The poultry industry in Mississippi is seeing a significant increase in growth, according to figures from an annual agriculture report. MPB's Ashley Norwood reports.
Agriculture is a 7.6 billion dollar industry in Mississippi according to recent Value of Production estimates reported by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Agricultural productions are the highest it's been since 2014. The state's poultry productions netted 330 thousand dollars more than its 2016 estimate.
Mark Leggett is the president of the Mississippi Poultry Association.
"For 21 years now, poultry has been the largest agricultural commodity in the state," says Leggett.
The net growth for poultry is primarily driven by increases in prices. Brian Williams is with the Mississippi State University Extension Services.
He says the price of broiler hens increased seven cents per pound and the average price of a dozen eggs rose from $1.91 to $2.27.
"Total poultry production was about 2.7 almost 2.8 billion dollars. About 2.5 billion of that came from broilers while the rest came from eggs," said Williams.
Williams says agriculture contributes to the state's overall economy.
"As farmers do well in our rural communities, they take the money they're making and invest it in local communities and it really just helps the community as a whole and helps our state economy as a whole," says Williams.
Mississippi is fifth in the nation for poultry production according to the Mississippi Farm Bureau.
