February 2010 Articles

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Economic, Environmental, Public Policy, and Production Issues are Important to

Economic, Environmental, Public Policy, and Production Issues are Important to Louisiana’s Poultry Industry
Theresia Lavergne, Ph.D., P.A.S., Associate Professor – Poultry, LSU AgCenter
A survey was conducted to determine the opinions of commercial poultry producers, integrator representatives, allied industry representatives, regulatory personnel, and academic personnel concerning issues facing the poultry industry in Louisiana. Respondents were asked to rate ten items within four categories of issues: 1. Economic issues, 2. Environmental issues, 3. Public policy issues, and 4. Production issues. The items were rated as 5 (extremely important), 4 (substantially important), 3 (moderately important), 2 (slightly important), or 1 (not important). Of the 74 respondents, 45 were poultry growers, 12 were employed in the allied industry, two were employed by the state’s regulatory agency, six were academics, and nine were employed by integrator companies. Sixty of the respondents were males and 14 were females. Eight respondents had worked in the poultry industry for more than 40 years, 16 had worked in the poultry industry for 30 to 39 years, 17 had worked in the poultry industry for 20 to 29 years, 22 had worked in the poultry industry for 10 to 19 years, and 11 had worked in the poultry industry for less than 11 years. The ratings of commercial poultry producers were similar to the average of the responses of all other categories of respondents. The economic issues rated by respondents were:
Acquiring capital and resources
Equipment and machinery costs
Global competition
Labor needs
Land prices
Maintaining industry infrastructure
Marketing options
Prices producers/growers receive for their products
Price volatility for animal products
Rising input costs
The ratings of commercial poultry producers and all others ranged from 4.1 to 4.8 and 3.54 to 4.86, respectively, for all of the items. “Rising input costs” received the highest rating for all of the economic issues. The environmental issues rated by respondents were:

Animal waste disposal/utilization
Conservation/sustainability programs
Impact of animal agriculture on air quality
Impact of animal agriculture on water quality
Management of wetlands and riparian zones
Mortality disposal
Pesticide/chemical use
Public perception of environmental effects with animal agriculture
Tillage practices
Use of best management practices to minimize effects of animal agriculture on the environment
The ratings of commercial poultry producers and all others ranged from 3.3 to 4.4 and 3.0 to 4.5, respectively, for all of the items. “Public perception of the environmental effects with animal agriculture” received the highest rating for all of the environmental issues. The public policy issues rated by respondents were:
Animal welfare
Consumer confidence concerning animal agriculture practices
Consumer confidence in food and animal product safety
Contingency plans for relief and recovery after a disaster
Financial support from commodity groups for research and extension programs
Government regulation of animal agriculture production practices
Government subsidies of animal products
Source verification of animal products
State and federal government funding for research and extension education
Urban encroachment and land use
The ratings of commercial poultry producers and all others ranged from 3.5 to 4.5 and 3.3 to 4.5, respectively, for all of the items. “Consumer confidence in food and animal product safety” received the highest rating for all of the public policy issues.
The production issues rated by respondents were:

Adapting flock size to maintain profitability
Adoption of improved animal production practices
Biosecurity
Ethical treatment of animals
Improving production efficiency
National animal identification system
Natural and organic production methods
Product safety regulations
Use of biotechnology and other technological advances
Vertical integration/coordination of animal production
The ratings of commercial poultry producers and all others ranged from 3.5 to 4.8 and 3.0 to 4.6, respectively, for all of the items. “Improving production efficiency” received the highest rating for all of the production issues. All respondents rated each item as moderately (3), substantially (4), or extremely (5) important. Economic issues received the most substantially important and higher ratings. Therefore, these responses indicate that economic, environmental, public policy, and production issues are important to those respondents involved in Louisiana’s poultry industry!