Record Corn Harvest Expands Chicken Production Across U.S.
Biggest-ever corn harvest leads to increased chicken production
According to a recent Bloomberg News article, the biggest-ever U.S. corn harvest is spurring poultry farmers to increase chicken production across the country.
Bloomberg reports U.S. farmers are collecting a “record corn crop of 13.843 billion bushels this year, 28% more than in 2012, when the worst drought since the 1930s cut output and sent prices on the Chicago Board of Trade to an all-time high.” Corn reportedly fell 50% from its peak during last year’s U.S. drought, which boosted profit for poultry producers and expanded supplies the government predicts will reach record highs this year.
For farmers, increased corn production offers the opportunity to expand chicken production. In fact, government data shows chicken companies have increased egg production in six of the first seven months of the year, according to Bloomberg. USDA data also indicates there was an average of 345.5 million hens laying eggs in September, 2% more than a year earlier.
"We’re seeing relief with the improved crop this year," says Michael Helgeson, the chief executive officer of St. Cloud, Minnesota-based GNP Co., which uses 9 million bushels of corn a year to raise 104 million birds. As the corn harvest continues to progress, Bloomberg predicts the increased chicken production may mean lower costs for buyers such as Costco and McDonald’s and “expanding supply may help extend the drop in global food costs that the United Nations says reached a three-year low in September.”