10 Biggest Chicken Producing States in America

There is certainly no question of what everyone’s favorite protein is in the 10 biggest chicken producing states in America.

While pork is the most consumed meat in the world, the US is more inclined towards chicken. According to the National Chicken Council, the projected per capita consumption of broiler chickens in 2017 is 90.4 compared to the meager figure in the pork column, which totaled 51.0.

So why does chicken happen to be the first choice for Americans? Well, although chicken meat is absolutely scrumptious, its delectable qualities are not the only reason for its extreme popularity. The fact of the matter is that chickens are easy to raise, especially broilers, i.e. chickens that are bred for the sole purpose of producing meat fit for consumption. Broiler chickens are ready to be slaughtered in about six weeks of their birth, meaning poultry companies can dish out chicken meat faster than of other birds. Due to this quick supply, chickens are cheaper than beef or even pork. Companies like Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s, Sanderson Farms and Perdue have recognized the potential of chicken in the American market which is why they are the top broiler producing companies in the nation. That is not to say that other meats are not at all significant in the total meat production of the country. The 10 States that Produce the Most Pork in America are the testament to that fact.

Although the US houses the largest broiler industry in the world and exports 19% of its chicken to the rest of the world, there are some serious issues that chickens bred for meat are facing in this country. Since modern broiler chickens are products of years of selective breeding, innumerable health problems are plaguing them, so much so that the whole situation is bordering on animal abuse. While some birds lose the use of their legs and end up lame, they are victims of various other diseases as well such as cardiopulmonary problems and sudden death syndrome. Sadly, it seems like these birds will continue to suffer while companies hungrily hoard profits stemming from the population’s high demand for inexpensive meat. Sure, organic meat has recently been gaining popularity, but not many can afford the price it brings with it.

Therefore, the demand for broiler chicken is not going down any time soon. That is probably why the United States produced 8.68 billion broiler chickens in 2015, equivalent to a total of 53.36 billion pounds. These statistics were extracted from the report on poultry issued by the United States Department of Agriculture. It’s the same source we used to formulate our list of the 10 biggest chicken producing states in America. For each state, we ranked separately the number of chickens produced, the number of pounds produced and the value of production in US dollars. The ranking was then combined giving rise to the final list. While some of you may be thinking that all these criteria are essentially the same thing and every state must have ranked equally for all three of them, that is not the case. For example, some states produced fewer chickens, but the pounds those chickens yielded were more in comparison to the other states. Therefore, we made sure that each criterion was given uniform importance.

10. South Carolina

Number produced: 242.60 million

Pounds produced: 1.75 billion

Value of production: $939.73 million

Poultry is one of the biggest sources of agricultural income in the state of South Carolina, evident from the statistics mentioned above. The poultry industry of the state was under immense scrutiny when in 2015, no less than 300,000 chickens were killed as a result of tampering of temperature. A man was later arrested for this truly heinous crime of animal cruelty, but that could not reverse the loss of $1.7 million that his killing spree caused.

9. Maryland

Number produced: 303.50 million

Pounds produced: 1.73 billion

Value of production: $930.74 million

The two words chicken and Maryland together can only bring one thought to the minds of a foodie: Maryland chicken! The traditional version of this dish comprises of juicy fried chicken served with a delicious white sauce, prepared by mixing the leftover pan juices with cream or milk. Although over the years, the dish has been modified innumerable times to be given a modern twist, the native form still takes precedence for some. The UK even has a fast food chain named Maryland Chicken. Sadly, though, it serves just plain old fried chicken.

8. Delaware

Number produced: 244.30 million

Pounds produced: 1.76 billion

Value of production: $946.34 million

Delaware is not very populated as it has a population of less than a million, so who would have thought that the state was home to above 200 million chickens in a single year! Chickens grossly exceed human beings by a ratio of more than 200 to 1. No wonder one of the nicknames for Delaware is the Blue Hen State.

