[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 57 (Thursday, April 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE MISSISSIPPI POULTRY ASSOCIATION IN OBSERVANCE OF THEIR 
                            75TH ANNIVERSARY

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                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 19, 2012

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
the Mississippi Poultry Association as they celebrate their 75th 
Anniversary. Poultry is Mississippi's largest agricultural commodity. 
To date, the poultry industry has more than a $6 billion impact on the 
state's economy. With 20 processing facilities and approximately 2,000 
growers, the Mississippi poultry industry employs roughly, 56,000 
people both directly and indirectly.
  The Mississippi Poultry Association was formed in 1937 as the 
Mississippi Poultry Improvement Association to help battle poultry 
diseases and promote the development of the industry in the State of 
Mississippi. The Mississippi's poultry industry is comprised of 
growers, feed mills, hatcheries, processing plants, laboratories, and 
company headquarters.
  Mississippi ranks fifth in the nation in poultry production. 
Mississippi companies process about 757 million birds per year, 250 
times the human population of the state, and 400 million table eggs per 
year. The industry has grown from a few family-owned feed and seed 
stores who sold chickens and farmers who raised chickens, mostly into 
an integrated global industry with about 12 percent of broiler 
production exported around the globe.
  Mississippi poultry companies support their communities. The 
Mississippi Poultry Association helped initiate the Emerging Crops Loan 
program passed by the legislature that has made it easier for many more 
farmers to enter the poultry industry and has worked closely with 
institutions of higher learning and government agencies such as 
Mississippi State University, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture 
and Commerce, the Board of Animal Health and the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.
  Mr. Speaker, Mississippi poultry companies donate thousands of pounds 
of their products annually to fight hunger and to aid and develop their 
communities. I ask that you and our colleagues join me in recognizing 
the Mississippi Poultry Association in observance of their 75th 
Anniversary.

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