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WHEN IT COMES TO VALUE FOR CONSUMERS, CHICKEN RULES THE ROOST

Improvements in Genetics, Nutrition, Disease Control and Marketing Have Enabled Broilers to Outstrip Most Other Commodities in Terms of Price Performance over the Last 60 Years, According to The Poultry Science Association

SAVOY, IL (September 29, 2008) – A shopper at an Atlanta supermarket in 1947 would have found chicken selling at 49 cents per pound. A shopper on the same day in 2004 would have seen chicken selling at the same price – making it far more affordable, in adjusted dollars, than it had been almost 60 years earlier. A visit to a supermarket today yields a similar result, even when factoring in the higher cost of feed and transportation costs.

According to Dr. Daniel L. Fletcher, professor and head of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Connecticut and a long-time member of The Poultry Science Association (PSA), chicken's outstanding price performance is due to advancements in four key areas: genetics, nutrition, disease control and marketing.

"Broilers, along with eggs, have outperformed almost every other commodity – food and non-food – over the last half century and more," said Dr. Fletcher. "Research scientists have enabled poultry producers to greatly improve yields and minimize losses due to disease, all of which has allowed broilers, turkeys and other types of poultry to be kept very economical for the consumer. Poultry remains, with eggs, one of the consumer's best values in terms of delivering a high quality, flavorful, nutritious source of protein at a very reasonable price point. In fact, on a per-pound basis, consumers can now walk into any grocery story and get a higher quality bird at a lower cost than at virtually any time in history."

Chicken vs. Other Commodities

A chart developed by Dr. Fletcher in 2004, while he was a professor at the University of Georgia, demonstrates just how well broilers have performed vis-à-vis a wide range of food products and other commodities. (Dr. Fletcher presented the chart during PSA's Annual Meeting that year.)

Consumer prices for various food products and commodities were obtained from retail grocery store advertisements, actual grocery store surveys (on site visits) as well as USDA and US Bureau of Labor Statistics to compare retail prices in 1947 to those in 2004. Only specific food products, identified by brand name, or commodities that were available in comparable market forms were used. All product and commodities were equalized based on unit price and the price index determined by dividing the 2004 equalized price by the 1947 price. During this period, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 7.8 times.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 7.8 times over the 57 years covered in the chart, meaning that an average item that sold for $1 in 1947 would sell for $7.80 in 2004. As the chart shows, poultry and eggs outperformed all other commodities in the study, while meat, in general, outperformed many fruits and vegetables, a phenomenon that Dr. Fletcher explained in terms of the U.S. balance of supply and demand.

"The U.S. is essentially self-sufficient in animal agriculture, which makes us a net exporter of these goods, which helps hold down prices. This is the exact opposite of the situation with much of our fresh produce, where we import many items, such as cantaloupes and lettuce. The consumer pays a price for having fresh fruits and vegetables in winter, when those products have to be imported," said Dr. Fletcher.

The Impact of Research

Ongoing improvements in genetics, nutrition, disease control, and marketing have, according to Dr. Fletcher, been the key to poultry maintaining such good value over the years. Together, they have helped create a more efficient bird. In the 1940s, it took roughly six to seven pounds of feed to increase a broiler's weight by one pound; today it takes only about two pounds of feed. Given that feed is the single highest cost in the poultry production process, this has had an enormous impact on poultry prices. In addition, because researchers have selected for birds that utilize feed more efficiently, a modern commercial broiler has two to three times as much meat as the same age bird had in the 1950s.

Dr. Fletcher notes that these improvements in efficiency continue to be transferred to the consumer, and that both consumers and producers win.

In addition to the golden trio of genetics, nutrition and disease control, Dr. Fletcher notes that improvements in the way producers manage the environment in which birds are raised and how we market a variety of poultry products have also played an important role in keeping down the price of poultry. "We will continue to see gradual improvements in all of these areas, but only if we remain committed to them, which is why support for ongoing poultry research is so important," said Dr. Fletcher.

About PSA

The Poultry Science Association (PSA) is a global scientific society dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge generated by poultry research – knowledge that enhances human and animal health and well-being and provides for the ethical, sustainable, and economical production of food. Founded in 1908, PSA has a global membership of about 3,500. For more information, go to www.poultryscience.org.