| Summary: | The broiler operations in the United States, which are concentrated in the southeast and south central regions are unevenly distributed within those states. The major concern for Louisiana¡¯s broiler industry is that even though its production is increasing every year it is relatively low compared to many other southeastern states. This study analyzes the relative importance of factors that affect location decision of a broiler complex.
A national survey of broiler industry executives is conducted to analyze site-specific factors related to the broiler-complex location problem. Conjoint analysis is used to measure the relative importance of each attribute in the location decision. Three different conjoint models are constructed based on factors related to broiler growing, feed mill, and broiler processing enterprise. A bridged experimental design is used to link the three models. Distance between feed mill and growers, cost of feed ingredients, and community attitude toward the broiler industry are found to be the most important factors influencing the location decision of broiler growing, feed mill, and broiler processing respectively. Results from bridging design indicate that cost of feed ingredients is the most important attribute affecting the location of a broiler complex.
As cost of feed ingredients was found to be the most critical factor in the location decision of their broiler complex, this study concludes that Louisiana should analyze the factors that can lower the costs of importing feed and / or analyze other important factors affecting the broiler complex location decision such as growers concentration, community attitude toward the broiler industry, and labor costs. A future research can be directed toward analyzing the cost differentials in the southern region and also identifying the factors that affect community¡¯s attitude toward the broiler industry.
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