My Blog
Food

US government takes further steps to overhaul poultry industry

US government takes further steps to overhaul poultry industry
US government takes further steps to overhaul poultry industry


The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced further actions intended to make the domestic poultry market “more competitive, affordable, and transparent”.

Proposed rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act “will support market fairness for contract poultry farmers and expanded data tools will further support cattle market transparency”, it said.

The measures announced yesterday (3 June) are the latest attempt by the Biden administration to tackle perceived inequalities within the poultry and wider meat industries, a sector hit by price-fixing scandals in recent years.

In September 2022, it announced initiatives linked to concerns that the animal protein industry is concentrated in the hands of too few companies and industry players’ practices were aiding inflation and hitting consumers in the pocket.

Reiterating those concerns in yesterday’s announcement, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said: “Under the direction of President Biden, USDA has sought to utilise every tool at its disposal to uphold fair competition, protect producers, lower costs for consumers and combat unfair, deceptive, and discriminatory practices.”

The newly-announced proposed measures include using Poultry Grower Payment Systems and Capital Improvement Systems to “address a range of abuses that have occurred” in relation to grower payment systems and additional capital investment requirements that poultry companies “commonly ask of their contract growers for broiler chicken”.

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles
on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free
sample

Your download email will arrive shortly

We are confident about the
unique
quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most
beneficial
decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by
submitting the below form

By GlobalData







Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Andy Green, USDA’s senior advisor for fair and competitive markets, said: “Poultry growers deserve a fair shake and consumers deserve fair prices. This proposed rule is intended to provide growers with a clear base price in contracts, a contracting partner that designs and operates any comparisons fairly and access to the information that growers – and USDA – need to identify and halt coercive investment demands before growers take on large debts.”

USDA also announced new publicly available cattle market transparency tools.

The agency is launching a new data visualistion tool, the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) Live Cattle Data Dashboard, which it says provides users with the ability to view and access LMR live cattle market information “in a manner that is easy to use and understand”.

USDA also wants to increase independent meat and poultry processing capacity, expand domestic fertiliser production and create a fairer market for seeds and other agriculture inputs to support a more robust and resilient supply chain.

“These investments will create better economic opportunities, which will result in more affordable prices and choices for consumers at the grocery store, in addition to more opportunities and revenue for producers,” it said.

Responding to USDA’s announcement, Mike Brown, president of industry body the National Chicken Council (NCC), said: “These are solutions in search of problems that do not exist.

“This is the latest example of the Biden administration racing to impose its anti-business regulatory agenda ahead of November’s election.

“This rule – which Congress never asked for – will lead to rigid, one-size-fits-all requirements on chicken-growing contracts that would stifle innovation, lead to higher costs for consumers, decrease competition, and cost jobs by driving some of the best farmers out of the chicken business.”


Related posts

Post Holdings signals “moderation” in cost pressures

newsconquest

Eat Just’s Good Meat becomes first cultivated item on retail shelves

newsconquest

Belgium’s Dessert Factory, Verbau to merge

newsconquest