Poultry Industry Plays Meaningful, but Not Dominant, Role in Florida Economy
by RYAN MILEJCZAK
Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? While we can’t answer that age-old question, we can say one thing: Florida has plenty of both!
While the state is not a leader for poultry or egg production, it does rank among the top 20 in the U.S.
Like the vast majority of the food produced in the U.S., chickens are not originally native to the Americas. However, unlike many foods, they didn’t arrive with the Spanish. In fact, they were already in the Americas when the Spanish arrived!
Regardless of who first brought them, chickens have long been a popular animal to raise for food. They produce both meat and eggs, are easy to raise, provide natural pest control, and their waste can even be used as fertilizer.
It’s no surprise, then, that the U.S. is a major player in the poultry meat industry. Until recently, the country was No. 1 in the world for chicken production, now surpassed only by China.
Florida’s poultry industry has faced its share of challenges, including outbreaks of avian influenza, which can rapidly devastate flocks, as well as hurricane damage to facilities and the logistical disruptions that follow. These factors, combined with rising feed and labor costs, have contributed to Florida’s slide in poultry production.
Today, according to UF/IFAS, Florida has approximately 79 million broilers (chickens raised for meat) and 11.3 million layers (chickens raised for eggs). Recent estimates indicate poultry meat represents a total export value of $450.3 million. Florida’s egg sector generates hundreds of millions annually, but precise year-to-year totals are not consistently reported.
Egg production is primarily centered in Central Florida, particularly Polk and Hillsborough, while meat production is primarily focused in North Florida. A number of poultry processing plants also exist throughout the state.
Besides commercial production, there are also significant numbers of Floridians keeping so-called “backyard chickens.” That is, a small flock not raised for commercial purposes kept on their property. While not focused on Central Florida, one study found that 1.3% of households in Miami own chickens; with around a million households, assuming an average of 5 chickens each, that’s around 65,000 chickens just in Miami. Keeping backyard chickens has seen increased popularity in recent years, partly in response to increasing egg prices.
But chickens aren’t the whole story for poultry. While in much smaller amounts, there are also operations raising turkey and ducks throughout the state, including in Central Florida. While some of this is for sale to consumers, a good chunk of turkey and duck raising in Florida is on game farms, where the animals are raised as game for hunters. Florida is actually home to two types of turkey popular with hunters: the eastern and Osceola turkeys.
While Florida has millions of broiler and layer chickens and a well-established poultry sector, it is not a top-tier driver like cattle, beef, and nurseries/greenhouses. From large commercial operations producing millions of broilers and layers, to turkey and duck farms, to the growing number of backyard flocks, Floridians are raising chickens (and plenty of other poultry) all across the state.
With hundreds of millions of dollars in exports and processing facilities spread throughout the state, Florida’s poultry producers continue to play an important role in feeding both the state and the nation.