Each combination is considered a different

subtype, and can be further broken down into different strains. AI viruses are further classified by their

pathogenicity (low or high)— the ability of a particular virus strain to produce disease in domestic chickens.

(March 14, 2017) Regional agriculture officials urged poultry producers last week to reexamine their

biosecurity plans and remain vigilant after highly pathogenic avian influenza was discovered in a commercial

chicken breeder flock in central Tennessee — the first outbreak of the dreaded virus in the nation this year.

Tennessee officials quarantined the operation and culled its 73,500-bird flock after the March 5 outbreak to

prevent the virus from spreading beyond the Lincoln County farm. USDA officials have determined the strain

of the virus is from a North American wild bird lineage.

Poultry Operators Urged to Review Biosecurity Plans By Jonathan Cribbs, Editor Associate, The Mid-Atlantic Poultry Farmer

For current status of A.I. in Maryland, see the Bird Flu Blog at:

http://news.maryland.gov/mda/bird-flu-blog/

and follow @MdBirdFlu on Twitter. Also, see the Bird Flu Press Kit at:

http://mda.maryland.gov/Pages/Bird-Flu-Press-Kit.aspx

P A G E 3 Poultry Operators Urged to Review Biosecurity Plans (continued)

C O M M E R C I A L P O U L T R Y

“This outbreak in Tennessee is a stark reminder that HPAI can hit anywhere, anytime, and we need to make

sure we are prepared for a possible outbreak here in Maryland,” Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe

Bartenfelder said in a statement. “I urge all of our poultry owners — from large commercial operations to

small backyard flocks — to remain vigilant in your biosecurity practices and record-keeping.”

The Tennessee farm is located within the Mississippi flyway, one of four bird migratory patterns that traverse

the country from north to south.

The Delmarva region is in the Atlantic flyway, which, so far, has escaped any known incidence of the virus in

poultry, though it ravaged Midwestern poultry operations in 2015. Roughly 48 million birds were culled, and

the outbreak cost farmers $2 billion in management costs and lost exports. Since the Tennessee outbreak,

several countries, including Japan and South Korea, have restricted poultry imports from the state.

“It is each grower’s responsibility to prevent the introduction of the potentially deadly virus into chicken

houses,” the Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc. said in a statement last week. “Growers are the first line of

defense. Growers should not count on others to protect their farms and their families’ financial futures.”

Among the recommendations the trade organization offered to farmers:

• Limit visitors on chicken farms and minimize foot traffic, especially in the chicken houses;

• Block driveways and lock chicken house doors to discourage or prevent visitors;

• Avoid contact with wild and domestic fowl;

• Tighten chicken houses to keep free flying birds out of the houses;

• Avoid the sharing of farm equipment and farm personnel;

• Have a clean and functioning footbath at each entrance to the chicken house;

• Ensure that all visitors or personnel have disinfected footwear or new footwear before entering a house;

• Change clothes and footwear after visiting community gathering sites where other

growers might congregate;

• Have chicken house-only footwear, one pair for each house;

• Keep a visitors’ log to record who has been on the farm and when;

• Make sure feed and water sources are covered and free of contaminants, limiting

the attraction of wild fowl and pests;

• Post signs to discourage and/or prevent unnecessary visitors;

• Employ effective pest and wild bird management practices;

• Keep four-legged creatures out of houses;

• Adequately train whomever has access to the farm and chicken houses, including family members, on biose-

curity and disease prevention;

• Avoid entering the houses after hunting without first cleaning and changing clothes and footwear;

• Avoid all contact with ducks and geese and other wild waterfowl. They are known carriers of the virus.

• Make sure necessary visitors such as delivery and repair personnel are practicing good biosecurity that

might include wearing disposable footwear and clothing. If they are not meeting growers’ expectations, they

should be kept off of chicken farms. (Watch UMD’s Biosecurity video for Technical Personnel from Page 1.)

In Delaware, additional information about avian influenza can be found at http://dda.delaware.gov/poultryah/

avianinfluenza.shtml. In Maryland, it can be found at http://mda.maryland.gov/Pages/AvianFlu.aspx.

Further information on biosecurity measures can be found on this USDA website: www.aphis.usda.gov/

animalhealth/defendtheflock.

P A G E 4

Summer is Coming - Prepare Broiler Houses Now Tom Tabler, Jessica Wells, and Haitham M. Yakout, Mississippi State University Extension Service.

The combination of summer temperatures and humidity in Mississippi can be dangerous for poultry flocks in

the state. Poultry growers should plan ahead for the long, hot Mississippi summers.

