The Group is structured into five Branches reflecting the processor to which a grower is contracted. A major role of the Chicken Meat Group is to assist members in negotiations of the growing fee and contract conditions with the processors to ensure a fair deal to all parties.

The Victorian industry produces more than 117 million high quality birds annually, approximately 28 per cent of the total Australian production. Chicken is a very popular meat, being low cost, disease-free, consistent in quality, low in fat and available in many easy to prepare forms - factors that have contributed to an increase in consumption to 35 kilograms per head of population. The relative cost advantages are attributable to developments in bird-type, growing efficiencies and processing and marketing.

Challenges facing the industry in Australia are similar to all intensive livestock industries throughout the developed world. This is the increasing community awareness and interest of the health implications of food consumed and the environmental and animal welfare issues of food production. To address these issues the Chicken Meat Group has developed the Chicken Care initiative. This sets and audits standard of best operating practices for the industry.

Other challenges facing the industry are;

• To ensure a fair trading relationship between the producer and the buyer in a highly concentrated and vertically integrated industry.
• Encroachment of residential developments into traditional agricultural areas creating conflicts between farmers and new residents with an idealistic expectation of rural living.
• Maintaining Australia's quarantine rules to prevent exotic diseases entering the country.
  The strength of the Chicken Meat Group is in its unity with more than 95 per cent of growers being members.