California Secretary Karen Ross toured poultry facilities at Foster Farms last Friday, starting with the chicken hatchery, shown here with Foster Farms executives Mike Pruitt and Ron Foster. Veterinarians Dr. Charles Corsiglia and Dr. Robert O’Connor coordinated the tour and also included California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Whiteford and California Food Safety Lab Director Dr. Richard Breitmeyer. Dressed here in mandatory biosecurity clothing, the group also toured a production house and the Livingston processing facility.

A new nationwide study of key poultry states shows that California has about 20,000 direct employees in the industry and more than 85,000 indirect employees. More than 100,000 California workers depend on poultry for its livelihood. This study was a John Dunham Company report paid for by U.S. Poultry and Census of Manufacturing (Commerce Department) and the USDA.

The wholesale value of poultry shipments total $8 billion in California, almost 10 percent of the nation’s total impact. Nationwide poultry shipments account for $100 billion.

Indirect economic activity coming from poultry production and processing in California is more than $22 billion. "The poultry industry has a huge impact in the economic health of California, and, its worker-intense operations make it one of the state’s manufacturing job machines," says California Poultry Federation President Bill Mattos.

 

Karen Ross

Mike Pruitt (left), Karen Ross (center) and Ron Foster (right)

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