There are a number of steps growers can take to prepare for the hot weather. Most of these steps work better

(for both you and your birds) if done before July or August. Some may require a small expense (such as new

fan belts), but most only require an investment in time. Certain steps are time-consuming or require the fans

not to be running. Therefore, they must be done before hot weather arrives and while birds are still small, or in

between flocks. Plan ahead and do preventive maintenance projects EARLY. There will be plenty of other

issues that require your immediate attention on a daily basis once hot weather arrives.

Air Speed is Critical

The growing US demand for large broilers (8½-to 9½-pound range) often makes minimizing heat stress on

these larger birds the top priority for broiler growers throughout the summer per iod. Broiler chickens

today do not perform well in heat-stress situations. Modern, tunnel-ventilated broiler houses will provide

adequate house conditions if they are well maintained and properly managed. However, the 400 ft/min air

speed down the house that was fine just a few years ago is no longer sufficient. Many modern tunnel houses

are capable of a minimum 600–700 ft/min (some may manage 800–1,000 ft/min) ,and all of it is needed with

today’s larger broilers. Fans, and plenty of them, are what allow600–700 ft/min (or greater) air speed. They

are the first line of defense against higher summer temperatures. However, to generate an air velocity of 600

ft/min, the number of tunnel fans required depends on their air-moving capacity at a static pressure of 0.10

inch (Czarick, 2007a). Determining the number of fans based on a lower static pressure will reduce the

available air speed. In addition, any fan is only as good as its belt. Loose belts cannot spin the blades at the

maximum revolutions per minute and add wear to the pulley. In most situations, fan belts should be replaced

once a year; replace them more often if they r ide low in the pulley (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Fan belts should r ide flush with or slightly Figure 2. Belt-drive fans have bearings and grease

above the top of the pulley. fittings that need grease twice a year.

Fan blades and shutters also must be kept clean. Numerous field studies indicate that dirty shutters can reduce

airflow by as much as 30 percent. Also, don’t forget the bear ings. A dry bear ing requires more power to

turn. This results in a loss of fan efficiency and shortens the life of the bearing. Lubricate bearings twice per

year (spring and fall) if they have a grease fitting and are not sealed. Some bearings are sealed and do not

require lubrication. However, you should remove the protective guard or shutter and use a grease gun to

manually grease any bearings and grease fittings (Figure 2) twice a year .

C O M M E R C I A L P O U L T R Y

Summer is Coming… (continued) P A G E 5

Especially when growing larger birds, having enough air speed is critical. But just as important is having a

uniform air speed from side-to-side and end-to-end of the house. Only about a third or more of your birds

will receive adequate cooling if you have 700 ft/min air speed down the center of the house but only 300–400

ft/min near the side wall. It is better to have 600 ft/min throughout the house than to have 750 ft/min in the

center and 350 ft/min near the sidewalls.

Smooth, solid sidewalls work better than curtain-sided houses or solid wall houses with exposed posts.

Smooth, solid sidewall houses usually have less than 20 percent variation in air velocity between the

sidewalls and the center of the house, whereas most curtain-sided houses have variations in air velocities

ranging from 30 to 50 percent (Czarick, 2007a). This is because exposed posts create an uneven surface that

tends to force air off the sidewall and greatly reduce air velocity along the walls. Wall-mounted space

furnaces will have the same effect. Anything other than a smooth wall surface will significantly reduce air

speed over birds near the sidewalls.

Check the Cool Cell System

Uniform air speed is critical, but during extremely hot weather, you need a second line of defense: the cool

cell system. To provide the most benefit, you must maximize the amount of wetted pad surface the air passes

through. Dry pad area allows hot air to pass directly into the house and reduces the cooling effect of the

wetted pad area (Donald et al., 2002).

Preventive maintenance on the pad system is just as important as fan maintenance. Clogged pads

force the fans to work harder, reduce the wind-chill effect, and reduce cooling. The flutes should be free of

dust, cobwebs, and especially mineral deposits. Mineral buildup over time can eventually ruin a set of pads,

and the only solution will be to replace them (Figure 3). Once the pad is

wet, it needs to stay wet throughout the day until evaporative cooling is

no longer needed at night. Allowing the pad to dry out too often

decreases the cooling effect and allows for increased mineral deposition

on the pads as the water evaporates and minerals are left behind.

