In the U.S., poultry production has risen leaps and bounds over the past several decades. It’s now an almost $50 billion industry. Alabama is located in the heart of what’s considered the agricultural “chicken belt” of America. In 2013, Alabama farms produced roughly 1 billion chickens. While that may make it sound like the state’s poultry farming economy is healthy, farmers tell a different story. A mere two companies control about 40 percent of the U.S. chicken market. Additionally, every one of Alabama’s chickens is produced by contract famers, and some of these farmers tell the weekly newspaper WELD that they’re getting a raw deal.
“A generation ago, before the practice of contract farming took over, the majority of farmers in Alabama (and elsewhere) owned their own chickens,” writes Cody Owens in this week’s WELD. “Now, there is not a single privately owned chicken farm in the state. It is not uncommon for farmers to take out $1 million loans in order to build houses and obtain a contract with a major company like Tyson or Pilgrim that control a large portion of the market.”
For more, WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley spoke with Nick Patterson, editor of WELD. Patterson joins WBHM most Thursdays during All Things Considered.
Cody Owens,WELD
Chicks at Buttram Farms in Geraldine, Alabama.