As the supply chain that moves America’s most-purchased protein, chicken, continues to be hampered by the COVID-19 outbreak, Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. is urging Congress to provide family farmers raising chicken with direct financial assistance that earlier agricultural relief bills have left them shut out of.
“Challenges faced by chicken processing facilities impact the entire supply chain, including the family farmers in our states who raise chickens. This is beginning to have serious effects on bird placements to family farms,” said a letter to Congress jointly signed by DPI and 11 other state poultry associations.
U.S. Department of Agriculture reports showed a 6 percent decline in broiler-type chicks hatched between April 2019 and April 2020, and a matching 6 percent decline in eggs placed in hatchery incubators. That decline will lead to fewer chickens and fewer flocks for the nation’s chicken growers, including the family farmers who are crucial to Delmarva’s $3.5 billion chicken economy.
“These farmers are faced with overhead costs and any downtime will bring great financial pressure upon them,” the letter continued. “As these farmers cope with raising fewer chickens among changing and uncertain demand, we believe it is essential that they be provided with direct financial assistance, just as other farmers and livestock producers have been supported during the pandemic.”
The $16 billion in aid to farmers under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP, has not provided any benefit to chicken growers, since only livestock farmers raising cattle, lambs, yearlings and hogs are eligible. CFAP also provides aid to farmers producing field crops, milk, and specialty crops – but not chicken.
The letter also thanked Sens. Chris Coons and Roger Wicker, leaders of the Senate Chicken Caucus, for their leadership in assisting farmers.
9 comments:
Why doesn't the companies the growers contract with help them out?
The tax payers are almost completely subsidizing the chicken industry it seems. Almost all of their employees are on multiple forms of government assistance.
Just say no to foreign owners and those who tapped wells illegally!
LOL the employees may be on government assistance but not the company. The laws need to change in order for that abuse to stop.
Get educated the well contamination you speak of has never been tested before in Delaware until a law firm decided they could make money. Nitrates have never been a required test in Delaware so there's no base line as to when it became present. The reason for the out of court settlement đŸ¤”
What about turkey farmers?
Why not stimulus for all of us that put up with the stink the pollution and all the illegals it brings here.
Get rid of Coons. Get rid of liberal “leaders”. They do not LEAD.
I grow chickens and the only reason DPI or the company would be concerned, is for their own well being. The farmer will still be the bottom of the totem pole, and not likely to get anything, nor should they. It is nothing more that high priced welfare. We do not accept subsidies or handouts. If we did, we would make the lying African finally tell the truth. What we do, we do on our own. The government did not build it, and we will not let them tear it down.
DPI is a useless organization. They are nothing but mouthpieces for the companies and not the growers and certainly not the employees of the processing plants. It's a sin that they can pretend like they do.
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