Poultry farmers across the country were not cackling when they were paid less per chicken in 2020 due to Covid-19.

Fortunately, government pandemic relief subsidies to farmers made up for some of the drop in revenue.  

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service under USDA, the combined value of production from broilers, eggs and chicken nationwide decreased 11-percent from 2019.

The overall drop for poultry was higher in some states like Kentucky which experienced a 19-percent combined loss of value, according to NASS. 

According to NASS, proceeds from the sale of broilers, eggs and chickens in Kentucky fell from $1.1 billion in 2019 to $856 million last year.

Separately, 299 million broilers were produced in Kentucky which was just slightly down from the previous year.

However, the total value of all broilers produced in the state was $709 million or 24-percent less than in 2019.

Just over five million chickens in Kentucky went for slaughter in 2020 which was up four-percent.

However, the total amount of revenue in sales for chickens dropped from $1.16 million in 2019 to $614,000 last year, according to NASS.

David Knopf, Regional Director at the USDA-NASS Field Office at Louisville, said chickens in the statistical report are former layers used for meat consumption. 

Broilers are raised from the beginning strictly for meat, he said.  

Jamie Guffey, Executive Director of the Kentucky Poultry Federation, said the drop in per head price had a lot to do with restaurants closing or restricted to drive up and delivery because of the pandemic. 

He said the amount of chicken sold to grocery stores increased from more people eating at home but that didn’t offset the total drop in revenue because chickens used at restaurants are sold at a premium. 

“You go to Walmart and you buy a six pack of chicken breasts.  What’s it cost you?  You go to Logan’s Roadhouse and you get a chicken breast dinner.  What does that cost you,”?  Guffey said.

Egg producers in 2020 fared much better financially.

According to NASS, there were 112 billion eggs produced nationwide which was one-percent less than 2019.

However, total money collected in sales from those eggs increased by 18-percent to $8.6 billion. According to NASS, the 1.6 billion eggs produced in Kentucky was an increase of seven-percent from the previous year.

The same eggs were valued at $146 million or 19-percent more than the amount produced in 2019.

Guffey said the price of eggs shot up during the first three months of the pandemic from people stockpiling at the grocery stores.

He said egg prices were also not impacted as much from the decline in restaurant sales because of the popularity and presence of eggs in food available on drive-up menus.

“Most egg consumption is at quick service restaurants,” Guffey said.

In 2020, Kentucky was 7th in broiler production behind Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia, according to NASS. 

Georgia was the largest producer of broilers at 1.3 billion. About the same amount of broilers were produced by Georgia in 2019 but the total value dropped from $4 billion to just under $3 billion, according to NASS.

Georgia ranked third in total chicken production at 25 million, trailing Indiana and Iowa which combined produced 71 million broilers and former layers, NASS said.

According to NASS, Iowa and Indiana along with Ohio produce about one-third of the eggs nationwide.

Guffey said chicken farmers would have felt a real financial pinch had it not been for the government COVID-19 relief money covering of the losses.

“We’re hopeful things will continue to increase in 2021 in terms of 100-percent seating capacity and change in purchasing habits,” Guffey said. 

A majority of the chickens in Kentucky are raised on the western half of the state.