Published November 1963 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
From the Office of UNITED STATES SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD Room 342, Old Senate Office Building, Washington 25, D. C. Volume III -- Number 48 11-29-63 BYRD'S EYE VIEW A Public Service Column by SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD HOW MASS PRODUCTION IN POULTRY IS AFFECTING WEST VIRGINIA Poultry raising in the United States has long been identified with the Appalachian slopes, where steep land does not favor row cropping. The Eastern Panhandle counties of West Virginia have utilized this hilly farmland, and the readily available labor, to become one of the leading poultry producing regions in the country. However, automation is now altering the poultry industry by reducing the labor component as well as the need for inexpensive land. Automation has brought about mass production of poultry products, but it has also lowered the margin of profit and increased the capital risk. Financial responsibility has shifted, in many areas, from the farmer to the "integrator"--the organization that supplies the birds, the feed, and the market outlet, and merely pays the farmer for tending the henhouse. This kind of "integration" is believed responsible for the shifting of poultry centers from the northern and middle .Appalachian ranges to the south, where Georgia and Alabama are now the leaders. Broiler and egg production in West Virginia, although valued at $22 million in 1962, has declined in recent years. Agricultural economists are seeking to understand the factors which make for success or failure in the poultry business. For successful competition in today's poultry market, the availability of capital for automatic equipment, stock, and feed appear~ to be a more important factor than a labor supply, market vicinity, climate, or any other factor. For example, where the volume of birds processed annually exceeds 2,000, automatic picking machines are advised. Where broilers are raised on a large scale, automatic feeding and watering devices make it possible for one man to raise as many as 40,000 birds with extra help for brief periods only. Freezing facilities are a must for large turkey processors, as 85 per cent of the American turkey crop is shipped frozen, and millions of frozen turkeys go into the school lunch program annually. Small poultrymen depending on hand labor will have difficulty competing with the growing massive organization of the industry. However, Mountain State farmers who wish to retain their traditional independence can do so by going in for specialty items, such as smoked turkeys and other fowl. The hickory forests of West Virginia afford poultrymen an opportunity to develop a flavorsome product that could be sold nationally by mail order, as well as purveyed from roadside stands, resorts, and other local outlets. Another form of turkey now being marketed is the frozen turkey "steak," which is an attractive "convenience food." Turkey steaks, being mostly protein, appeal to the weight-conscious buyer who likes meat but has to stay away from fat. West Virginia's poultry industry is important to our national defense. In the event of a nuclear war, it would be important to have a valuable food source located in out-of-the-way (non-target) areas and capable of development completely under cover with a minimum of feed requirements. Raised on mash, American broilers can put on a pound of weight for every two pounds of feed consumed. This is the highest grain per pound-cost of feed that has ever been achieved in any form of livestock anywhere in the world. -30-