Kentucky Agriculture
Commissioner Jonathan Shell
Contact Us
AgNet
  • About the KDA
      • Offices
      • Office of Commissioner
      • Office of Administrative Services
      • Office of Agricultural Marketing
      • Office of Agricultural Policy
      • Office of Communications
      • Office for Consumer & Environmental Protection
      • Offices
      • Office of Legal Services
      • Office of State Veterinarian
      • KDA Executive Staff
      • KDA Internship Program
      • Request an Official Appearance
      • News
      • Kentucky Agricultural News
      • Press Releases
      • News Archive
      • KY AGNEWS Sign Up
      • KDA Grants
      • All KDA Grants
      • All Current KDA Grants And Funding Opportunities
  • Ag Policy
      • Kentucky Office of Agricultural Policy
      • Kentucky Office of Agricultural Policy
      • Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund
      • Administrators
      • Applicants
      • Applicant Reporting
      • County Agricultural Development Councils
      • Kentucky Agricultural Development Board
      • Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation (KAFC)
      • Application Deadlines
      • Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation Board
      • Lender & Mentor
      • Loan Programs
      • Kentucky Agricultural Policy Publications
      • Annual Report 2019
      • Annual Report 2020
      • Annual Report 2021
      • Annual Report 2022
      • Annual Report 2023
      • Annual Report 2024
  • Animal
      • Animal Health
      • Animal Disposal and Rendering
      • Animal Welfare and Complaints
      • Beekeeping
      • Brands
      • Composting
      • Emergency Management
      • Animal Health
      • Equine
      • Farmed Cervids
      • Livestock
      • Movement and Identification
      • Online Permitting System
      • Animal Health
      • Pollinator Protection Registration System
      • Poultry
      • State Veterinarian
      • Stockyards and Dealers
      • Stray or Abandoned Horses
      • Animal Marketing Programs
      • Aquaculture
      • Livestock
      • Market News
      • Purebred Breeders Directory
      • Shows and Fairs
  • Online Services
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying Program
      • Ag Businesses Directory
      • Ag Ringtones
      • ARD Inspector Search
      • Free Web Page Builder
      • Hay for Sale
      • Hemp Licensing Portal
        (login required)
      • KDA Calendar of Events
      • Landscape Plant Availability Guide
      • Licensing and Certification Log In Portal
      • Licensing and Certification Registration Portal
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying Program
      • Online Permitting System
      • Pest Control Company Directory
      • Pesticide Complaint Form
      • Pollinator Protection Registration System
      • Product Registration and Renewal System
      • Purebred Breeders Directory
      • Service Agency
      • Stray or Abandoned Horses
      • Weights, Measures & Motor Fuel Complaint Form
  • Pesticides
      • Environmental Services
      • Licensing and Certification Portal
        (login required)
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying Program
      • Pest Control Company Directory
      • Pest Control - Agriculture
      • Pest Control - Structural
      • Environmental Services
      • Pesticide Product Registration
      • Pesticide Complaint Form
      • Pesticide Training and Testing
      • Public Pest and Recycling Assistance
      • Pesticide License Renewal Portal Login
      • Pesticide Registration and Renewal
      • Training and Testing
      • Training and Testing
      • Product Registration
      • Product Registration
  • Plant
      • Plant Marketing
      • Plant Marketing
      • Plant Marketing Programs
      • Farmers Markets
      • Forage/Hay Testing
      • GAP-Good Agriculture Practices
      • Ginseng
      • Plant Marketing Programs
      • Grape and Wine
      • Hemp
      • Hemp Licensing Portal (login required)
      • Horticulture
      • Plant Marketing Programs
      • Landscape Plant Availability Guide
      • Organic
      • Produce Safety Program
      • Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
  • Promotional
      • Marketing Programs
      • Ag Businesses
      • Ag Education
      • Agritourism
      • Appalachia Proud
      • Buy Local
      • CSA - Community Supported Agriculture
      • Marketing Programs
      • Emergency Management
      • Farm License Plate
      • Farm Safety
      • Farm to Fork
      • Farm to School
      • Farmers Markets Directory
      • Farmland Preservation/PACE
      • Forage/Hay Testing
      • Marketing Programs
      • Free Web Page Builder
      • Good Agricultural Practices - GAP
      • Marketing Grants
      • Homegrown By Heroes
      • International Trade
      • Junior Chef
      • KDA Grants
      • Kentucky Proud
      • Kentucky Wine
      • Marketing Programs
      • Livestock Tag
      • Local Food Purchase Assistance Grant
      • Market News
      • Mobile Science Activity Center
      • Promotion and Development
      • Raising Hope
      • Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure
      • Shows and Fairs
      • Woodlands
  • Regulatory
      • Food Programs
      • Farm to School
      • Chefs in Schools
      • Local Food Purchase Assistance Grant
      • National School Lunch Programs
      • Senior Farmers' Market
      • Supplemental Programs
      • Regulation & Inspection
      • Aerial Recreational Devices
      • Amusement Ride Inspections
      • Egg Licensing
      • Grain Licensing and Regulation
      • Grain Licensing Search
      • Licensing and Certification Portal
        (login required)
      • Teen & Tobacco
      • Weights and Measures
      • Weights, Measures & Motor Fuel Complaint Form
      • Environmental Services
      • Pest Control - Agriculture
      • Pest Control - Structural
      • Pesticide Complaint Form
      • Pesticide Product Registration
      • Pesticide Training and Testing
      • Public Pest and Recycling Assistance
      • Other
      • Brands
      • Composting
      • Market News
      • Organic Program
      • Rendering
      • Stockyards and Dealers
  • AGNET
  • Contact Us

