Which state leads in broiler chickens? 🐔

How did it start? The New Georgia Encyclopedia says that in the early 1900s, chickens in Georgia were raised mostly for their eggs. Farm women slowly began selling eggs and chickens on a bigger scale, and by 1924 north Georgia chickens were being sold to other states by rail. The 1920s were a disaster for most Georgia farmers. Then, in the 1930s, a feed salesman in Gainesville named Jesse Jewell offered north Georgia farmers a deal: he would sell them baby chicks and feed on credit (pay later). When the chicks were grown, his company would buy the chickens back at a price that covered his costs and guaranteed the farmers a profit. During World War II, the War Food Administration reserved all the processed chicken in north Georgia, so the companies had a guaranteed buyer. After the war, it seemed that everyone in north Georgia was getting into the chicken business. In 1998 Georgia became the top broiler-producing state in the country. Later, chicken farming also moved more and more into south Georgia, where land is cheaper and more plentiful, as cooling technology improved to cope with its hot summers.

Who says so: New Georgia Encyclopedia (Georgia Humanities with the University of Georgia Press)↗ (opens in a new tab)

The Encyclopedia's article on Jesse Jewell says he is widely credited with making Gainesville the “poultry capital of the world.” He pioneered vertical integration in Georgia's poultry business: one company doing every step itself, from raw materials to processing to distribution. He added the pieces one by one: his own hatchery (where eggs hatch into chicks) in 1940, a processing plant in 1941, and his own feed mill and rendering plant by 1954. His company set the standard for poultry processors everywhere, and so did his trademark frozen chicken.

Who says so: New Georgia Encyclopedia (Georgia Humanities with the University of Georgia Press)↗ (opens in a new tab)