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Who Owns Most of the Chicken Farms in the US?

Published in US Poultry Industry Control 3 mins read

The vast majority of the chicken farming industry in the United States is controlled by a small number of large corporations rather than individual farm owners. Four major companies—Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, Perdue Farms, and Sanderson Farms—dominate the market, effectively controlling more than half of the entire poultry industry.

The Dominant Players in the US Poultry Industry

While many individual farmers own the land and structures that house chickens, the actual production process—from the chicks and feed to the processing and marketing of the final product—is largely managed and dictated by these large integrator companies. This system is known as vertical integration, where a single company controls multiple stages of the production chain.

The primary companies exerting this control are:

Company Name Market Influence
Tyson Foods One of the world's largest food companies, significant in chicken.
Pilgrim's Pride A leading producer of chicken and pork products.
Perdue Farms Family-owned, known for chicken, turkey, and pork.
Sanderson Farms A prominent producer of fresh and frozen chicken.

How Major Integrators Control Production

In the highly integrated US poultry industry, these major companies don't typically own the physical chicken farms themselves. Instead, they operate through a system of contract farming. Here's how it generally works:

  • Ownership of Birds and Feed: The integrators own the chicks, provide the feed, veterinary services, and technical support to the growers.
  • Contractual Agreements: Individual farmers, known as contract growers, own the barns, land, and equipment necessary to raise the chickens. They sign contracts with the integrators to raise the birds according to strict specifications set by the company.
  • Processing and Marketing: Once the chickens reach market weight, the integrators pick them up for processing in their own plants, and then handle the distribution and sale of the chicken products.

This system means that while thousands of independent growers operate the farms, the ultimate control over production volume, standards, and market access rests firmly with these few powerful companies. This arrangement effectively centralizes the ownership of the entire production output of most US chicken farms under their umbrella.

Impact on the Industry

The high level of consolidation among these companies has a profound impact on the structure and dynamics of the US poultry industry. It allows for economies of scale and efficiency in production but also concentrates significant economic power within a few corporate entities, influencing everything from supply chains to consumer prices and the livelihoods of contract growers.