Chicken

The North Carolina Farm Family Behind the White House Easter Egg Roll

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 15:23:17 GMT

As a child, farmer Trey Braswell watched the president and first lady speak on the South Lawn of the White House during the annual Easter Egg Roll. This year, his family farm is continuing the tradition of supplying approximately 40,000 hard-boiled eggs to the historic event.

“As an egg farmer, these are things that you don’t expect,” Braswell said. “We believe our business is the Lord’s and we’re here to take care of it and be good stewards. It’s only by God’s grace that we have the opportunity to do this, to supply these eggs.” Braswell Family Farms began providing eggs, on and off, for the White House event in 1997. It is the fifth consecutive year the family has provided all of the eggs for the event on behalf of the American Egg Board.

The White House Easter Egg Roll officially began in 1878 and brings tens of thousands of people to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The Braswell family doesn’t just raise the eggs for the event; they also handle the whole process of getting the dyed eggs to the White House.

Dying White House Easter Eggs

(Intrepid Marketing Group)

“It takes several days and a lot of volunteer labor hours to cook them in small batches to chill them and then to dye them,” Braswell said. The family works with culinary partner Stocked Pot to complete the process. The company boils, dyes and packages the eggs in Winston-Salem, N. C. before they are stored in a Braswell warehouse in Virginia and delivered to Washington, D.C. The farm says the process means the eggs travel about 493 miles and move through five states before they reach the green grass on the South Lawn.

Secretary of Agriculture Visits Farm

This year, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins visited the farm and toured the operation. The visit included a round-table discussion on labor, input costs, hen health and flock security with state egg and soybean producers. The American Egg Board, American Farm Bureau Federation, North Carolina Farm Bureau, the North Carolina Egg Association and United Egg Producers also participated.

(Intrepid Marketing Group)

Braswell said the egg roll is a day politics are set aside and people of different backgrounds are brought together. He and his wife have taken their three children to the celebration twice. Braswell said the event isn’t just a business opportunity, but it holds personal weight. “It’s really cool that not only is it a great event at the White House, but we’re really celebrating one of the most important events in the history of the world as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection,” he said.

The event takes place Monday, April 6.

Veterinarian Becomes Disease Detective: Nichols Connects Animal Disease and Human Health

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 19:24:05 GMT

Growing up on a New Mexico ranch, veterinarian and public health leader Megin Nichols says she learned early the health of animals, humans and the environment are deeply connected.

Initially planning to practice small animal medicine, she says her plans began to pivot when she met a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) epidemic intelligence service officer who sparked her interest in public health. That realization led her to pursue a master’s degree in public health at the University of Minnesota, with a focus on food safety and biosecurity. Her career has included roles in local, state and federal health departments, investigating foodborne illness outbreaks and developing strategies to prevent them.

“Life has a way of taking you in places you never anticipated,” she shared during the 2025 Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems Lecture Oct. 6 at Kansas State University.

Today, as the CDC’s director in the division of foodborne, waterborne and environmental diseases, she lends her expertise to efforts involving disease investigation, food safety, antimicrobial resistance and agriculture literacy.

Megin Nichols has more than 15 years of zoonotic disease experience and has served at the federal and state levels. She has served as the lead of the Enteric Zoonoses Team investigating multistate outbreaks of Salmonella and E. coli. Prior to joining CDC, Nichols worked as the Principal Investigator of the Active Bacterial Core Surveillance Program at the New Mexico Department of Health for five years.

(Angie Stump Denton)

One Health: Connecting Animal Disease and Human Health

Nichols’ work focuses on the One Health concept.

“One Health is recognizing the health and well-being of humans, of animals and our environment are all interconnected,” she explains. “One Health is something that many of us do every single day and are very, very aware of, especially if you have ties to agriculture and the land. But One Health as a concept oftentimes is difficult to fully understand.”

Nichols says One Health is:

Ongoing relationships with animal agencies.
Understand the culture of agriculture.
Having access to integrated human and animal surveillance.
Protocols for conducting joint response investigations.
Agreements for sharing biological samples and lab results.
Established lines of communication with agriculture and animal industry.
Plans for unified communication messaging.
Need to build linkages and trust before and outbreak.

