Poultry & Livestock – Vital Corn Customers.

A Synergistic Relationship

  • Corn farmers and livestock producers have enjoyed a mutually beneficial and synergistic relationship. Livestock and poultry producers have come to rely on the corn industry as a top source of high-quality, nutritional feed. In turn, corn growers have long depended on the livestock and poultry sector as its number one customer.
  • In Kentucky, about 70 million bushels of corn produced are fed to livestock, with 25-30% of Kentucky’s corn being consumed by the state’s poultry industry. Poultry alone consumes 25-30% of the corn produced in the Commonwealth.
  • Nationally, about 40% of total corn production feeds livestock annually; this equates to more than 5 billion bushels per year feeding livestock and poultry.
  • Corn farmers continue to grow more corn each year. We continue to provide 5+ billion bushels for poultry and livestock feed, and the increased supply is used for other industries such as bourbon, new uses, and ethanol.
  • Bourbon and ethanol production produces distiller grains and feed-grade corn oil through their dry mill distillation process. This provides an additional less-expensive, higher-protein and fat feed source for poultry and livestock producers.

Kentucky’s Livestock Industry

  • Even though Kentucky has major metropolitan areas, it is the largest cattle-producing state west of the Mississippi.

Building Strategic Relationships with Importers

  • In August, representatives of the Kentucky Corn Promotion Council traveled to Sonora, Mexico. They met with present and future memorandum of understanding (MOU) partners to see stinger and FOSS corn fiber analytic equipment. The organization has been working with the Sonora Pork Producers Association, an MOU partner, on increasing the volume of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) among swine, poultry and cattle producers.

They will work closely with the Hermosillo Cattle Producers Association on conducting proper feed rations analysis to utilize U.S. corn’s value fully. Through this mission, the Council looks to maintain its long-term relationships with significant grain importers and end users across Sonora while solidifying strategic relationships in Mexico by working closely with organizations in U.S. corn-producing states.