A Comparison of Farm Incomes for Poultry and
Non-Poultry Producing Counties in South Georgia
Dan L. Cunningham, Ph.D.
Extension Coordinator
Department of Poultry Science
Four houses represent the average-size broiler
operation in Georgia. The fact that four houses can be
operated on plots of land as small as 30 to 40 acres
demonstrates how poultry production can produce
substantial returns for the individual farmer and for the
community without tying up large tracts of agricultural
land, as long as the appropriate use of the manure can
be accommodated. Cash flow numbers will vary from
operation to operation, and the above estimates are
averages and not intended to be representative of all
situations.
Another way to look at the economic impact of the
poultry industry is to view it in a broader sense: What
does poultry contribute economically at the local
county level. This is important because it is becoming
more and more necessary that all members of a community understand the value of an agricultural business
to the community and to provide basic support for
growth and development. The location of an integrated
poultry production complex in an area will result in
investments of the following magnitudes for infrastructure, payroll and contract payments to farms:
Georgia produces more poultry and poultry products than any other state in the United States. Poultry
production on a statewide basis results in more than
$4.0 billion annually in farm gate value or nearly 50
percent of all the farm value agricultural product produced in the state. Production occurs on more than
3,800 farms using more than 13,000 poultry houses in
some 125 counties across Georgia. Georgia currently
has 103 counties producing more than $1 million annually in poultry product, with more counties to be added
in the near future. Based on these facts, poultry production has, and will continue to have, a significant impact
not only on the agricultural economy of our farmers,
but on the overall economy of our state.
One can look at the economic impact of an agricultural industry in a number of ways. Periodically, an
analysis of cash flow projections for poultry operations
has been conducted to assess cost and returns (1) generated by poultry producers in Georgia. This analysis
has generated numbers at the farm level, and supports
the following general economic representation for a
four-house broiler operation in Georgia:
Cost of Housing & Equipment
(80,000 sq. ft.)
$640,000-660,000
Gross Annual Income
$150,000-160,000
Net Annual Cash Flow
(during debt retirement)
$32,000-45,000
Net Annual Cash Flow
(after debt retirement)
$80,000-90,000
Property Taxes & Insurance Annually
Processing Plant
$8,000-9,600
1
$80-90 million
Feed Mill
$8-10 million
Hatchery
$8-10 million
Production Houses
$80-90 million
Annual Payroll
$30-32 million
Annual Contract Payments
$20-25 million
and income per acre of farm land, were also significantly greater for farms with poultry as part of their
agricultural diversification. These results in themselves
are not particularly surprising to those familiar with
poultry production, but the magnitude of the differences is striking. Total net farm income for poultry
counties is almost three times the value for non-poultry
counties ($30.4 million vs. $11.4 million), while net
income per acre is almost 2.2 times greater for counties
with poultry farms ($233 vs. $107). Even though a
relatively small number of counties were sampled in
this study, the results were statistically significant,
suggesting that poultry production within a county
results in very tangible improvements for the economic
variables evaluated in this study.
These numbers indicate that a poultry production
complex will result in more than $180 million in
investments in hard assets and more than $50 million
annually in payroll and payments for labor and contracts. There are, of course, costs to a community associated with the establishment and operation of any new
business. A new business will bring added demands on
roads, utilities, services, schools, labor, health care, etc.
If, however, a community can meet the additional
demands, the tax revenues and spending generated by a
new business, on balance, will be an economic plus for
that community. Georgia has more than 20 poultry production complexes located across the state and all are
operating as an economic benefit to their communities.
Another way to look at the benefits of poultry production is to compare farm incomes among counties
that have significant poultry production operations and
ones that do not. For this analysis, farm incomes for 15
poultry producing counties (ones with more than 40
houses) were compared with 15 non-poultry producing
counties (fewer than 10 houses). The variables evaluated were total farm income for the county, total net
farm income for the county, net farm proprietor’s
income and net proprietor’s income per acre of farm
land. The Georgia County Guide (2) provided the data
necessary for this analysis. The results were analyzed
statistically using a one-way analysis of variance to
determine statistical significance.
Tables 1 and 2 provide a listing of the counties
evaluated and the relevant data for each county. Table
3 summarizes the results of the comparisons and the
statistical significance. Farm incomes for the counties
listed in the study are a result of incomes from a variety
of crops and livestock enterprises. As shown in Table
3, counties with poultry production houses had significantly greater total farm incomes and total net farm
incomes than those counties without poultry. In addition, net incomes, when expressed as income per farm
Summary
The establishment and year-to-year operation of a
poultry production complex provides significant
economic benefits to an agricultural community. The
company investments, payrolls, contract payments,
taxes generated and farm incomes produced from
poultry production are substantial and significant. The
information presented here provides only a basic overview of the impact of poultry production, but it leaves
little doubt why poultry is such a popular enterprise for
many Georgia farmers.
(1) Broiler Production Systems in Georgia: Costs and
Returns Analysis. The University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences Bulletin #1240.
(2) The Georgia County Guide, 2006. The University
of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Publication ISSN# 1044-0976.
2
TABLE 1.
Poultry
Counties
Economic Comparisons for Poultry Counties in South Georgia 1.
# Poultry
Houses
Total Farm
Income ($000)
Net Farm
Income
($000)
#
Farms 2
Acres of
Farm
Land
Net
Income ($)
per Farm 3
Net Income ($)
per Acre 4
Appling
82
57,133
21,273
557
118,720
38,192
179
Atkinson
149
73,722
29,099
194
70,718
149,995
411
Baker
94
58,474
13,756
147
126,408
93,578
109
Coffee
340
161,907
49,079
692
188,740
70,923
260
Colquitt
132
167,867
57,760
588
228,205
98,231
253
Dooly
44
90,596
33,396
326
170,813
102,442
196
Evans
63
27,781
6,294
242
48,087
26,008
131
Grady
88
100,793
20,608
501
127,499
41,113
162
Macon
206
121,763
32,823
360
114,449
91,175
287
Marion
73
38,942
6,899
181
51,732
38,116
133
Mitchell
209
175,490
24,428
496
184,960
49,250
132
Sumter
50
134,917
47,681
381
166,664
125,147
286
Tattnall
400
182,292
73,333
644
143,358
113,871
512
Taylor
55
38,262
13,166
277
74,522
47,531
177
Wilcox
120
74,227
27,513
311
102,164
88,466
269
Average
140
100,278
30,474
393
127,803
78,269
233
1
Based on statistics in the 2006 Georgia County Guide.
Number of farms in the 2002 Census.
3
Net farm proprietor’s income divided by the number of farms.
4
Net farm proprietor’s income divided by the number of acres.
2
3
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2009