“What happens in one area can significantly impact others — whether it’s a wildfire, a disease outbreak or environmental changes,” Nichols summarizes.

Pandemic and Disease Response Insights

Nichols was a leader in investigating and finding unique solutions for the livestock industry and specifically meat packing industry related to COVID-19.

“In April 2020, I got a call from my supervisor saying there are some meat, poultry packing plants that are going down because of labor shortages and illness,” she explains.

She selected and lead a team to figure out how to get the plants opened back up safely and to find unique solution to deal with the related animal welfare issues.

Summarizing the experiences, Nichols reports the estimated economic cost of COVID-19 is $14 trillion. Along with supply chain disruptions the industry experienced changes in consumer behavior, labor shortage and complex operations challenges. On a positive note, she says the industry did experience a lot of innovation and uptake of technology due to the pandemic, which resulted in innovative approaches to workplace safety and communication.

“We saw innovative strategies where if one person got sick, they looked around that worker and said, ‘OK, who do we need to monitor quickly for symptoms?’” she says.

Nichols also discussed the increase in salmonella outbreaks during the pandemic. She links the rise to the increase in backyard poultry ownership and the improper handling of backyard chickens.

“Many new chicken owners were unaware of disease transmission risks,” she explains.

Nichols also shared insights to H5N1 influenza and emphasized the complexity of tracking and preventing. She highlights the need for integrated, cross-species surveillance and communication strategies.

She also touched on emerging threats, including New World screwworm (NWS) . Her message emphasized the importance of prevention, control and preparedness.

She shares these five key strategies related to NWS:

Surveillance. Early dection through wound inspections and reporting in livestock.
Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). Ongoing release of serile male flies to prevent reproduction.
Biosecurity. Movement control of imported animals and monitoring at entry points.
Public Awareness. Education for doctors, ranchers, veterinarians and travelers.
Rapid Response Planning. Multi-agency coordination to contain outbreaks swiftly and deploy sterile flies.

Agricultural Literacy, Communication is Key

“Growing up in the middle of nowhere, I also came to understand that not everyone appreciates — or even understands — where their food comes from,” Nichols says.

She shared a 1993 study that revealed significant gaps in public knowledge about agriculture. She summarizes understanding food systems involves knowing:

Where food comes from.
How it’s produced.
Its impact on economy, environment and technology.

Throughout her lecture she shared the importance of transforming complex scientific concepts into engaging, accessible insights that resonate with students, farmers, ranchers and public health professionals alike.

“It doesn’t matter how much information we have if we don’t get it out to the people,” Nichols says.

She stresses the importance of agricultural communication specialists in translating scientific information and engaging audiences.

“Don’t leave the communications to the scientists,” she says.

Nichols emphasizes that agricultural literacy and effective communication are crucial for bridging knowledge gaps and building public understanding of food systems.

She shares this advice for agricultural advocates:

Bring agricultural perspective to discussions by speaking up and sharing lived experiences.
Challenge misconceptions with personal stories by focusing on storytelling rather than technical details.
Understand your audience and use relatable language and provide context.

Nichols stresses the importance of preparedness and collaboration. She explains the importance of local-level discussions and community preparedness, suggesting that some of the most effective emergency preparedness conversations happen “at the coffee house” or during casual community gatherings.

How Much Meat Will the U.S. Eat in 2025 and 2026?

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 15:48:46 GMT

Domestic availability of red meat, poultry and eggs is projected to increase in 2025, driven by gains in chicken and pork availability, and is expected to rise further in 2026, reports the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS). This increase stems from USDA’s forecast of per capita supply available for use on the domestic market.

How are these numbers determined? ERS says availability, also known as disappearance, serves as a proxy for consumption and includes fresh and processed meat and eggs sold through grocery stores and used in restaurants.