Make sure the holes in the distribution header pipe along the top of the

pads remain free of debris. Regularly check them to keep them clean

and open. Flush the distribution line before charging the system in the

spring to remove any dirt or debris that may have accumulated over the

winter. The entire pad should get wet when the distribution header pipe

is operated. Dry streaks on the pad indicate a problem with uniform

water distribution. Dry streaks also mean hot air is entering the house

without being cooled, decreasing the effectiveness of the cool cell system. Direct sunlight on the pads and

distribution line may result in excess algae growth that can plug the distribution holes or the pads. Houses

today are often built with roof overhangs that cover the pads and distribution system to help reduce algae

growth. Use filters on the pad system to help minimize debris that can clog the holes in the header pipe.

Regularly perform preventive maintenance on these filters. The flutes (holes) in the pads must be kept open.

Flutes in the pads are notorious for collecting dust and cobwebs. Don’t make matters worse by blowing grass

clippings from your mower or brush hog toward the pads. Always aim the discharge away from the pads to

keep clippings from being sucked into the flutes and restricting airflow.

Keeping the flutes open is sometimes just a matter of spraying water on them with a garden hose. Do not use

bleach or any product containing chlor ine to clean the pads. Strong chlor ine solutions will destroy the

cellulose material that most pads are made of. Do not use high pressure for cleaning because it will likely

damage the pads. For extremely dirty pads, commercial products can help cut and loosen dirt. These are

applied with a three-gallon pump-up garden sprayer. However, always check the label to make sure the

Figure 3. Mineral buildup clogs cool cell pads.

C O M M E R C I A L P O U L T R Y

Summer is Coming… (continued) P A G E 6

Heat Dissipation and Static Pressure

Birds must be able to dissipate about 12 Btu of heat per hour per pound of body weight if they are to maintain

their comfort level (Donald et al., 2012). As the air temperature near the bird increases above what is

comfortable, its ability to dissipate heat from its body surface is decreased, forcing the bird to rely more on

panting to cool itself. Panting should be avoided as much as possible. Typically, at a comfortable temperature,

birds will lose about 5 Btu of heat per pound per hour from their body surface and about 7 Btu through

breathing. Birds will increase their breathing rate and star t panting as the air temperature r ises

above what is comfortable. If the air temperature reaches such a high level that panting can no longer maintain

a normal body temperature, the bird’s internal body temperature will rise. This results in severe heat stress and

will lead to mortality if the situation cannot be corrected with supplemental cooling (Donald et al., 2012).

It’s important to know what the static pressure is in the house with all the tunnel fans running. This is

especially true in steel truss or high ceiling houses that have had baffle

curtains installed to improve the air velocity. The static pressure

should never be more than 0.12 inch (Czar ick, 2007b). If it is, the

fans have to work too hard. Many controllers today can monitor static

pressure at least in one location. However, you may not know what the

pressure is at various locations down the house.

It’s important to know the pressure 20–30 feet past the pads and 20–30

feet past the last baffle curtain. The reading near the last baffle curtain

will likely be higher, but it shouldn’t be too much higher. If you have a

reading of 0.04 inch near the pads and 0.10–0.12 inch near the last

baffle curtain, it is possible the baffle curtains are too low and need to

be raised a foot or so. This should increase air velocity down the house

and reduce the static pressure, relieving some of the workload on the

fans and improving house conditions.

If the pressure is high at or near the pads, you have other serious problems. The pads may be dirty or clogged

with mineral deposits. You will need a magnehelic pressure gauge (Figure 4) and some plastic tubing to

measure static pressure in various locations throughout the house. These can usually be purchased for less than

$100, or your service tech may carry such items.

Take Advantage of Nighttime Cooling

Don’t overlook the potential for nighttime cooling. Running fewer fans at night may save a little electricity,

but it is a lost cooling opportunity and could be costing you significant performance losses. One reason for this

is relative humidity. Humidity is much higher at night (usually between 80 and 95 percent). However, even at

night, regardless of air temperature, birds rely on evaporation of water off their respiratory system to cool

themselves.

High humidity makes it much more difficult for the bird to accomplish significant evaporative heat-loss off the

respiratory system because the air it breathes in is almost as saturated as the air it breathes out. If you maintain

high air movement at night by running additional fans, you can increase the amount of heat loss and reduce the

bird’s need to cool itself (Fairchild and Czarick, 2005).

In addition, as the temperature drops at night, there is a larger difference between air temperature and

the bird’s body temperature. This makes it easier for air movement to pull heat away from the bird and lower

its body temperature. As its body temperature drops at night, the bird will regain the appetite it lost during the

hot part of the day. However, increased feed intake will lead to increased heat production and the need to

maintain increased air movement late into the night to provide optimum cooling (Fairchild and Czarick, 2005).

