The United States Department of Agriculture announced Monday their proposed plans for addressing complex competition issues in agricultural markets – an effort to level the playing field for poultry growers and farmers. Proposing the Poultry Grower Payment Systems and Capital Improvement Systems, USDA hopes to address multiple abuses in relation to grower ranking payment systems (commonly known as “tournament”) and additional capital investment requirements that poultry companies commonly ask of their contract broiler growers.
In a press release USDA said, “This is the third rule in a suite of Packers and Stockyards Act rules that USDA has undertaken to create fairer markets, which ultimately can lead to lower grocery prices for hardworking families.”
The proposed USDA rule, if finalized, would prohibit deductions from the base price in contracts for broiler chicken growers, permitting only bonuses for performance.