Poultry Is High on Corn’s Market Development Pecking Order

Ahhhh September…the cool crisp air, the return of football and the celebration of poultry. Wait…what?

September has been dubbed National Poultry Month and is a time to reflect on what the industry provides to consumers and markets. While chickens and other poultry may be smaller than the cattle and hogs we feed, their significance on corn markets is not miniscule. That’s why corn growers support efforts to build poultry exports.

“Sometimes we don’t think about poultry because we live in a beef state, but poultry is the second largest consumer in the animal ag sector,” says Chad Epler, southeast Kansas farmer, KCGA board member and member of National Corn’s Market Development Action Team. “Poultry exports add 28 cents of value to a bushel of corn. It’s the easiest grain for chickens to digest, and they think it tastes good.”

The goal of the NCGA Market Development Action Team is to grow demand for corn through partnerships in the food and livestock industries, fostering new uses and stabilizing international trade. These teams utilize staff, growers and industry members to help foster and prioritize national corn programs and initiatives.

“In market development we’re always looking for new or potential expansion in markets,” says Epler. “When you think about exporting corn you think of grain or ethanol by-products, but we are also exporting it through the livestock we feed and the meat we export such as beef and poultry. We produce high quality corn and feeding it to livestock creates a high-quality product at the grocery store.”

NCGA’s Market Development Action team works closely with partner associations in the livestock industry, such as the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council. The action team has helped fund USAPEEC’s online Buyer Guides, which are a tool for customers of US poultry to learn more about American chicken, egg, and turkey products.

“The previously existing Buyer Guides were all PDF resources originally designed in 1996, so they were ready to be modernized and most importantly, digitalized,” says Michael Granche, Market Development Manager for NCGA. “With customers across the globe, these new guides can utilize Google to translate in real-time to the language of the region their accessed in. This is tremendously advantageous because it’s faster and significantly cheaper than having to individually translate each guide into various languages which ultimately better serves our customers.”

These guides detail the entire portfolio of US poultry product offerings and illustrate the safety and sustainability of uncooked and prepared products. Each guide then directs the reader/customer to a section on the sustainability of US corn and prompts the reader/customer to place a trade lead which indicates interest in purchasing product.

“Sustainability is a big word thrown around in our action team because the end consumer and buyers across the world want to know how our corn is grown,” Epler says. “Countries want sustainability certificates and assurances. These buyer guides help us tell the story of the US poultry industry in an accessible and effective way, which is a big win for us.”

Click on the links below to check out the USAPEEC Buyer Guides.

Chicken Buyer Guide: https://www.usapeec.org/buyingandselling/buyersguide/

Turkey Buyer Guide: https://www.usapeec.org/buyingandselling/buyersguide/turkey/

Egg Buyer Guide: https://www.usapeec.org/buyingandselling/buyersguide/egg/