“The latest USDA data indicate 226 lb. of red meat and poultry and about 22 dozen eggs are available per U.S. consumer in 2025. By 2026, per capita availability is forecast to increase to 227 lb. for red meat and poultry and to 23 dozen eggs,” ERS reports.

Data for 2025 and 2026 are forecasts. Per capita meat availability serves as a proxy for consumption and does not reflect indirect uses, such as pet food or food waste.

(Data: USDA)

Chicken Projected to Be Most Consumed Animal Product
For chicken, per capita availability of broiler meat has been growing for many years and is projected to reach 102.7 lb. in 2025 and 102.8 lb. in 2026, ERS says. This will make it the most consumed animal product in the U.S.

However, availability of turkey has been falling in recent years and is projected to reach a low of 13.0 lb.per person in 2025 but increase to 13.6 lb. in 2026.

Per capita table egg availability for 2025 is projected at 21.5 dozen and is projected to increase to 22.9 dozen per person in 2026.

Pork and Beef Projections
ERS reports that pork availability per capita is projected at 49.7 lb. in 2025 and 50.9 lb. in 2026, up from 49.9 lb. in 2024.

Meanwhile, per capita beef availability for 2025 is projected to be slightly lower than 2024 at 58.5 lb., but is projected to decrease further to 56.9 lb. per person in 2026.

More Funding Going to Tackle HPAI H5N1, Egg Imports are Now Underway to Stabilize Supply

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 17:12:28 GMT

On Thursday morning, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins gave an update on progress the Trump administration is making on the five-prong strategy it unveiled Feb. 26 to combat avian influenza virus type A (H5N1).

Speaking to industry stakeholders, media and offices of elected officials, Rollins focused on the administration’s work to lower egg prices and improve supply, while also emphasizing the importance of biosecurity in protecting U.S. poultry flocks from the virus.

Regarding egg prices, she said wholesale prices are down nearly 50% from their peak in late February from $8.53 then to $4.08 currently.

However, Rollins said she realizes that wholesale prices don’t automatically show up as reductions in retail prices.

“I know for some of us who are shopping that we’ve seen egg prices drop immediately, which has been true for me. But then we’ll hear from people in other parts of the country where they have yet to see that reduction on their grocery store shelf.”

With Easter just a few weeks away, she acknowledged that egg demand is always “unusually high during the season,” and that egg prices could potentially move back up.

To help address the egg shortage, Rollins noted that shell egg exports have declined by 8%, “keeping more eggs in the U.S. and lowering prices.”

In addition, the Trump administration is allowing egg imports as a temporary measure to stabilize prices and supply. Rollins’ chief of staff Kailee Buller said this measure would likely be discontinued once those measures were achieved.

USDA Focuses On Biosecurity For Poultry Operations
Rollins said biosecurity in poultry flocks will continue to be a major part of the Trump administration’s plan to address H5N1, moving forward.

“Our pilot programs have proven that biosecurity is the most important thing our farmers can do to protect our flocks against the disease, at least right now,” she said.

The USDA is working closely, she said, with its federal partners including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “combat avian flu as a unified federal family.”

On Wednesday, USDA announced it is expanding the availability of its biosecurity assessments to commercial poultry producers.

“These assessments, which were previously available on a limited basis have been extremely successful in improving biosecurity on individual premises and preventing the introduction or spread of avian influenza,” Rollins said.

While USDA is exploring the viability of vaccinating poultry for H5N1, she said the use of any vaccine for poultry or any animal species has not been authorized at this time.

“I know there has been some misreporting on that,” Rollins said. “The day we rolled out the plan, I actually talked about the fact that we’re not ready to vaccinate. We need to do some more research, and so that has not changed, but I do look forward to this next process of learning more about getting more research done and perhaps seeing what makes sense for the country moving forward, once that is concluded.”

Dairy Is Not Part Of USDA’s Primary H5N1 Focus
No information was offered during the conference call to address the issue of H5N1 in dairy cattle or other livestock or animal species.

Mike Watson, administrator of USDA-APHIS, said right now USDA is focused on the poultry vaccine.