Poultry farmers and industry representatives joined Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell, second from right, at the Fall Market event at Hayden Farms in Daviess County Sept. 22 to sign a proclamation declaring September Poultry Month in Kentucky.

23 SEPT

Kentucky’s poultry industry celebrated in September

Commissioner Shell celebrates one of Kentucky’s top commodities this month


FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2024) – Kentucky poultry producers and industry representatives joined Commissioner Jonathan Shell as he proclaimed September Poultry Month in Kentucky, celebrating one of Kentucky’s top commodities.


“Kentucky poultry producers are an economic engine for Kentucky,” Commissioner Shell said. “With more than 850 poultry farms and roughly 3,200 poultry houses in 50 counties, not to mention the thousands of backyard flocks found throughout the Commonwealth, it’s no doubt how the poultry industry is a top commodity for Kentucky. We want to take this month to celebrate what our poultry producers contribute to our agricultural landscape.


Poultry, which includes chickens (broilers), turkeys, and eggs, is consistently at the top of Kentucky’s commodities list. In 2022, Kentucky’s agricultural cash receipts reached a record high of $8.3 billion. That same year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Census of Agriculture, which is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them, estimated poultry and eggs made up $1.79 billion of that total, which was a 36 percent increase from the previous survey.


“As poultry production continues to grow, it not only supports the expansion of other vital commodities like Kentucky corn and soybeans, but also provides a unique opportunity to bring the next generation back to the farm,” said Jamie Guffey, Kentucky Poultry Federation executive director. “Poultry farming plays a crucial role in lowering the average age of farmers in the state, and we are proud to see more females leading poultry farms than in any other agricultural sector.”


By itself, Kentucky’s broiler production ranks No. 7 nationwide. In Kentucky, the industry employs around 6,300 people across the state and generates an additional 20,444 jobs in both the supply and ancillary industries.


Egg producers contribute approximately $214.7 million to Kentucky's economy while creating 1,769 total jobs for Kentuckians. Annually, 1.4 billion eggs are produced in Kentucky, helping to satisfy Americans’ appetites for the protein packed food. The most recent USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report found the average American consumed 279 eggs in 2022 with projections for 2023 even higher, up to 285 eggs per person.


Kentucky's turkey industry also plays an integral role in Kentucky's economy. The latest figures show the turkey industry was responsible for raising roughly $2 million birds and created as many as 2,567 jobs in our state.


In addition to creating an economic engine for Kentucky, the state’s poultry industry is the largest local buyer of Kentucky-grown corn and soybeans. Kentucky's poultry consumes 20- 25 percent of Kentucky-grown corn, meaning one in every four rows of corn planted in Kentucky goes to feed poultry in Kentucky.


For more photos, click here.

Press Release Sign-up

    In the News

  • 4/11/25 – Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corp. approves more than $2.1 million in loans
  • 3/18/25 – Ag Education Week brings the agriculture experience to the classroom
  • 3/17/25 – Russell County Hospital, Dry Branch Stock Farm partner up on Food is Medicine initiative
  • 3/07/25 – Agriculture Commissioner kicks off Ag Tag season visiting with FFA, 4-H members
  • 3/06/25 – 2025 Beef Expo sales reach more than $700,000
  • View All Press Releases...

    Agriculture Links

  • Kentucky Farm Bureau Newsroom
  • Cromwell Ag Network
  • Morning Ag Report - WKDZ 106.5 FM
ABOUT KDA AGNET CONTACT US REQUEST AN APPEARANCE
KY Department of Agriculture |Phone: (502) 573-0282 |Fax: (502) 564-2133 |1-800-327-6568 |Disclaimer |Ag links
© Kentucky Agriculture Department. All rights reserved.
Kentucky Proud