Delaware has a long and proud history as an agricultural state.
It’s the birthplace of the modern poultry industry and home to more than a half-million acres of farmland growing everything from peaches to corn, sorghum to soybeans. Thanks to our hardworking farmers and poultry growers, agriculture is still the #1 industry in our state, accounting for more than 30,000 jobs and contributing nearly $8 billion annually to the First State’s economy.
Delaware doesn’t just have a great agricultural sector. It also grows great agricultural community leaders. Sometimes in the Senate I may have to explain paws, and broilers vs. layers, but that’s meant I can get more things done for the farm families of the Delmarva.
Senator Coons is proud to represent Delaware farmers, poultry growers, and agribusinesses in the Senate. He always pushes for a Farm Bill that takes a comprehensive approach to agricultural policy: strengthening crop insurance and expanding the safety net for poultry growers, while investing in conservation and energy programs to build a more sustainable and prosperous future for rural Delaware.
He strives to keep Sussex County the No. 1 broiler-producing county in the United States by working with his colleagues from across the aisle. As Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Senate Chicken Caucus, Senator Coons is a leader in poultry policy. Since Delaware feeds not just the Mid-Atlantic, but the world, Senator Coons uses his role as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to open, expand, and protect new global export markets for Delaware’s agricultural products as well as ensuring that the Port of Wilmington continues to import bananas, citrus, and more. Senator Coons is a co-Chair of the Senate Chicken Caucus.