September 6, 2007

US chicken farms handling summer heatwave well

While record summer temperatures have killed 40 people in the US state of Georgia, the poultry industry in the state has emerged seemingly unscathed from the current heatwave. 

While such temperatures would have led to mass die-offs in the farms previously, modern poultry farm equipment has ensured that losses are kept to a minimum.

Abit Massey, president of the Georgia Poultry Federation attributes the good performance to the technology of tunnel ventilation, upgraded housing and cool cells,

Ray Hilburn, deputy commissioner of Alabama's Department of Agriculture and Industries said if the current temperatures had been present 15 years ago, the industry would have lost a million chickens.

Poultry farms in states like North Carolina and Virginia are also reportedly coping well with the heat.