The Value of Poultry Litter to Farmers on Delmarva

Abstract

In 1923, the modern broiler industry was born on the Delmarva Peninsula and created an economic driver of the area that remains continuous (Williams, 1998). Through broiler production, broilers are grown in barns to slaughter age and processed at large integrators’ processing facilities. The birds are grown by contract growers who have the responsibility of managing the poultry litter, composed of a combination of bedding material, feed, feathers, manure, and uric acid. This product is often considered waste but is a valuable commodity to farmers who grow crops such as corn (Zea mays), soybeans (Glycine max), and wheat (Tryticum aestivum) and pastureland. These farmers could utilize poultry litter as a fertilizer that has economic and soil health benefits. Input fertilizer costs have increased and continue to be variable for 2023 which makes poultry litter use more viable. While there are environmental risks to land application of poultry litter, there are stringent regulations across all three states in the Delmarva Peninsula and a series of incentivized best management practices to ensure poultry growers and end user farmers are being responsible with land application of poultry litter. Poultry litter should be seen as a commodity that poultry growers can supply to offset inorganic fertilizer use if utilized in an environmentally conscious way. Poultry growers and grain farmers can form a symbiotic relationship between poultry production and feed inputs for broiler growers.