Chapter 2 - Size of Broiler Operations

Among farms with production contracts, average production in 2006 was 483,600 broilers and 2.65 million pounds of chicken meat (see Table 2.6). Because averages were influenced by a few very large operations, the median (half of operations produced more and half less) is often used. The median production in 2006 was 402,500 broilers and 2.2 million pounds of chicken meat (Table 2.6).

Looking at farm size according to the number of houses they had(Table 2.7), most of the farms surveyed had only a few houses – 70% had 1-4 houses, and together they accounted for just under half of the broiler production. Operations with 5-6 houses and operations with 7 or more houses each accounted for just over a quarter of the production. The largest operations responding to the survey had 18 houses, although enterprises of that size are not common.

Table 2.6 - Production and the number of houses on broiler operations.

¹Capacity utilization equals pounds removed per square foot of housing capacity. The table lists the five most common classes, according to the number of houses.
Source: 2006 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, version 4, production contracts only.

Table 2.7 - Size distribution of broiler operations.

¹Columns may not add to 100 because of rounding. 
²Some operations did not report the number of houses or had none and they are designated with an ‘NR’.
Source: 2006 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, version 4, production contracts only.

Although production is shifting to large operations, family farms still dominate (see the Cheeps & Chirps article on contract farming and the family farm). Integrators directly owned farms that account for only 1% of production. Among farms with production contracts, 88% were sole proprietorships (Table 2.8). While corporation accounted for just over 10% of production, most were family corporations in which more than half of the stock was owned by people related by blood or marriage. Large family farms often seek to incorporate, and that pattern holds among broiler operations – 35% of those with 13-18 houses are incorporated, compared with only 6% of those with 3-4 houses (Table 2.9).

Table 2.8 - Legal organization of contract broiler operations.

¹Family corporations are those in which more than half of the voting stock is held by people related to one another by blood or marriage.
²Other includes estates, trusts, and cooperatives
Source: 2006 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, version 4, production contracts only.

Table 2.9 - Farm organization, by size of broiler operation

¹Gross cash farm income includes fees from production contracts, revenues from cash sales and marketing contracts, government payments, land rents received, and revenues from other farm activities, such as grazing, custom work, and machine hire.
Source: 2006 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, version 4, production contracts only.