Layout and Operations of Cooperative Poultry Dressing Plants

Excerpts from the report: During the past 10 years there has been a large increase in the number of chickens dressed at poultry dressing plants in the commercial broiler producing areas. The volume was accelerated by the war which greatly stimulated the poultry industry. As a result, the number of poultry dressing plants, particularly in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, increased. In these States poultry became a leading agricultural enterprise as both production and processing were commercialized. Producer groups, local businessmen, chain grocery firms, and large meat packers participated, and plants of a great variety of types and sizes were constructed. The volume of poultry purchased by the armed forces declined when the war ended. Scarcity and high price of feed and high cost of labor increased the cost of production and processing. As the margin of profit narrowed, efficiency in processing became more important. To assist processors in reducing cost the Farm Credit Administration, in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, planned a study of processing costs and of plants and equipment. It was felt that cost records, coupled with detailed Information on plant design and operations, might be of considerable value to the industry. While it was not possible to carry out the cost study, Information on operations and equipment was obtained during the winter of 1945 from 13 farmers’ cooperative plants, one in North Carolina, one in West Virginia, three in Virginia, four in Maryland, one in Pennsylvania, one in Massachusetts, and two in Missouri. Visits also were made to two other plants in Maryland, four in Delaware, one in New York, one in Massachusetts, and one in Missouri.