Poultry Times: History, Coverage and Staff of America's Poultry Newspaper
Profile updated November 2026
Poultry Times calls itself the nation's only newspaper dedicated to poultry industry news, production and processing. Founded in 1954 in Gainesville, Georgia, the town often called the poultry capital of the world, it has covered broilers, eggs and turkeys for more than seven decades and is now a division of Metro Market Media, sharing offices with The Times of Gainesville.
| Founded | 1954 |
|---|---|
| Owner | Metro Market Media (a division) |
| Address | 345 Green St. N.W., Gainesville, Georgia 30501 |
| Frequency | Every two weeks, in print and e-edition |
| Editor | David B. Strickland |
| Archive | Photographs held by USDA National Agricultural Library, 1956-1985 |
| Official website | PoultryTimes.com |
History of Poultry Times
Poultry Times was launched in 1954 in Gainesville, Georgia, as the commercial broiler industry was taking shape in North Georgia. The USDA National Agricultural Library describes it historically as a weekly newspaper covering research, production, marketing and pricing, with an emphasis on regional industry news, issued from Gainesville by Poultry and Egg News.
The paper was part of the fabric of the Southern poultry business. A Gainesville local history column recalls Poultry Times, billed as America's poultry newspaper, among the Gainesville businesses represented at the annual January poultry convention at the Atlanta Civic Center around 1970.
Its photo morgue survives: the National Agricultural Library's Poultryman and Poultry Times Newspaper Photograph Collection holds negatives from 1956 to 1985 showing state poultry association leaders, university and USDA scientists, and poultry company products and personnel, along with a Poultry Times portrait file.
Poultry Times Today
Poultry Times now publishes every two weeks, with each issue posted as an e-edition, and runs daily news on its website. It is a division of Metro Market Media and shares space with The Times in Gainesville. Cindy Wellborn retired as general manager on July 31, 2024, after 23 years with the publication.
Recent coverage in November 2026 included higher ERS turkey production estimates, cage-free hen welfare and behavior, a highly pathogenic avian influenza detection in an Iowa commercial turkey flock, and agricultural groups' reaction to an EPA decision ending a 20-year-old compliance agreement.
What Poultry Times Is Publishing Now
Business
Housing and production, processing, regulation, technology, and transportation and logistics across broilers, eggs and turkeys.
Health and safety
Avian influenza, feed and nutrition, animal welfare and worker safety.
Associations and events
News from state and national poultry federations, industry events, video features and the PT's The Coop Scoop column.
Poultry Times Editors and Staff
Poultry Times lists or credits these people:
- David B. Strickland - Editor
- Gianna Willcox - Editorial contact
- Cindy Wellborn - Former general manager (retired 2024)
The publication's own site lists publisher@poultrytimes.com as its main contact address.
Who Reads Poultry Times
Readers are poultry growers, integrators, processors, allied suppliers, veterinarians and researchers, from Georgia across the Southern broiler belt and nationwide. Poultry and eggs are the second-largest U.S. animal product sector, with USDA ERS putting 2021 receipts at $46.1 billion, and USDA NASS Quick Stats tracks broiler, egg and turkey production by state.
Poultry Times readers have spent seven decades watching chicken prices, feed costs and the weather over Lake Lanier. When the broiler house fans are humming and the flock is settled, farm.FM has farm satire and farm humor that growers will recognize, and ranch humor for the cattle neighbors. Its farm jokes never ask why the chicken crossed the road, because everybody in Gainesville already knows.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
Poultry Times Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Poultry Times - current poultry industry news and contacts.
- USDA National Agricultural Library: Poultryman and Poultry Times photographs - the paper's historic photo collection.
- AccessWDUN: Gainesville poultry history - local memories of the poultry convention era.
- USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - poultry and eggs in the livestock economy.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - broiler, egg and turkey statistics by state.
Poultry Times FAQ
When was Poultry Times founded?
In 1954, in Gainesville, Georgia.
Who owns Poultry Times?
It is a division of Metro Market Media and shares offices with The Times in Gainesville.
Who is the editor of Poultry Times?
David B. Strickland.
How often is Poultry Times published?
Every two weeks, with an e-edition and daily web news.
Seventy years on, Poultry Times is still reporting the poultry business from the heart of Georgia's chicken country.