C O M M E R C I A L P O U L T R Y

Figure 4. Pressure gauges measure static pressure inside poultry houses.

Obviously, running more fans later into the night will use extra electricity, but the increased bird performance should

more than offset the additional power costs.

Don’t Forget the Generator

Finally, run your backup generator each week for at least 30 minutes. Be on the farm when it runs, or check the hour

meter to make sure it actually did run; don’t just assume it ran. Check the fuel level regularly and keep the tank at least

half full (two-thirds is better). If the generator won’t start or runs out of fuel when you need it most, disaster is only a

few minutes away! Summer heat and humidity are stressful on Mississippi (and Delmarva) poultry flocks and growers.

Fans, cool cell systems, and emergency backups should be checked and ready long before summer heat and

humidity arrive. Take every precaution to ensure that you have done all you can to protect your flocks and maximize

potential summertime returns.

(March 3, 2017) — When Dave Tribbett Jr. looks at the massive, rotating canisters in his barn that currently produce about 100 tons

of organic fertilizer per week, he sees his farm’s future. And in that future, his new operation, in its first year, is the node to a coastal

network of organic fertilizer production.

“We want to make organic fertilizer that’s good for the farmer and environmentally friendly,” Tribbett said last week, standing

inside a barn that houses the canisters on his Twin Maple Farm. Tribbett and a small group of farmers and businessmen established

MidAtlantic Organic Resource Co., to capitalize on the region’s excess poultry litter and compostable waste. Their goal is to convert

it into a salable organic fertilizer that doesn’t leach into the ground, the Chesapeake Bay and nearby tributaries.

Inside his barn are three canisters up to 10 feet wide and roughly 50 feet long and several large piles of sawdust, a carbon source

used in the composting process. (He’s growing 60 acres of miscanthus grass and eventually 1,000 acres as another source.)

Four chicken houses on his 2,000-acre, diversified farm produce about 1,500 tons of manure per year, he said.

Here’s (roughly) how you make Tribbett’s fertilizer: You start with two parts sawdust, two parts poultry litter and one part waste

from regional hatcheries eager to find a home for a byproduct that would otherwise be sent, at greater expense, to a landfill. That’s

pushed via conveyor belt into the two largest canisters, which hold up to 50 tons, where they rotate for an hour and cook for four

hours to a temperature of 130 degrees. That process repeats for 72 hours, yielding a finished batch of composted fertilizer. It’s faster

and cheaper than more typical fertilizer production processes, Tribbett said.

Several factors motivated Tribbett’s new company. First, he noted the increasing public pressure on Eastern Shore poultry farmers

and the state’s plan, among other things, to truck poultry litter off the Shore. “I heard issues that poultry was getting a bad name for

itself,” he said. “Making something better, I thought, was the better option.”

The Maryland Environmental Service also approached him in 2013 in search of a large farm to build a pilot that would test the

composting system. They constructed the smallest of his three canisters to run the pilot. That led to introductions to Robert Winn

and Joey Baxter at Organic Resource Co. in Texas. The company specializes in organic waste management and usually works with

companies and municipalities. After they were unable to find grant money, they partnered to create Tribbett’s new operation. The

Texas company manufactured the new equipment, and a $600,000 bank loan financed the operation, Tribbett said.

The farm’s finances were also a motivating factor. He grows peas, lima beans, wheat, barley, corn and soybeans on his farm, not to

mention about 875,000 chickens a year that will soon expand in number to about 1.6 million. Even still, plummeting grain prices

have hurt his bottom line. “I’ve got to find ways to cut my fertilizer in half,” he said. “It’s tough for a farming family to make any

money anymore.”

He’s also looking to work with local schools. He wants to take their food waste - again, at a price cheaper than what it would cost to

send to a landfill - and turn that into fertilizer as well. His wife, Spring, is already working with Ridgely Elementary School to get

that started. “I like it. It turns a problem into something good,” he said. “It teaches the kids what can be done with trash.”

The composting process also produces valuable greenhouse gasses that can be trapped and used to heat houses and generate

power. But that’s an expensive proposition, he said, and remains in the distance. If all works to plan, he said he could see his farm

occupying a secondary role in his life to fertilizer production. He said his operation can produce its product at 25 percent of the cost

of typical commercial organic fertilizer. He’s got the permits already to expand the operation on his property, and he can see new

operations across the East Coast. But that’s still far off, he said. He’s still tweaking the actual compost. “There is a lot of learning

with this right now,” he said.

