tained a minimum guarantee provision. This method of determining re- 

 turns appeared to reduce grower incentive, and it shifted almost all the 

 price risk to the grower. Returns under this plan were likely to fluctuate 

 much more than in other plans. 



Labor, Capital, and Cost Requirements 

 of Broiler Growers 



UTILIZATION OF LABOR IN BROILER PRODUCTION 



The amount of labor used per thousand broilers depends on the length 

 of time required to raise the flock to market weight, the level of manage- 

 ment, and the amount of technology in the form of labor-saving equip- 

 ment. The length of time required to raise broilers to a specific market 

 weight (generally about 3.5 pounds live weight per broiler) does not 

 vary much between growers. 



Integrators establish a minimum level of management for contract 

 growers through a program of education and supervision. This consists 

 of verbal or written instructions on what duties a contract grower must 

 perform. These instructions concern such things as type and quantity of 

 equipment to use per thousand broilers, methods of feeding, watering 

 and brooding, management of litter, ventilation, and temperature. 



Integrators hire field servicemen to visit contract growers from once 

 every other week to as often as twice a week to check on the progress of 

 the flock and management policy of the grower, take orders for any 

 needed supplies, and make recommendations. Contract growers who fail 

 to adhere to the instructions and recommendations may lose their con- 

 tracts. 



The amount of labor-saving equipment utilized by growers naturally 

 influences the requirement for labor. The more labor-saving equipment 

 a grower uses, the more man-hours are available for increasing the size 

 of his operation or earning income from other alternatives. However, in- 

 tegrators are not necessarily completely in favor of technology that re- 

 duces labor costs. 



In order to determine the labor requirements for producing broilers, 

 a survey of 50 contract growers producing for two integrators was made. 

 Out of the 50 schedules, 7 could not be used for lack of information. 

 Data were collected on man-hours expended for different chores during 

 two phases of the production period. The first phase, the brooding peri- 

 od, was 14 days. Data were collected on the number of man-hours ex- 

 pended on feeding, watering, brooding, and other chores such as litter 

 management, ventilation, and flock inspection. The second phase was 

 considered to be 56 days. During this period, man-hours expended per 

 day differed from the first period since different types of equipment were 

 generally used. Data collected consisted of man-hours expended for feed- 

 ing, watering, and such chores as ventilation, flock inspection, and litter 

 management. The 43 farms ranged in size from 3,200 to 35,000 broilers 

 per flock. 



Figure 9 illustrates the total number of man-hours expended per day 

 during the first phase. There is considerable dispersion around the re- 

 gression, which indicates wide variation in management and/or technol- 



21 



