Alberta Chicken Producers is a farmer-run, not-for-profit marketing board that regulates broiler chicken production in Alberta.

Alberta Chicken Producers is comprised of 250 regulated chicken producers.

 All registered producers must follow national food safety and animal care programs, which are audited annually by third party auditors; and, they must maintain their certification under these programs as a condition of their licenses to produce chicken.

Alberta Chicken Producers license and register all producers, hatcheries and processors engaged in the production of regulated product in Alberta.

In addition to regulated producers, Alberta also provides an exemption limit of 2,000 chickens per year for individuals to raise and market chicken for the purposes of personal consumption, sale from farm gate, or sale at farmers’ markets within Alberta.

The 2,000 exemption is the highest in Canada; and Alberta Chicken Producers champions the size of the Alberta exemption limit nationally because it offers opportunity for producers to gain experience in the production of chicken and enter the industry.

Exempt chicken production is marketed through channels that are not competition for the regulated producers. We value the exempt sector and want to work with these producers, where and as appropriate, to ensure they are set up for success in complying with the regulations.

Alberta Chicken Producers also issues a Communal Group Quota to communal groups that wish to grow more than the 2,000 exemption. Communal groups wishing to access this production are permitted to grow up to 6,000 chickens annually for the purposes of personal consumption, sale from farm gate or sale at farmers’ markets within Alberta.  There are currently 74 communal quota holders in Alberta.

 Growth:

Despite what some critics may say, Alberta’s chicken industry creates opportunities for new entrants. Our industry is growing in terms of the number of producers and the volume of product produced, as well as in the number of farm, hatchery and processing operations.

Producers:

• Ten years ago, there were just under 230 chicken producers in Alberta; today there are 250.
• In the last five years (2014-2018) Alberta’s chicken sector averaged 12 new chicken producers per year, not including family transfers.
• Many new producers are first generation, and the majority of our producer base is a younger demographic, between the ages of 18-49.

Production:

• In addition to a growing producer base, Alberta’s total chicken production has and continues to experience robust growth.
• In 2018, Alberta’s total chicken production increased by 6.65% over 2017; and Alberta’s combined growth over the last 5 years (2014-2018) has been 31.7% - an average of 6.3% per year.

Investments & Innovation:

• In the past three years alone, 45 new chicken barns and 17 new breeder barns have been built in Alberta, and many producers have invested into innovative technologies and equipment in their current facilities. 15 new chicken barns and 2 new breeder barns are currently under construction and are planned to commence operation in 2019.