“We’re looking for a vaccine that has sterilizing immunity but also an opportunity for us to have different introduction methods for the vaccine right now, as injections are the only possibility,” he said. “We need new tools, whether it’s water based, aerosol based, those kind of things. We’re looking for manufacturers to really look at what those options might be, to really provide us with a vaccine that matches the current strain but also is highly effective. And again, this is really focused on poultry.”

Buller said there is already quite a bit of research at USDA on the topic in dairy.

“Please rest assured, we are thinking of you all (in dairy). We know you all are impacted. But for this particular strategy, we have been hyper-focused on the poultry side. USDA has separate work streams as we’re working through this on the cattle and dairy side.”

One of the media asked whether Sec. Rollins had talked further with HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding his idea of letting H5N1 burn through poultry flocks to identify birds that might have immunity or show resistance to the virus.

Buller answered the question, as Rollins had stepped away from the call. “I have not been engaged specifically with those conversations with the Secretary and Secretary Kennedy,” she said. “They are talking very regularly and you are aligned on the approach, but in terms of that specific topic, there’s no further light I can shed on that at this time.”

Assessments Available To Poultry Operations
USDA is offering two different, free, voluntary biosecurity assessments for poultry operations not currently affected by HPAI.

The first is a wildlife biosecurity assessment. The second is a general biosecurity assessment. Poultry producers can request one or both of these free assessments.

Per the wildlife biosecurity assessment, Rollins said USDA will conduct on-farm assessments at poultry facilities and provide recommendations to producers for facility repairs and wildlife management techniques. The assessments include a series of regular engagements, including wildlife hazard identification surveys, wildlife abundance surveys and wildlife management on the premises.

“USDA has assessed approximately 130 facilities to date (in 2025), and plans on doing significantly more moving forward and expanding that program,” she said.

For the general biosecurity assessment, USDA will work with poultry producers to review biosecurity plans and physical measures.

“This is a proactive resource for premises that are outside of avian flu control areas to identify and mitigate potential biosecurity gaps,” she said.

Funding Is Ramped Up To Address HPAI In Poultry
The USDA announced on Thursday that up to $100 million in funding will be available to support projects on avian influenza, prevention, therapeutics, vaccines and research.

“USDA will invest up to $100 million in these projects, which will identify and foster innovative solutions to fight avian flu and directly support American producers,” Rollins said during the conference call.

Funding is available through a competitive process to for-profit organizations, including manufacturers of vaccines, biologics and therapeutics, as well as states, universities, livestock producer organizations and other eligible entities, she noted.

USDA will prioritize one or more of the following. First, it will support the development of novel therapeutics to address HPAI in poultry. Second, it will support research to further understand the risk pathways of avian influenza for producers and to inform improved biosecurity and response strategies.

“Let me just say, as a quick aside, I’ve had multiples and multiples and multiples of conversations with some of our chicken farmers across the country —many of them have been highly successful at not having the bird flu infect their populations,” Rollins said. “Better understanding of risk pathways and realizing what best practices are is a big part of (this work).”

The third focus is on the development of novel vaccines to protect poultry from H5N1 while promoting biosecurity.

“That will all be part of the research funding opportunity that we announced about an hour and a half ago,” Rollins said.

USDA will test the efficacy of therapeutic interventions to prevent the virus and treat infected flocks.

“USDA, in consultation with HHS, has already had multiple conversations with Secretary Kennedy and leaders in the NIH and CDC, but will also be exploring prevention strategies to promote biosecurity in agriculture and in humans, to ensure limited impact on American farmers,” Rollins noted.

USDA is offering a webinar to assist interested applicants in learning more about the funding opportunity and how to submit a proposal on Tuesday, April 1 at 12 p.m. Eastern. No details on how to participate in the webinar have been communicated yet.

“As we try to do everything under this president and here at USDA, we will be as fast and efficient and effective as we can possibly be, working around the clock,” Rollins said.

Buller added that Sec. Rollins and her staff will continue to host update calls regularly.

