WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Division proposed a rule on Thursday meant to extend equity within the poultry trade, which is dominated by a handful of meat processors.
The division additionally mentioned it deliberate to analyze whether or not sure firms needs to be extra stringently regulated, and it introduced $200 million in funding for unbiased meat processors to extend capability at slaughterhouses.
The actions “finally will assist us give farmers and ranchers a good shake, strengthen provide chains and make meals costs fairer,” Tom Vilsack, the secretary of agriculture, mentioned in an announcement.
The proposed rule would require the businesses to reveal sure particulars to farmers, like how pay is calculated; how a lot feed, chicks and provides are supplied to different growers; and the place the farmers rank beneath a performance-based system that determines how they’re paid. The businesses would even be required to ensure a minimal variety of chickens that they’d provide to farmers in a yr.
Greater than 90 % of chickens eaten by People are raised by farmers beneath contracts with poultry processing firms. 4 poultry-processing companies management greater than half of the market, whereas the highest 20 firms management 95 %. Farmers are paid primarily based on their efficiency relative to others, pitting growers towards each other. This methodology, often called a poultry event, leads to wide variation in income and has been criticized as abusive and opaque.
The division expects to launch further guidelines on meatpacking this yr.
