Before purchasing or building a commercial contract poultry farm, growers need to understand key aspects of the industry to make essential business decisions and build a secure future for their enterprise. Learn more in this first of a five-part series for new farmers in the commercial broiler industry.

Growers have many considerations when purchasing or building a commercial poultry farm. A potential grower must first understand the basic nature of the poultry farm being considered and which live production sector it serves.

For each sector in a traditional integrated poultry system, the contract poultry grower owns the real property, the grow-out houses, and associated equipment on
the farm. The poultry company, sometimes called the integrator, owns the birds throughout the process.

The integrator provides the birds, feed, veterinary care, transportation, processing, marketing, and grow-out management oversight. In exchange for the contracted payment, the grower provides the facilities needed for grow out, labor, and all utilities required for proper husbandry of the birds as guided by the integrator.

The ultimate product of all live production operations is the broiler, or meat-type bird, that goes into the processing plant to produce meat for human consumption. For the typical integrated broiler company, three farm types serve the live production sector of the company: pullet farms, breeder farms, and broiler farms.