“It’s very important to Sec. Rollins that we are showing progress on this five-prong plan and being honest and open with the public about what we’re up to and the progress and potential challenges that we have ahead,” Buller said. “We have an open door here, and we remain open to having conversations and hearing from stakeholders.”

Chief Tractor Kid? John Deere Saddles Up With Young Farmer Jackson Laux

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 15:47:45 GMT

He sold your grandfather a tractor back in ’73, likes the look of a clean lawn, and every morning he checks the chicken coop for fresh eggs. And now he’s John Deere’s first-ever Chief Tractor Kid.

Yep, you heard that right: John Deere is partnering with Jackson Laux, a 9-year-old farmer from Indiana and viral social media sensation known for his love of tractors and farming. Jackson will create content for Deere’s social media channels throughout the next year to bring awareness to the people in agriculture.

RELATED: Brock Purdy Leads Chief Tractor Officer Search

“Creating content alongside Jackson will help us introduce agriculture to a new generation in fun, unique formats that capture the true day-to-day life of a farmer,” said Jennifer Hartmann, global director of strategic public relations and enterprise social media.

Jackson went viral on TikTok in November 2023 when his cousin posted a video of him in response to the comment “farm kids are just built different”. Coined as the youngest tractor expert by his followers, Jackson has worked on his family’s farm in “good old South Whitley, Windy-ana” since the day he could walk. The good natured Indiana farm kid comes from a family of fifth-generation farmers.

@justbeckythings Reply to @peachstatehomesteader he sure is….8 years old & already owns his first of many to come @johndeere ♬ original sound - Becca

“Farming is really cool, and I want to show other kids my age why they should get into farming too. And show farmers of all ages why they should take the time to teach us younger ones,” Jackson said.

Watch the story unfold on TikTok and Instagram by following @JohnDeere.

And in the words of Jackson: “That’s all she wrote.”

Your Next Read: John Deere Presses Pause at Iowa Plant, Bourgault and Unverferth Add to Lineup

FDA Approves Lab-Grown Chicken for the First Time

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 20:57:22 GMT

The FDA approved lab-grown chicken for the first time, greenlighting products from startup Upside Foods for human consumption. If Upside gets USDA approval next, the company said it could start pumping out 50,000 pounds of “no-kill” meat products every year.

The news follows Upside’s April announcement that it had secured $400 million in Series C funding, moving the company “from R&D to commercialization,” according to CEO Uma Valeti.

“Our team...continues to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges in our mission to make our favorite food a force for good,” said Valeti.

Upside, with 140 employees, has now garnered over $600 million in funding from names like Bill Gates and meat companies Tyson and Cargill.

Brian Sikes, Cargill COO, stresses his team’s commitment to meatless meat:

“Our continued support for UPSIDE’s innovative work underscores Cargill’s commitment to an inclusive approach to wholesome, sustainable protein that will meet customer and consumer needs now and in the future.”

Meanwhile, Beyond Meat announced it would lay off 19% of staff last month, and retail sales in the plant-based meat industry overall have dropped 10% in the past year.

More on lab-grown meat :

Beyond Meat Faces Lawsuit Over False Protein Content and Quality Claims
Hoxton Farms Raises $22 Million for Cultivated Animal Fat

Could Virtual Reality Videos Boost Poultry Health?

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 20:39:46 GMT

Can watching videos boost hens’ welfare and health? Iowa State University researchers believe it could.

Using virtual reality technology, scientists simulated a free-range environment in laying hen housing. They found that showing hens VR scenes of chickens in more “natural” environments reduced indicators of stress in the hens’ blood and gut microbiota. The virtual reality scenes also induced biochemical changes related to increased resistance to E. coli bacteria, which poses health risks to poultry and to humans who eat contaminated eggs, according to a release .

To conduct the study, the researchers displayed video projections of chickens in free-range environments during a high-risk period for stress to a group of 34 hens from commercial poultry flocks. The hens were exposed to the videos over five days on all four walls of their housing about 15 weeks after hatching, a stage when commercial layer hens are regularly moved from pullet to egg-laying facilities.

