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Vilsack: No plans to delay implementation of poultry rule

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told The Hagstrom Report today that he has no plans to extend the deadline for implementation of a Packers and Stockyards Act poultry rule that is scheduled to go into effect on Feb. 2, 2024.

The Congressional and Senate Chicken Caucuses on Friday sent letters to USDA requesting at least a 180-day extension to the implementation period for the rule titled Transparency in Poultry Grower Contracting and Tournaments.

Asked about the request at a news conference following an event at DC Central Kitchen today, Vilsack said that the poultry industry has had “multiple months” to learn about the rule.



“I don’t see any reason to extend it,” Vilsack said. “I’m not going to delay the important work of balancing the relationship” between poultry growers and dealers.Critics have said for years that contracting arrangements favor poultry companies over contract growers.

The National Chicken Council noted that the rule’s final version was published in the Federal Register on November 28 and includes a 75-day compliance period. “Thus, the implied compliance date for broiler processing companies and growers is February 12, 2024,” the NCC said.



Each letter asked for at least a 180-day extension for compliance. The letter writers noted that they represent “major chicken growing and processing operations.”

“The rule establishes numerous additional disclosure requirements, changes what provisions must be included in contracts, introduces various open-ended and novel definitions and terms, requires companies establish entire oversight systems from scratch, and injects significant ambiguity regarding compliance,” the House letter said.

“The provisions in the rule requiring certain terms be included in contracts are so novel that it appears the industry could have to amend nearly every contract – tens of thousands in total – in just two months over three major federal holidays. By providing just 75 days to implement the rule, AMS [Agricultural Marketing Service] has dramatically underestimated the number of people involved, hourly rates, and time required of compliance officers, regulatory consultants, attorneys, executives, and other services required to implement the rule. AMS also overlooks the massive disruption that will be caused if companies and growers must amend nearly every existing grower contract, especially if the same exercise must be done a second time in the event AMS issues additional Packers and Stockyards rules.

“As such, we respectfully request that AMS extend the implementation date of the rule no less than 180 days after its official publication in the Federal Register.Doing so would allow stakeholders and constituents time to thoroughly understand and comply with the rule’s many requirements,” the letter concluded.

–The Hagstrom Report