Indiana’s poultry producers were honored for their generosity to Hoosiers in need.
“This year we are celebrating donations of upwards of 250,000 pounds of duck, turkey, and broiler chickens, 1,000,000 dozen chicken eggs and 50,000 dozen duck eggs,” says Becky Joniskan, President of the Indiana State Poultry Association (ISPA).
Joniskan and other ag leaders representing Indiana’s turkey, duck, chicken and egg industries were recognized during the 77th Annual Governor’s Poultry Presentation at the Statehouse on Monday.
During the event, ISPA also displayed several hundred pounds of poultry products from many of Indiana’s leading businesses including Culver Duck, Perdue Farms, MPS Egg Farms, Maple Leaf Farms, Miller Amish Country Poultry, and Rose Acre Farms. Following the presentation, the food items on display were donated to Second Helpings—a non-profit food agency helping those in need in the Indianapolis area.
Gov. Eric Holcomb (R-IN), who was there for his eighth and final presentation, thanked the leaders of Indiana’s poultry industry for their long practice of working to address food insecurity in communities across the state.
“This is a rich tradition of [Indiana’s poultry producers] passing on their bounty and blessings to those who are maybe a little less fortunate,” says Holcomb. “Second Helpings will be in receipt of a lot of nourishment good protein, eggs, turkey, chickens, and ducks, so that they can have a good Thanksgiving just like so many other Hoosiers around them.”
In addition, Joniskan says that Indiana poultry producers have donated more than $120,000 this year to charitable organizations in their communities.
“Our producers are also very engaged in their communities in other ways whether that’s FFA, 4-H, and Boys and Girls Clubs,” she says.
The strength of Indiana’s poultry industry was also recognized, with Indiana being one of the top poultry producing states in the country.
“We are the number one producer of duck in the United States. We produce 60 percent of the nation’s duck here in Indiana,” says Joniskan.
Indiana is also number three in the U.S. for egg production and number four for turkey production according to the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service.
Indiana’s poultry industry directly employs more than 12,700 Hoosiers and contributes more than $18.3 billion in total economic activity to the state.
The Indiana State Poultry Association’s recognition event is an annual tradition that dates back to the late 1940s. Organized by ISPA, one of the oldest poultry organizations in the nation, it was designed to recognize the strength and generosity of Indiana’s poultry industry, as well as the annual donations made by its members, who are responsible for more than 95 percent of the chicken, duck, turkey and eggs produced in Indiana.
Click here for more information about the Indiana State Poultry Association.
Click here for more information about the Indiana Turkey Marketing Council.
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