Scenes showed indoor facilities with access to an outdoor fenced scratch area and unfenced open prairie with grasses, shrubs and flowers, the release said. The visual-only recordings showed diverse groups of free-range chickens performing activities associated with positive poultry behaviors based on time of day, such as preening, perching, dust-bathing and nesting. Meanwhile, videos were not shown to a control group of the same size and age in the same type of housing.

_{Representative pictures of virtual reality scenes shown in chickens’ pens during pilot study. The video images were projected on vinyl projector screens placed against each pen wall. Photos courtesy of Melha Mellata, Iowa State University.}

When the treatment period ended, researchers analyzed both blood and tissues from the chickens, as well as samples of their intestinal microbiota. The chickens in the treatment group showed several beneficial changes compared to the control group such as lower indicators of stress and an increased resistance to Avian Pathogenic E. coli bacteria that can cause sepsis and death in young birds.

“There are many challenges associated with free-range production environments for laying hens, including potential for additional injuries, disease and risks from predators. However, hens in free-range environments do tend to engage more often in positive, ‘normal’ behaviors that seem to enhance their overall health and immunity,” Melha Mellata, associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, said in the release. “It’s intriguing to think that even just showing hens free-range environments can stimulate similar immunological benefits.”

The idea came about after Mellata attended a seminar on new uses of virtual reality in different fields presented by James Oliver, director of the Virtual Reality Applications Center.

“We need more research, but this suggests virtual reality could be a relatively simple tool to improve poultry health in confined environments and improve food safety,” Mellata said in the release. “It could also be a relatively inexpensive way to reduce infections and the need for antibiotics in egg production.”

The team hopes to expand the research to conduct a similar study over a longer time, with more chickens and chickens at different stages, to see if the results can be replicated.

“Future research in collaboration with our partners in veterinary medicine is also needed to investigate the neurochemical mechanisms linking the visual stimuli to changes in the chickens’ intestines,” Mellata explained in the release.

Editor’s Note: Support for this research came from an Iowa State University Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Seed Grant. The pilot study, reported in the journal Frontiers of Science, was led by Melha Mellata, associate professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, and Graham Redweik, a recent doctoral student in the Interdepartmental Microbiology Graduate Program at Iowa State, who is now at the University of Colorado-Boulder. The multidisciplinary collaborative Iowa State project team also included James Oliver, director, Virtual Reality Applications Center; Suzanne Millman, professor, Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine; and Mark Lyte, professor, Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventative Medicine.

“Not Guilty” – Chicken Price-Fixing Trial Ends

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 15:41:45 GMT

The verdict is in and the five chicken industry executives on trial for conspiracy and bid rigging from 2012 to 2019 were acquitted by a jury in Denver federal court, Bloomberg reports . The verdict comes after two mistrials were declared when previous juries could not reach a decision. The decision was announced Thursday after more than a day of deliberations.

The verdict is considered a stinging defeat for Department of Justice prosecutors who moved forward with the case despite the two previous failures by narrowing their focus from 10 individuals to five. Acquitted in the case were former Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. chief executive officers Jayson Penn and William Lovette; Roger Austin, a former Pilgrim’s vice president; Mikell Fries, president of Claxton Poultry; and Scott Brady, a Claxton vice president.

Each defendant faced the possibility of a 10-year prison sentence and million-dollar fines if convicted.

When the DOJ announced it would pursue a third trial, US District Judge Philip Brimmer summoned Jonathan Kanter, the head of DOJ’s Antitrust Division, to Denver in April to explain why, after two hung juries, the government believed it could still win convictions.

“We know that the evidence couldn’t persuade 12 people,” a skeptical Brimmer told Kanter at the time. “We’ve seen it happen twice.”

“This case should never have been brought,” Bloomberg quoted Penn’s attorney, Michael Tubach, as saying after Thursday’s verdict.

The Justice Department issued a statement calling the verdict “disappointing,” but said “we will continue to vigorously enforce the antitrust laws, especially when it comes to price-fixing schemes that affect core staples. We will not be deterred from continuing to vigilantly pursue cases to protect the American people and our markets.”

