Use of Synthesized Models to Determine Broiler Processing Plant Economies

INTRODUCTION THE consumer demand for fresh, ready-to-cook broilers has expanded rapidly during the past decade. Washington commercial broiler production (2¼ to 4 pounds live weight) in 1940 totaled 2,148,000 pounds compared with a total of 17,580,000 pounds in 1950. This type of relationship also exists for other leading poultry-meat producing areas in the United States. This rapid expansion in Washington production has followed a similar expansion in the state’s urban population. This relationship is important, because an increasing production of fresh cut-up broilers must be accompanied by a market willing to purchase this increased production at a market price satisfactory to producers and marketers. Here it should be noted that although we are concerned primarily with broiler production and processing plants in Washington, these technical and economic relationships ought to apply to other areas. PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVES During the past decade, existing broiler processing facilities in Washington were inadequate to . . .