Thursday, December 03, 2009

New USDA rules help protect poultry growers

Contract poultry growers appeared to win a major battle in their ongoing fight with large poultry companies Tuesday, as the federal Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration announced new rules protecting growers. The administration described the new rules as an effort to "provide poultry growers with new information and improve transparency in poultry growing arrangements."

One of the new rules would require any grower to "be provided a true written copy of a poultry growing arrangement in a timely manner," the Daily Yonder reports. The rules loosen confidentiality clauses in contracts, allowing farmers to discuss contracts with federal agencies and immediate family members, and say farmers must be notified 90 days before a contract is terminated or not renewed. The Rural Advancement Foundation International, a coalition of contract growers which has been fighting with poultry contractors for years, issued a news release praising the new rules. (Read more)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The new rules do not help. What good is 1, 2, or 3 year contract when your bank loan is for 10 years or longer, The company can cancel your contract with 90 days notice. To many holes to plug with absolutely no grower input into the contract. Rondarilab