There are many bizarre “National something Months” out there. There is a National Piano Month, National Blueberry Popsicle Month, even a Records and Information Management Month. What matters for Georgia though is that September is National Chicken Month. For more than twenty years, the National Chicken Council has worked to promote chicken sales in September, a traditionally slow month between summer grilling season and the holidays of the late fall and winter.
Since 1998, Georgia has led the nation in poultry production. The “Peach State” took the top spot from Arkansas and Alabama and has widened its lead by nearly a half a billion since 2006. Poultry is Georgia’s largest agricultural crop, making up over 40% of all agricultural production. Approximately 138,000 Georgians make their living either directly or indirectly from the poultry industry and the annual contribution to the Georgia economy is over $38 billion. Of Georgia’s 159 counties, 102 of them produce more than $1 million worth of poultry. If Georgia were a country, it would be the 7th largest producer, more than Argentina, Turkey and Indonesia, just behind Mexico. On an average day, Georgia farms produce 29.3 million pounds of chicken and 6.9 million eggs.
Georgia’s poultry industry began to boom during World War II. A Gainesville feed salesman named Jesse Jewel hatched a scheme that would catch on with many others. Jewell would sell north Georgia chicken farmers baby chicks and feed on credit. When the chicks were grown, Jewell would buy back the adult chickens at a price that would cover his costs and guarantee those farmers a profit. After a while, Jewell had enough farmers working for him that he built his own processing plant and hatchery. When WWII broke out, the War Food Administration reserved all north Georgia chickens, guaranteeing the farmers a buyer. The difficulties of war also brought out a now-standard method for the industry, the frozen bird. Between 1939 and 1950, the number of chicken farms in Gainesville had increased from just over 50 to more than a thousand.
According to the USDA, chicken has been America’s favorite food in terms of pounds per capita since 1992 and is only increasing in popularity. Beef and pork have both seen decreases in consumption the last few years, while chicken, which did take a hit from the recession, has seen increases the past two years.
Georgia poultry is exported around the world. The recent Chinese ban on American poultry imports, due to a bird flu outbreak, may have a big impact on Georgian farmers. A similar Russian ban in 2002 resulted in significant sales losses for Georgia farmers.
Although there have been no reported cases of bird flu in Georgia, nearly 50 million birds in other states have died as a result of outbreaks. Georgia farmers fear that migrating birds headed south for the winter may infect Georgia chickens. Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black warned of dire consequences should a serious bird flu outbreak occur in Georgia, telling WSB “There will be market impact felt in every consumer household in America.”
Migrating birds do not have to land in the chicken house though. Contaminated droppings could be enough to result in an outbreak. Black’s office is working hard to prevent an outbreak, promising enhanced testing if an infection is detected in order to quickly isolate and contain. Black recommends having footwear specific for each chicken house and he even warns the dog could become a suspect.
Hopefully, with a little luck and the work of the commissioner’s office, National Chicken Month will see great sales for Georgia farmers and the winter will be flu-free, and with the global market, a bright future for Georgia’s poultry industry.
