2025 Poultry Industry Trends: An Early Look
While summer hasn’t even officially ended, time certainly is moving fast. And before too long there will be plenty of roundup content and predictions of trends shaping the poultry industry in 2025. So, in the spirit of planning ahead, here are trends that, from conversations with employees, vendors and other industry stakeholders, we believe will shape our industry and impact the future work we do at ONCE by Signify.
Reducing carbon footprint
Not surprisingly, we can anticipate that reducing our collective carbon footprint will be a significant poultry industry trend in 2025 and beyond. Factors contributing to this trend include:
- Consumer demand: Consumers are increasingly prioritizing sustainability in their consumption practices and willing to pay for it. According to PwC’s 2024 Voice of the Consumer Survey, nearly half of respondents say they are buying more sustainable products as a way to reduce their impact on the environment.
- Technological advancements: Innovations in technology are enabling more efficient production methods, waste management and energy use. For example, improvements in feed efficiency and waste recycling have been shown to significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.
- Corporate sustainability goals: Many companies are setting ambitious sustainability targets. For example, our parent company Signify recently announced a plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90% across its entire value chain and reach net-zero by 2040.
More efficiency in producing eggs and chicken meat (less input; higher output)
The United Nations estimates that the world’s population is expected to increase by nearly 2 billion people in the next 30 years. Given it is a good source of protein and nutrition, the demand for poultry is expected to grow by 15% in the next decade, with consumption estimated to reach 91 million tons by 2032. Enhancing production efficiency for eggs and chicken meat; essentially, having less input equal higher output, is essential to meet this demand sustainably. Technological advancements, like innovations in genetics, feed formulation and farming technologies are enabling more efficient production methods. And ongoing industry R&D efforts, including developing better feed formulations, enhancing breeding programs and optimizing farm management practices, are focused on improving efficiency.
Sustainable broiler production
Given the increasing demand for poultry, producers who can demonstrate their broilers can convert less feed to more muscle and have better welfare while doing so have a market advantage. Therefore, the industry and academia supporting the industry are continuously seeking new technology to support efficient and welfare-centric broiler production.
A recent publication by Kang et al. (2023) evaluated the effects of variable (gradient) artificial lighting compared to uniform lighting and demonstrated gradient lighting reduced the overall number of bird culled due to leg issues, reduced mortality, improved feed conversion ratio (FCR), and improved daily weight gain compared to traditional ceiling lighting and sunlight provided through windows. Furthermore, this study indicated birds with the freedom of light intensity choice provided through gradient lighting were more active and had lower biological indicators of stress compared to other lighting conditions. These results demonstrate not only significant improvements in performance with gradient lighting, but also enhanced welfare.
At ONCE, we have conducted further field trial research that validates Kang et al. (2023), indicating Optient, a commercially available 2W gradient lighting solution, results in a 3-point FCR improvement on average. These performance improvements translate into less feed consumed per lb of muscle deposition, and ultimately less overall cost for the grower both in energy consumption per light point and feed.
Regulatory changes
A constantly evolving regulatory landscape likely will impact the poultry industry in 2025 and the years to follow. Possible regulatory changes to watch include:
- Stricter regulations on GHG emissions that could require poultry producers to adopt more sustainable practices and technologies.
- Animal welfare standards, including housing and space requirements and regulations to ensure humane animal treatment during transport and slaughter.
- More rigorous testing and control measures for pathogens like Salmonella and Campylobacter.
- Changes in international trade agreements and biosecurity measures.
Let us know your thoughts about trends
We’d be interested in learning about what trends are on your mind as we gradually close out 2025. Talk to one of our animal lighting experts today.
