Delmarva Chicken Association

05/28/2026

Did we see you at the Marydel Ag Supply and Perdue Farms open house in Houston? Hope so!

05/27/2026

The sixth annual Booster BBQ is a week away! Double the ice cream trucks, delicious barbecued chicken, lawn games for the kids, dozens and dozens of vendor booths to visit, and a new class of Outstanding Grower honorees... this will be a treat for DCA members. Register by May 29 to attend.

05/21/2026

Delmarva Chicken Association granted scholarships totaling $30,000 to 15 students pursuing college and graduate degrees relevant to careers in Delmarva’s chicken industry through the DCA College Scholarship Program. Three graduate students and twelve undergraduate students, selected by a committee of DCA members who reviewed their applications, recommendations, and academic achievements, earned scholarship awards.

The graduate students receiving $3,000 scholarships are:

🐔Bishal Bhattachan of Hyattsville, Md., a graduate student at the University of Maryland. Bhattachan hopes to become a poultry researcher making advances in gut health, nutrition, and muscle biology.

🐔Unishma Ghimire of Princess Anne, Md., a graduate student at University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Ghimire is seeking a master’s degree and is studying heat stress resilience in pasture-raised broiler chickens.

🐔Jiddu Joseph of Newark, Del., a graduate student at the University of Delaware. Joseph is pursuing a doctoral degree in animal and food sciences, and has focused his research on pathogens that threaten flock health.

The undergraduate students receiving $2,000 scholarships are:

🐔Macy Cook of Cordova, Md., a student at the University of Mount Olive studying for a degree in agribusiness.

🐔Mason Jewell of Hartly, Del., a student at the University of Kentucky pursuing a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics.

🐔McKenna Vest of Clayton, Del., a student at Texas A&M University working towards a degree in agricultural economics.

🐔Avery Kerrick of Greenwood, Del., who is pursuing a degree in agricultural education and advocacy at the University of Kentucky.

🐔Caroline Kimball of Ridgely, Md., who will attend either Purdue University or Virginia Tech in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in animal science.

🐔Muhammad Ibrahim of Hurlock, Md., a student interested in engineering who will attend the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

🐔Brooklynne Keiser of Smyrna, Del., who is enrolling at the University of Delaware to seek a degree in business administration.

🐔Katelyn Sankar of Centreville, Md., who is pursuing a degree in entrepreneurship from Grove City College.

🐔Madeline Tomlinson of Parsonsburg, Md., who is set to attend St. Mary’s College of Maryland with an intended major in marine science.

🐔Sarah Yamakawa of Fruitland, Md., who is enrolling at the University of Maryland and hopes to study biology and ornithology.

Two additional students earned special ‘pick of the flock’ $500 scholarships, drawn from the remaining pool of strong scholarship candidates:

🐤Madelyn Cook of Eden, Md., attending Salisbury University and seeking a degree in business management/human resources.

🐤Brayden Hearn of Laurel, Del., who attends Delaware Valley University and is seeking a degree in agricultural business.

05/14/2026

For the fifth year, DCA will recognize a chicken grower who goes above and beyond to make his or her farm environmentally responsible and compatible with neighboring properties with the George 'Bud' Malone Environmental Award. This award shines a spotlight on Delmarva chicken growers who integrate vegetative environmental buffers and other conservation measures, ensuring their farms are sustainable and are good neighbors. Two past Malone Award winners have gone on to be recognized with the USPOULTRY State Association Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award.
Apply by June 30.

This award shines a spotlight on Delmarva chicken growers who integrate vegetative environmental buffers and other conservation measures, ensuring their farms are sustainable and are good neighbors.

05/12/2026

Leg Hall, lunch was on us today! Thanks to every guest we saw during Chicken Day in Dover. It's a treat to gather lawmakers, growers and chicken community leaders in the same spot to discuss what we do.

05/08/2026

DCA members, have you RSVP'd for the June Booster BBQ? Your April postcard let you know how many guests you can register, and look for an email today with an easy signup link. Hope you can make it to this start-summer-off-right event! Message us if you have questions about registration.

05/06/2026

The mug. The cooler. The suspense! See who won last month's membership renewal drawing. There's one more month of prize giveaway drawings just for joining DCA.

05/04/2026

It's nice to see chicken getting its due as a major contributor to the Delaware economy - and Perdue Farms's Rusty Covington, the 2026 DCA president, getting a nod as a leader in the field!

Meet the Delawareans making change happen in 2026 in industry and development, part of our Most Influential & Inspiring series See link below ⬇️

📸 Provided by the Delmarva Chicken Association

04/29/2026

It's official: the CAFO permitting reform bills DCA fought for all year have been signed into law, ending a de facto moratorium on chicken farm investments. We hope this is a welcome signal that family farmers raising chickens are, in fact, valued in Maryland.

04/24/2026

The Maryland Department of the Environment released on their website today the 2025 general discharge permit for animal feeding operations, better known as a CAFO permit, replacing a previous permit that expired in July 2025. Chicken growers in Maryland have run their farms under the terms of the expired permit, as required by the state, but no farmer has been able to apply for a new CAFO permit – a required step to build or expand a chicken farm, or even to replace older chicken houses with new ones – because of the department’s admitted delay. With this new permit taking effect on May 8, Maryland broiler chicken growers will soon begin the process of applying for the new permit.

“We welcome the news that MDE has finalized the 25AF permit as required by Maryland law, after a nearly 10-month delay,” said Holly Porter, Delmarva Chicken Association executive director. “The holdup stalled an estimated $30 million in business investment by builders, realtors, lenders, equipment manufacturers and farmers to build modern chicken houses to replace older houses coming out of service. DCA will be reviewing the final permit and comparing it with any public comments issued to MDE on the draft. Once we analyze the permit, line by line, we’ll detail any important changes that Maryland’s family farmers raising broiler chickens need to know about.”

The permit revision process has been happening in the context of agriculture in the Chesapeake Bay watershed reducing its impact on the bay, cutting its nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment load by adapting conservation measures on farms and improving chickens’ feed conversion through genetic research and feed composition.

Because this permit delay was so worrying and costly for our members, DCA supported legislation in the General Assembly (House Bill 395 and Senate Bill 371) to make sure a permit delay by MDE won’t ever again impose a de facto moratorium on chicken-farm investment. The General Assembly passed the bills unanimously, and we were glad to see lawmakers so clearly state a permit delay can’t happen again. We’re confident that the legislation will soon be signed into law, giving chicken growers reassurance that Maryland values their contributions to the state’s $5.5 billion chicken economy – and won’t allow regulatory delays to stop these family farmers from investing, growing and thriving.