The Delmarva poultry industry continued to see growth in 2016.
Growers were building new chicken houses, in some cases to replace outdated facilities as a specialized lender entered the market.
Residents and government officials worried about too many chicken houses in a small area and counties in Maryland proposed zoning restrictions.
That kept Georgetown-based Delmarva Poultry Industry busy in 2016. The trade group had sharpened its focus on public policy after dropping its long-running chicken festival.
While standing up for growers, Delmarva Poultry advised farmers to be good neighbors. The population continues to grow in central and southern Delaware and new residents often do not come with ties to the industry that employs thousands in the state.
The broiler industry has moved to the north to Cecil County, MD, with some residents protesting plans for chicken houses.
Cecil County shares a border with New Castle County, an area where suurban sprawl rules out expansion.
Driving growth and change were consumers demanding chickens not treated with antibiotics and raised in more humane conditions.
Perdue responded with a series of steps that included moving added production of organic chicken and ending the use of antibiotics.
In a related development, the Perdue announced plans to put its agribusiness headquarters near the Delaware line. The company’s headquarters is just across the state line in Salisbury, Md.
The agribusiness operation grew out of the need to import feed for chickens into Delmarva. The business has since expanded into other areas Perdue is also moving into high-end pork and beef with the purchase of Niman Ranch.
Allen Harim consolidated its Delmarva processing operations to its Harbeson, DE plant and closing a smaller site in Cordova, MD.
Mountaire, the third large poultry company in Delaware, expanded in North Carolina, buying a former Townsend site.
Mountaire entered the Delaware market after purchasing operations of Townsend, a pioneer in the state’s poultry industry. It went on to expand the plant in Millsboro in 2010.]
Also completed this year was an administration building for Mountaire in Millsboro.