Summer is Coming… (continued) P A G E 7

Operation to Offer Solution for Utilizing Region’s Litter By Jonathan Cribbs, Editor Associate, The Mid-Atlantic Poultry Farmer

C O M M E R C I A L P O U L T R Y

P A G E 8

C O M M E R C I A L P O U L T R Y

Georgetown, DE - Jan. 18, 2017 -- Delmarva's chicken industry was a force for stability in 2016, keeping its

bird capacity level and even slightly reducing the number of chicken houses in operation, while maintaining

the total chicken produced and supporting the region's crop family farms with nearly $1 billion spent on feed

ingredients.

Statistics on the chicken economy compiled by Delmarva Poultry Industry,

Inc. (DPI), the nonprofit trade association, should put to rest worries about the

industry 'overbuilding' new chicken houses. The data, supplied by the five

poultry companies that operate on Maryland's Eastern Shore, on the Eastern

Shore of Virginia and in Delaware, show total chicken house capacity declined

0.5 percent in 2016, from 123 million birds to 122.5 million. The number of

chicken houses in operation also fell, from 4,840 at the beginning of 2016 to

4,700 houses in use at the end of the year. The reason is simple: many chicken

growers are building modern, efficient chicken houses, replacing more

numerous and smaller structures as they do so. The overall effect, though, is in

no way a runaway pace of growth in chicken house capacity, as some chicken critics agitating for a

moratorium on new chicken house construction assert. In fact, the opposite is true, with a net reduction in

140 chicken houses seen last year.

Family farms and chicken companies use a wide variety of production methods to provide consumers with

choices in the type of chicken they buy for their households. Regular and comprehensive animal care training

for farmers and their employees and ongoing monitoring of bird health and welfare are part of the high

standards for Delmarva chicken farmers and companies. That commitment to raising chickens efficiently and

responsibly led to a 4 percent increase in the total pounds of chicken produced on Delmarva in 2016, with a

total of 4.1 billion pounds of "Delmarvalous" chicken making it to market.

To produce those chickens, Delmarva's poultry industry used 85.4 million bushels of corn, 35.5 million

bushels of soybeans and 1.7 million bushels of wheat. The industry's total feed bill topped $997 million in

2016, down 1.8 percent from the year before. Most locally grown corn and soybeans are used to feed

Delmarva's chickens. That means chicken industry dollars support Delaware, Maryland and Virginia family

farms and the local economy many times over. A strong chicken industry that keeps cropland in production

also provides an ecological benefit, since farmland produces less pollution per acre than developed land does.

Payments by chicken companies to contract growers on family farms rose 6 percent in 2016, from $229

million to $243 million. Wages earned by the 14,500 people directly employed by the region's five chicken

companies also rose, by 7.7 percent, to $663 million.

"Nearly every business on Delmarva – including small businesses – is positively affected by the chicken

industry," said Bill Satterfield, DPI's executive director. "These numbers reinforce just how important the

chicken industry is to the region, and they show the industry growing at a calm, sustainable pace. An

unwarranted clampdown on Delmarva's chicken industry would result in widespread economic harm; it

would endanger the livelihoods of farmers, chicken company employees and countless others; and it would

represent a step back in terms of conservation, by exposing more farmland to development pressure."

Chicken Industry, A Mainstay of Delmarva’s Economy,

Shows Sensible Growth James Fisher, Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.

Look What the Chicken Industry Is Doing for Delmarva

2016 Facts about Delmarva's Meat Chicken Industry

C O M M E R C I A L P O U L T R Y

P A G E 9 Chicken Industry, A Mainstay of Delmarva… (continued)

Annual broiler/roaster/Cornish production 594.9 million

Total pounds produced 4.12 billion

Number of broiler/roaster/Cornish houses 4,700

Broiler/roaster/Cornish house capacity 122.4 million

Broiler/roaster/Cornish and breeder growers 1,736

Poultry company employees 14,500

Value of chicks started $189.7 million

Annual feed bill $997.1 million

Bushels of corn used for feed 85.4 million

Bushels of soybeans used for feed 35.5 million

Bushels of wheat used for feed 1.8 million

Packaging and other processing supplies $220.7 million

Poultry company capital improvements $94 million

Grower contract payments $243 million

Poultry companies payroll, excluding benefits $663.4 million

Wholesale value of broilers/roasters/Cornish $3.21 billion