Heading into 2026, the global poultry industry faces a more complicated set of pressures than it did a year ago. Trade uncertainty, labor constraints and ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks are competing for attention alongside perennial concerns about input costs and food safety. The annual WATT Global Media Poultry Nutrition & Feed Survey, now in its second decade, captures how producers, nutritionists and consultants are weighing those priorities and adjusting their feeding programs in response.
The 2026 survey drew 310 respondents. Nutritionists account for the largest single job function at 26%, and when combined with consultants (14%) and veterinarians (12%), technical professionals make up more than half the respondent pool. Poultry farm owners and growers (14%) and live production managers (6%) add an operational perspective to the data. Nutritionists also dominate purchasing decisions, with 64% involved in ingredient and additive sourcing.
profitability-outlook-2026
Figure 1: Profitability optimism among global poultry producers edged down in 2026, with 47% anticipating improved returns compared to 51% in 2025.
Market outlook and economic factors
Confidence in profitability improvement slipped modestly in 2026, with 47% of respondents expecting gains compared with 2025, down from 51% in last year’s survey. The share bracing for negative or deteriorating conditions held at 15%, while 38% expect no change. Despite that tempered outlook, 44% anticipate feed production volumes will increase over the next 12 months, and only about 5% expect a decrease.
Raw material costs hold their position as the industry’s foremost concern, rated very important by 74% of respondents. Energy costs — spanning transportation and manufacturing — have increased after easing somewhat in 2025, now flagged as very important by 64%, up from 59%. Food and feed safety (62%) remains a persistent issue, as does raw material quality, including mycotoxins (60%), and tight or deteriorated margins (56%).
Two challenges that deserve particular attention in 2026: the availability of micro-ingredients and feed additives, rated very important by 57% of respondents, and the cost of those inputs, flagged by 56%. The combination points to a market where sourcing and pricing pressures on specialty inputs are becoming as consequential as commodity volatility.
International trade disputes and tariffs ranked as very important by 53% of respondents, a standalone concern in this year’s data that reflects heightened sensitivity to policy shifts affecting ingredient flows and input costs globally. Supply chain risk (53%) moves in tandem with that concern.
Labor challenges, such as hiring and retention, emerge as a notable pressure point in 2026, cited as very important by 51% of respondents. It is a category that has gained traction as operations grow more technically complex and qualified personnel become harder to recruit and keep.
top-challenges-to-2026-feeding-program
Figure 8. Antibiotic restrictions rank as the production trend most likely to affect feed formulation programs and costs in 2026, followed by sustainability measures (15%) and cage-free production (13%).
Biosecurity and disease prevention
The HPAI picture in 2026 is mixed. The share of respondents reporting major losses fell sharply, from 24% in 2025 to 11% — the most significant shift in the entire dataset year-over-year. That decline could signal genuine relief as outbreaks became more geographically contained, or it may partly reflect a respondent pool in which 25% selected “not applicable,” diluting the reported impact among affected operations. Either way, the virus has not left the industry’s risk assessment: 20% say HPAI influenced their 2026 planning and business decisions, and it ranked as very important by 43% when respondents rated industry challenges.
Production effects were more modest this cycle: 7% report feed output decreased by less than 10%, and 4% experienced reductions of 10% to 25%. Cross-species transmission concerns remain a driver of protocol changes, with 29% reporting they have altered biosecurity procedures.
Sanitation protocols between farm visits remain the most widely adopted response (33%), followed by enhanced employee training on cross-species disease transmission (17%), new contamination prevention measures (12%) and investment in biosecurity monitoring technology (8%).
HPAI-affect-on-biosecurity-protocols
Figure 2: Increased sanitation protocols between farm visits (33%) led biosecurity responses to HPAI cross-species transmission concerns, with enhanced employee training (17%) and new contamination prevention measures (12%) also implemented.
HPAI-affect-on-biosecurity-protocols
Figure 3: Eleven percent of respondents reported major losses from HPAI in 2025, down from 24% the prior year, while 29% altered biosecurity procedures and 20% cited the disease's influence on their 2026 planning.
Focus on gut health
Gut health formulation continues to diversify. Synbiotic programs combining pre- and probiotics remain the leading strategy, adopted by 46% of respondents, which is consistent with last year’s survey. Mycotoxin control programs (37%) and precision enzyme combinations (36%) follow closely, anchoring a core tool kit that has proven durable across multiple survey cycles.
Beyond those leading categories, the 2026 data shows a broader spread of tools in active use. Immunomodulating feed additives are being integrated by 25% of respondents, medium-chain fatty acids by 25%, and enhanced mineral bioavailability solutions by 22%. Targeted postbiotic compounds are gaining a foothold at 20%, while stress-specific additive packages (18%) and novel fiber sources for microbiome modulation (14%) round out an increasingly layered approach to gut function.
