There’s simply not enough chicken to go around as US demand for the meat surges, reports the New York Post (May 12, 2021) Underperforming roosters that aren’t producing as many chicks as expected are partly to blame for the shortage, according to Tyson Foods. The Arkansas-based company, one of the world’s largest poultry producers, says that it’s struggling to ramp up chicken supply because the new roosters it’s been using for fertilizing eggs and breeding new chicks simply aren’t hitting expectations.
“We’re changing out one type of male that, quite frankly, we made a bad decision on,” says the company president. Breeding companies provide hens and roosters to chicken producers like Tyson, which then breed the birds and hatch their eggs to produce poultry. Tyson owns one of the major breeding companies in the US.
The company switched to the new kind of rooster because it improved the quality of meat. The hatching crisis hit Tyson in January, after it introduced the rooster that’s now getting the boot. (It has moved back to the roosters it previously used).
The company discovered that eggs fertilized by this specific type of rooster hatch less often, limiting the company’s supply just as nationwide demand for chicken is sky high. While working to replace the rooster by the fall, but there could be a lingering supply hit that carries over into next year. The breeding problem could be responsible for as much as half of Tyson’s problems meeting demand for its chicken.
There are other factors also holding back chicken supply. The winter storm that slammed Texas earlier this year as well as “worker absenteeism” and a surge in demand are also hurting supply.
Classroom discussion questions:
- Why is this an OM issue?
- What mistakes did Tyson make?