Newsworks reports the hilarious story that marked the beginning of the chicken industry in the state. It’s actually pretty fascinating that a woman casually ordered 50 chicks for the purpose of consuming the eggs that they lay but due to a simple accident, 500 chicks were delivered instead. Instead of returning them, the woman took care of them, raised them, sold them when they were ready and voila: the industry we see today.

7. Kentucky

Number produced: 307.70 million

Pounds produced: 1.78 billion

Value of production: $960.17 million

It would be blasphemous for Kentucky, next on the list of biggest chicken producing states in America not to be a part of a list related to chicken. For those of you who don’t know, Kentucky is the state of origin of the famous fast food franchise KFC. The founder, Colonel Sanders, whose face is used as the restaurant’s logo to this day, started selling fried chicken from a filling station he was in charge of, located in the small city of Corbin, Kentucky. Although the franchise has changed plenty of hands over the years, Colonel Sander’s face continues to be one of the most recognized faces in the world of food.

6. Texas

Number produced: 608.70 million

Pounds produced: 3.77 billion

Value of production: $2.03 billion

Texas is the second largest state in the country and has a lot of its land dedicated to agriculture, farming, and livestock. According to the data issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, the value of animals and products produced by Texas amounted to $16.6 billion in 2015, higher than any other state. Since chicken is part of that production, it’s no wonder that Texas is one of the biggest chicken producing states in America.

5. Mississippi

Number produced: 722.50 million

Pounds produced: 4.55 billion

Value of production: $2.45 billion

We are continuing our list of biggest chicken producing states in America with Mississippi that is a poor state. Its median household income is the lowest among all the fifty American states, as per data from the United States Census Bureau, and the state is not doing too well in the education and health department either. But keeping all that aside, it does take its poultry very seriously considering the fact that it contains approximately 1900 farms within its boundaries. Furthermore, the Mississippi Poultry Association firmly vows to keep its supply up to speed with the demand that is expected to keep escalating in the years that will follow.

4. Arkansas

Number produced: 962 million

Pounds produced: 6.16 billion

Value of production: $3.31 billion

Tyson Foods, the largest producer of broiler chickens in the entire country, originated from Springdale, Arkansas, so it’d be a miracle for Arkansas not to have a giant chicken industry. The state excels not only in chickens but the entire poultry industry, the biggest portion of the agricultural sector in the state.

3. North Carolina

Number produced: 822.70 million

Pounds produced: 6.42 billion

Value of production: $3.45 billion

Like its southern twin, North Carolina, next on the list of biggest chicken producing states in America has recently suffered a pretty hefty loss as a result of chicken deaths. Unlike South Carolina, though, the chickens in NC lost their lives in a natural disaster: Hurricane Matthew. The floods caused by the hurricane killed birds in the millions. Unsurprisingly, most of them were chickens. Natural catastrophes aside, the farms in NC are not too healthy for the chickens either. According to this contract farmer who owns a farmhouse in the state, the chickens are currently victims of extremely distressing conditions. They are crowded into one tiny place that is too small to bear the burden, while their chests are genetically modified to the extent that the birds are unable to carry their weight, causing their legs to lose their strength too. Whether this is the condition of all poultry farms in the country is another debate but this farmer has certainly opened many eyes.

2. Alabama

Number produced: 1.08 billion

Pounds produced: 6.17 billion

Value of production: $3.32 billion

The value of chicken production in Alabama that ranked second on our list of biggest chicken producing states in America is almost in line with Arkansas but the number it produces still greatly outnumbers the latter. The mammoth size of the chicken industry in the state can be estimated from the fact that Alabama employs more chicken cutters than any other part of the country: 12,680.

1. Georgia

Number produced: 1.34 billion

Pounds produced: 7.90 billion

Value of production: $4.25 billion

The poultry industry is a huge division of the Peach State’s economy, evident from the fact that it makes up 47% of agriculture in Georgia. Moreover, it contributes an estimated $38 billion to the wealth of the state and enables 138,000 natives to make a living. Undoubtedly, chicken forms a massive component of the poultry sector in Georgia, since it’s the biggest chicken producing states in America.