Charges were first filed in the summer of 2021 after a years-long federal investigation that targeted the biggest producers in the $95 billion chicken market. Tyson said in 2020 it was cooperating with the investigation and cited a government policy that grants leniency to companies that are the first to disclose illegal price-fixing.

Longtime Pilgrim’s Pride employee Robert Bryant testified at all three trials for the government, claiming an industry-wide agreement to share price and bid information to inflate profits or limit losses, given specific market conditions.

Testifying under a grant of immunity from prosecution, Bryant admitted on cross-examination that he had lied to the FBI “multiple times” on matters unrelated to the price-fixing investigation.

Related stories:

Pilgrim’s Pride Agrees To $110 Million Price-Fixing Fine

Second Mistrial In Poultry Price-Fixing Case

Tyson Cooperating With DOJ In Broiler Probe

Second Mistrial In Poultry Price-Fixing Case

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 19:37:42 GMT

The U.S. Justice Department has tried and failed twice in its efforts to prove price-fixing among chicken industry executives.

A federal judge in Denver has declared a second mistrial after a jury deadlocked over whether 10 chicken company executives had conspired to fix prices. The first trial ended in December 2021.

U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer ended the case on March 29 after jurors said they were unable to reach a verdict after four days of deliberations. The 10 executives had worked for Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Perdue Farms LLC, Claxton Poultry, Tyson Foods Inc., Koch Foods Inc., Case Farms and George’s Inc.

The DOJ alleged the executives engaged “…in a continuing combination and conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by rigging bids and fixing prices and other price-related terms for broiler chicken products sold in the United States.”

Should the government seek a third trial as they have indicated, Judge Brimmer is demanding an explanation from the head of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter.

“I am going to order that the head of the antitrust division come in here within the next week and look me in the eye and explain to me why the government is going to retry this case,” Brimmer said Tuesday according to a Bloomberg report.

“If the government thinks that the 10 defendants and their attorneys and my staff and another group of jurors should spend six weeks retrying this case after the government has failed in two attempts to convict even one defendant, then certainly Mr. Kanter has the time to come to Denver and explain to me why the Department of Justice thinks that that is an appropriate thing to do,” Brimmer said.

The DOJ had alleged an eight-year conspiracy to fix prices, but the two mistrials suggest the difficulty in government efforts to police competition in food markets. The men had faced up to 10 years in prison and $1 million fines if convicted.

Jurors in both trials heard from Robert Bryant, a longtime Pilgrim’s Pride employee who’s currently on leave. As the government’s star witness, Bryant testified an industry-wide agreement existed to share price and bid information to inflate profits or limit losses, depending on the market.

Undermining Bryant’s testimony was the fact he appeared under grant of immunity from prosecution as he admitted that he had lied to the FBI “multiple times” on matters unrelated to the price-fixing probe.

Another prosecution witness was Tyson sales manager Carl Pepper, who told jurors about coordinating prices among the competitors.

Lawyers for the defendants argued that both men had lied to avoid prison. The defense argued that it’s not illegal simply to share pricing information and that the government can’t prove that the defendants all agreed to participate in a single, overarching conspiracy.

Related stories:

Judge Declares Mistrial In Chicken Antitrust Case

Highly Lethal Avian Influenza Spreading Across U.S., Now Reported in Kentucky Commercial Chicken Flock

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 19:23:56 GMT

A commercial chicken flock in Kentucky tested positive for a highly lethal form of bird flu, officials said on Monday, widening an outbreak that threatens the U.S. poultry industry.

Infections in the chickens being raised for meat are set to trigger more restrictions on U.S. poultry exports, after buyers like China and Korea limited purchases from Indiana last week due to an outbreak at a commercial turkey farm there.

The broiler chickens in Fulton County, Kentucky, located near the border with Tennessee, were infected with the same H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian flu as the turkeys in Indiana, Kentucky officials said.

