DCA Presents Awards to Allies of the Chicken Community
Delmarva Chicken Association presented three awards – to Far Nasir; a Maryland chicken grower; Ed and Chad Jackson of Affinity Energy Management; and Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware – whose support, work and advocacy have been crucial to the success of Delmarva's $4.8 billion chicken community. The chicken industry on Delmarva supports 1,206 family farms and 18,000 chicken company employees, along with hundreds of allied businesses.
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The awards were presented during the fifth annual Booster BBQ, a premier event for DCA members and invited guests at the Delaware State Fairgrounds. More than 750 DCA members and others in the chicken community attended the event, which featured barbecued chicken donated by Perdue Farms and Crescent Foods prepared and served by Greenwood Volunteer Fire Company and Harrington Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary, desserts from Schlabach's Ice Cream, door prizes, more than 50 vendors, lawn games and more.
The J. Frank Gordy Delmarva Distinguished Citizen Award: Far Nasir
Since 1956, Delmarva Chicken Association has recognized a person who has served the chicken industry and the community with distinction. This award is named after one of the founders of DCA and its first executive secretary, and it recognizes those who are active members of DCA and other chicken industry organizations, who contribute time and services to the chicken community, and participate in civic and community betterment. This year, the J. Frank Gordy Delmarva Distinguished Citizen Award was presented to Far Nasir, a chicken grower in Worcester County, Md.
Nasir and his wife, Val, came to Delmarva in the middle of their careers, transitioning from managing corporate and independent grocery stores in New England. They dove headfirst into raising chickens for Perdue, and both soon took on roles with DCA that deepened their understanding of how the chicken community works and how to help it. Far Nasir joined DCA's board in 2019; in 2022, he served as DCA's board president, helping the board finalize a five-year strategic plan and diversify its revenue sources. Today, he serves on DCA's Grower and Government Relations committees.
"DCA is really involved in everything that affects us as a grower on a day-to-day basis. So that's our profitability, that's our property rights, that's our legislation that may not affect us right away, but it's going to affect us when it's implemented," Nasir said. "So as growers, if you have opinion or if you have something to say, DCA is the perfect way to express it because DCA helps us make the change."
The J. Frank Gordy Delmarva Distinguished Citizen Award: Val Nasir, left, and Far Nasir
The Edward H. Ralph Medal of Achievement: Ed and Chad Jackson of Affinity Energy Management
The Edward H. Ralph DCA Medal of Achievement, named after Ed Ralph, DCA's first full-time executive director, goes to a non-elected person for outstanding service on behalf of Delmarva's chicken community. The award was presented this year to Ed and Chad Jackson of Affinity Energy Management, a Hockessin, Del. firm that has offered money-saving energy benefits to DCA members since 2006.
The Jacksons are the number-crunchers behind DCA's Electric Buying Group, which aggregates hundreds of customer accounts together to offer competitive electric supply pricing. It can save a chicken grower thousands of dollars a year. "DCA is one of the longest relationships we've had," Ed Jackson said. "It's been very gratifying being able to help the members save money and sometimes just help them out with a billing issue."
Chad Jackson, Ed's son, is an energy consultant with the firm who had seven years of engineering experience under his belt before coming on board. He joined the company at the same time the COVID-19 pandemic upended energy markets. Affinity thought and moved quickly, adapting its negotiating tactics with suppliers to avoid locking members into artificially high rates.
We got a lot of phone calls," Chad Jackson said, "but at the end of the day, we were doing what's right for all the growers… There are unethical suppliers out there trying to trick you or give you a teaser rate, then spike your bill. We're only working with the very reputable suppliers to make sure, at the end of the day, you're not in a bad contract."
The Edward H. Ralph Medal of Achievement: Chad Jackson, left, and Ed Jackson
The DCA Medal of Achievement: Sen. Chris Coons
The DCA Medal of Achievement goes to an elected official for outstanding cooperation with, and service to, Delmarva's chicken community. This year, DCA awarded Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware with the DCA Medal of Achievement. The U.S. Senate's "Chicken Caucus" can sound like a gimmick to outsiders, but ag policymakers – and those in the chicken community – know this bipartisan group of 14 senators is a heavy hitter when it comes to influencing laws, budgets and rulemaking that is the bedrock under the chicken industry. And Sen. Chris Coons, Delaware's senior senator, is one-half of the Chicken Caucus's leadership (alongside Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker).
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Coons is committed to expanding and opening new global export markets for Delaware's agricultural products. Senator Coons worked with his Republican colleague, Sen. Johnny Isakson from Georgia, to remove longstanding barriers to U.S. poultry imports in South Africa and allow for imports of Delaware poultry. Through his role on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Coons fights for funding for avian health programs that prevent and control the spread of diseases, including avian influenza.
"Southern Delaware is dominated by chicken agriculture. It really is the center of agriculture in Delaware," Sen. Coons said in a recent podcast interview with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. "It's a great opportunity for me to work across the aisle with Senators from other states-from Arkansas, and Mississippi, and North Carolina, and Georgia… help promote chicken agriculture in the United States and around the world."
Most recently, Sens. Coons and Wicker introduced the Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act (HPAI ACT) to ensure that all poultry growers and laying operations in highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) control areas whose operations are affected receive compensation. The bill would expand USDA indemnification aid to growers whose own farms are HPAI-free, but whose flock placements are delayed – and their annual income cut – because of how close their farms are to HPAI-affected farms. "Including this bipartisan solution in the next Farm Bill will provide a lifeline to all hardworking farmers who do their part in helping us contain disease outbreaks by offering them fair and immediate financial relief," Coons said.
The DCA Medal of Achievement: Sen. Chris Coons
About Delmarva Chicken Association
Delmarva Chicken Association, founded in 1948, is the Delmarva chicken industry's voice as the premier membership association focusing on advocacy, education and member relations. DCA's vision is to be the most-respected chicken organization in the United States. For more information about the Delmarva Chicken Association, visit www.dcachicken.com or call 302-856-9037.