1

In 2012, U.S. sales of poultry and eggs totaled $42.8 billion; this was a $5.7 

billion, or 15 percent, increase over 2007. In the country as a whole, poultry and 

egg sales accounted for 11 percent of total U.S. agriculture sales in 2012. The 

2012 Census 

of Agriculture 

provides a 

comprehensive 

picture of the 

poultry and egg 

industry.

Poultry and Egg Production 

A $42.8 billion industry, 11 percent of total agriculture sales.

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.agcensus.usda.gov

(800)727-9540

ACH12-18/January 2015

Highlights

Six states. . . 

. . . accounted for more than half 

of poultry and egg sales in 2012.

Top States in Sales

($ billions)

North Carolina 4.8

Georgia 4.8

Arkansas 4.0

Alabama 3.6

Mississippi 2.7

Texas 2.6

California 1.7

South Carolina 1.5

Missouri 1.4

Pennsylvania 1.4

Iowa 1.3

Minnesota 1.2

Indiana 1.2

Virginia 1.2

Kentucky 1.1

Industry Size, Value, and Location

Poultry and Egg Sales as Percent of Agriculture Sales, by County, 2012

percent

< 1

1 - 9

10 - 24

25 - 49

50 - 74

U.S. = 10.8%

75 +

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Much of the industry is concentrated 

in the southeastern part of the country. 

The top six states (each with sales 

well over $2 billion in 2012) accounted 

for 53 percent of sales. The fifteen 

states with sales of more than $1 billion 

were spread across the country; they 

accounted for 81 percent of sales. 

The top ten counties in 2012 poultry and 

egg sales were scattered across eight 

states, with Sussex County, Delaware, 

having the highest sales. 

Top Counties: Poultry and Egg Sales

($ millions)

Sussex, DE 657.5

Duplin, NC 522.7

Sampson, NC 499.8

Lancaster, PA 469.0

Rockingham, VA 460.6

Benton, AR 457.5

Shelby, TX 448.6

De Kalb, AL 411.1

Gonzales, TX 402.3

Merced, CA 400.5

Does not include counties withheld to avoid disclosing 

individual data. 

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.
2 USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Of the 137,541 farms with 2012 poultry and eggs sales, 

51,755 were primarily poultry and egg operations (that is, 

more than half of the farm’s sales came from poultry and 

eggs). These specialized farms were 38 percent of farms 

with poultry and eggs sales, but accounted for 98 percent 

($42.0 billion) of sales in 2012. They had production costs 

of $35.3 billion (20 percent higher than in 2007). 

Producer Characteristics

The 2012 Census of Agriculture identified characteristics 

of those responsible for the day-to-day operation of 

farms specializing in poultry and egg production. Poultry

farmers on average were younger at 55 years old than 

principal operators overall at 58 years old. As in the 2007 

census, 19 percent were women – a higher proportion 

than for farms overall in 2012. (Table 2)

Table 2 

Poultry and Egg Producers: Key Characteristics, 2007 and 2012

(principal operators of farms specializing in poultry and egg production)

2007 2012

All Farms

2012

percent

Gender

 Male 81 81 86

 Female 19 19 14

Age 

Under 45 years 25 20 16

45 to 64 years 57 58 51

65 years and older 18 22 33

Primary Occupation

 Farming 52 58 48

 Other 48 42 52

Percent of Income from Farming

 < 25% 63 59 70

 25% to 49% 6 6 8

 50% to 74% 10 11 9

 75% to 99% 11 12 7

 100% 10 12 6

Average Age (years) 53.1 54.8 58.3

Principal operator is the person responsible for day-to-day operation of the farm. A farm “specializing in poultry and egg production” has more than half of its sales come from that commodity.

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

To learn more about poultry and egg production, the 

2012 Census of Agriculture, and how to access national, 

state, and county data, go to:

www.agcensus.usda.gov

Poultry Inventory

Poultry inventory consists of the following categories: 

broilers, fryers, and other chickens raised for meat; layer 

chickens (includes both those that lay table eggs and those 

raised for hatching other chickens); pullets (young chickens 

to replace the laying flock); turkeys; and assorted other 

poultry (ducks, geese, quail, roosters, etc.). Between 2007, 

when the last agriculture census was conducted, and 2012, 

inventory declined 6 percent for turkeys and for broilers and 

other meat-type chickens. Inventory increased 4 percent 

for pullets and remained nearly unchanged for layers. 

2007 2012 % 

millions change

Broilers and other meat chickens 1,602.6 1,506.3 - 6

Layer chickens 349.8 350.7 0

Pullets to replace laying flock 105.9 110.3 + 4

Turkeys 107.2 100.8 - 6

Farm Characteristics

The number of farms with poultry and egg sales decreased 

8 percent from 148,911 farms in 2007 to 137,541 farms in 

2012. Of these farms, 89 percent were family or 

individually operated and 5 percent were operated by a 

partnership. Corporations accounted for 5 percent of farms 

and 27 percent of sales. (Table 1)

Table 1

Poultry and Egg Farms by Type of Operation, 2012

 % of Operations % of Sales

Family / Individual 89 60

Partnerships 5 12

Corporations 5 27

Other 1 1

All 100 100

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Three types of producers operate poultry farms: independent growers raising poultry for themselves, contract growers raising poultry for someone else under a production 

contract (contractees), and contractors using contractees 

to raise some poultry in addition to their own production. 

Contractees account for higher shares of production 

than number of farms. In 2012, in the case of broilers,

contractees accounted for 48 percent of broiler farms but 

96 percent of production. For pullets, it was 30 percent of 

farms but 63 percent of production, and for turkeys, 20 

percent of farms but 69 percent of production.