NCC, joined by several state poultry associations, recently wrote to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting a 180-day extension to the comment periods for two recent proposed rules: Poultry Grower Payment Systems and Capital Improvement Systems; and Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets.
“Due to the breadth of new requirements outlined in the proposed rules, and in addition to the industry having re-adjusted thousands of contracts with farmers over the Christmas holiday, as well as the impacts they almost certainly would have on how integrators and contract farmers interact, the rules warrant careful scrutiny, analysis, and the submission of comprehensive comments,” the groups wrote. “To that end, it is appropriate that additional time be allotted to the affected integrators and producers so that they may provide the most informed and substantive comments possible.”
The letter was signed by NCC, Alabama Poultry & Egg Association, California Poultry Federation,
Delmarva Chicken Association, Georgia Poultry Federation, Mississippi Poultry Association, North Carolina Poultry Federation, Northwest Chicken Council, South Carolina Poultry Federation, Tennessee Poultry Federation, Texas Poultry Federation, The Poultry Federation (Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma), and Virginia Poultry Federation.
A copy of the letter can be found here.