Eighteen percent report no changes to their current formulation strategy, a share that suggests most operations are actively responding to disease and performance pressures rather than holding the line.
feed-formulation-strategies-to-support-gut-health-immunity-2026
Figure 4. Synbiotic programs and mycotoxin control lead gut health formulation strategies in 2026, with precision enzyme combinations (36%) and immunomodulating additives (25%) also gaining ground. Eighteen percent made no changes.
how-sustainability-is-impacting-your-business-2026
Figure 5. Sustainability's influence on purchasing decisions remains measured: 18% are reformulating to draw more nutrients from the diet, while 15% believe environmental footprint proof will become a future business requirement. Nearly 20% report no sustainability impact on their operations.
What is driving investment?
Sustainability’s influence on the poultry and feed sector is real but uneven. Among respondents feeling its pull, 18% are changing formulations to include additives that extract more value from the diet, with enzymes and phytase ranking highest. Twelve percent report downstream customers requesting proof of sustainable practices, and 15% believe environmental footprint verification will become a standard business requirement in the future. At the same time, 19% say sustainability is having no impact on their operations.
Climate change registers as a tangible operational concern rather than an abstract one. Impacts on animal health and welfare (39%) and raw ingredient availability (38%) top the list of anticipated effects, followed by high commodity costs (32%), on-farm production challenges (30%) and increased mycotoxin contamination (31%). One-quarter of respondents say climate change is already prompting them to explore new grain sources and alternative ingredients. Fifteen percent regard climate change as a hoax.
Technology investment in 2026 is concentrated in data and traceability infrastructure. Feed quality tracking and traceability systems lead at 42%, followed by precision feeding equipment (35%), health monitoring systems (33%) and real-time ingredient analysis sensors (32%). AI-powered formulation optimization software is a priority for 22% of respondents, continuing a steady year-over-year climb from 20% in 2025 as interest in applied AI moves from curiosity to concrete planning.
climate-change-impact-on-poultry-business
Figure 6. Impacts on animal health and welfare and raw ingredient availability top respondents' climate change concerns, followed by high commodity costs and increased mycotoxin contamination.
2026-poultry-feed-industry-capital-investments
Figure 7. Feed quality tracking and traceability systems top 2026 technology investment priorities, followed by precision feeding equipment, health monitoring systems and real-time ingredient analysis sensors.
Antibiotic-free production, additive evolution
The transition away from antibiotics has reached a critical mass in the 2026 survey. Among respondents who produce feed, 40% report their production is entirely antibiotic free (ABF), and an additional 26% are between 50% and 99% ABF — putting more than two-thirds of the respondent base at majority or fully ABF status. That represents a meaningful progression from a year ago, when 92% reported some level of ABF production but the share at full elimination stood at 33%.
The barriers are familiar. Feed additive costs remain the top challenge at 37%, followed by inconsistent results with alternatives (34%) and overcoming production losses without antibiotic growth promoters (26%). Difficulty implementing changes at the farm level (22%) and significant capital investments required to improve animal welfare (20%) round out the primary obstacles.
Coccidiosis continues to be the most persistent disease challenge post-antibiotic reduction, cited by 41% of respondents, followed by necrotic enteritis (33%) and colibacillosis (17%).
poultry-health-issues-without-AGPs-2026
Figure 9. Coccidiosis remains the most challenging poultry health issue following antibiotic reductions, ahead of necrotic enteritis and colibacillosis
top-challenges-to-2026-ABF-feeding-programs
Figure 10. Feed additive costs (37%) and inconsistent results with alternatives (34%) continue to lead the challenges facing antibiotic-free production, followed by overcoming losses without antibiotic growth promoters (26%).
percentage-antibiotic-free-production-2026
Figure 11. More than 40% of respondents report that 100% of their feed production is antibiotic free in 2026, and an additional 26% report majority-ABF production between 50% and 99%.
On efficacy, the rankings among antibiotic alternatives are stable. Probiotics lead at 70% rated effective, followed by organic acids (66%), enzymes (64%), prebiotics (59%) and phytogenic feed additives (55%). Yeasts (46%) and functional fibers (42%) trail the field, with functional fibers carrying the highest “don’t know” rate at 48%, a sign that the category is still earning its place in producers’ mental models.
Planned inclusion changes for the year ahead favor probiotics (56% increasing), prebiotics (51%), phytogenic feed additives (46%) and mycotoxin binders/inhibitors (45%). Subtherapeutic antibiotic use continues its retreat: 24% are reducing inclusion and 41% have stopped using them altogether. Bacteriophages remain on the margins, with 58% of respondents not using them.
efficacy-of-antibiotic-replacement-feed-additives-2026
Figure 12. Probiotics and organic acids rank as the most effective antibiotic replacement additives, followed by enzymes and prebiotics. Functional fibers and yeasts showed the highest uncertainty, with nearly half of respondents saying they don't know.
feed-additive-ration-inclusions-2025-26
Figure 13. Probiotics (56% increased) and prebiotics (51%) lead additive inclusion gains in 2026 poultry rations, while subtherapeutic antibiotic use continues to decline — 24% reduced inclusion and 41% do not use them at all. Bacteriophages remain largely unused.
