U.S. Poultry & Egg Association is celebrating 75 years of service to the poultry and egg industry. Formed in May of 1947 in Atlanta, the organization was originally known as the Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association and was created to help its members meet the challenges of the ever-changing poultry and egg industry. The organization’s name was changed to the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) in 1996 to reflect the association’s national scope.
USPOULTRY represents the complete spectrum of today’s poultry and egg industry, with a mission of progressively serving member companies through research, education, communications and technical services. Association membership includes producers and processors of broilers, turkeys, ducks, eggs and breeding stock, as well as allied firms.
Association leaders recognized early the importance of continuing education for managers to keep up with the rapid changes and advancements occurring in the industry. This is demonstrated through USPOULTRY’s International Poultry Expo, part of the International Production & Processing Expo, which will also be celebrating its 75thanniversary with the 2023 Expo. It can further be seen in the oldest, still-running seminar hosted by USPOULTRY, the Poultry Processor Workshop, which was established in 1958.
Another ongoing legacy of USPOULTRY has been its Research Program with more than $34 million reinvested into the industry in the form of competitive research grants. The research is selected by a panel of industry experts and conducted primarily at universities around the nation to provide a comprehensive look at every aspect of poultry and egg production and processing. Current funding levels for research are more than $1 million per year.
The USPOULTRY Foundation allocates funds to more than 30 schools, including six schools with poultry science degrees, to recruit students into poultry-related courses or degree programs. Recruiting new talent to the poultry industry has been an additional legacy, as well as an ongoing program of the association. The College Student Career Program, held in conjunction with the Expo, was established in 1967 and brings hundreds of students together with industry and allied firms to interview for full-time and internship opportunities.
Technical services are provided to the industry via USPOULTRY’s Environmental, Food Safety and Production, and Worker Safety/Risk Management Programs. A unique service USPOULTRY provides to sister trade associations is IT support, built on the IT expertise USPOULTRY developed to manage the International Poultry Expo and its own activities. Furthermore, the Education Program has been expanded to include extensive training and learning mechanisms. USPOULTRY’s comprehensive list of annual conferences, workshops and clinics help keep every segment of poultry and egg management informed and up-to-date.
From its inception, the ultimate goal of USPOULTRY has been to serve the poultry and egg industry and its members. USPOULTRY continues to be as dynamic as the industry it serves, constantly evolving and offering innovative ways to provide research, technical services, learning experiences and communication to meet the challenges of the future.
“Seventy-five years of service is quite a milestone, and we are certainly proud of our legacy. However, we remain focused on assisting the industry in meeting the challenges of today. To that end, we are grateful for the advice and counsel of our volunteer leadership on our Board and industry committees,” said John Starkey, president of USPOULTRY.