They are awaiting final lab confirmation of another suspected outbreak among turkeys in Webster County, Kentucky.

Birds from infected flocks will be culled and will not enter the food system, state officials said.

“We are working diligently to prevent this virus from spreading to other poultry premises,” said Katie Flynn, Kentucky’s state veterinarian.

Federal and state authorities are testing commercial and backyard poultry flocks nearby in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The disease was also detected in a backyard flock of birds in Fauquier County, Virginia, that have already been culled, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The cases do not present an immediate public health concern, the agency said.

Wild birds are thought to be spreading the virus, after dozens tested positive for the flu along the U.S. East Coast.

The United States is the world’s largest producer and second-largest exporter of poultry meat, according to the U.S. government. Kentucky said it is the seventh biggest chicken-meat producing state.

The disease is hitting the market as poultry supplies are down due to strong demand and labor shortages at meat plants during to the COVID-19 pandemic. Government data showed U.S. frozen chicken supplies were down 14% from a year ago at the end of December while turkey inventories were down 23%.

(Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

Diversifying Adds To Sustainability

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 20:25:19 GMT

This article was written by Debbie Borg. She and her family produce beef, chicken and row crops in northeast Nebraska, near Allen. Debbie is a Conservation Steward in the Bazile Creek watershed, helping farmers evaluate conservation farming practices on behalf of America’s Conservation Ag Movement, a Trust In Food initiative.

Sustainability is such a buzz word today and means so many different things to different people and industries. And now we have to talk about climate smart ag, too!

But I believe if you ask a farmer, most likely they will tell you that sustainability means passing the farm on to the next generation.

Looking back to 2018 when we signed a letter of intent to build a chicken barn for the Costco project in Nebraska, we didn’t write a business plan and detail all that we were doing to contribute to the sustainability of our fifth-generation family farm operation.

At the time, it wasn’t a real hard decision to sign on. My husband and I both grew up doing animal chores and have been feeding cattle ever since. We understood the daily chore commitment. We told people that we were doing it for our kids, and I want to delve into what the decision we made three years ago has brought to our farm and family.

First, it has brought a lot of change. Most importantly, it has provided opportunity – the opportunity to offer a paying job to our oldest daughter, Hannah, after college graduation. Just recently, our other daughter, Heidi, joined us. Had we not signed on as a contract grower for Costco, both daughters would have had to find careers elsewhere – away from the farm.

Back to change. We now have daily chores with rigid time schedules. Unlike with cattle feeding, where timing isn’t quite as critical, chickens demand being in the barn and eating at the same time every morning, every day of the year. But that’s provided another opportunity. Adding chickens has given us a resource for additional plant nutrients, thanks to the chicken bedding. We have had access to poultry litter for over 40 years in our area. In fact, our family used poultry manure when the local provider had to give it away. Today, the demand for poultry litter is high and generally costs more than what the NPK nutrients are valued at. However, I like to say that chicken manure is magic. It does things that commercial fertilizer doesn’t do, and that’s what has also driven up the cost in this area of northeast Nebraska.

Getting back to sustainability, as farmers learn more every year, we have seen the benefits of using both cattle and chicken manure as plant nutrients. That has especially been the case as we have seen Mother Nature bring more extremes to our weather conditions. Soil that has been treated/covered with animal manure has more resilience.

We also know that circular economies result in increased sustainability. I often share the story that we grow the corn that we feed the cattle, then we spread the manure on the field to nourish future crops to feed the cattle. Around and around it goes. People outside of farming say, “Wow, I didn’t understand that, and your transportation costs are reduced, too and your carbon footprint is reduced.” Yes, that is correct. Here in eastern Nebraska, the crops grown to feed the livestock are cultivated real close to where they are consumed, and the animal manure is then applied on nearby fields as well.

It has been an interesting journey over the last three years with some major bumps and turns, as a result of adding chickens to our farm. But when we focus on the increased sustainability, our goal to leave the land better than it was when we got it – and pass it on to the next generation – it definitely has been worthwhile.

Tyson Foods Raises Prices, Scrambles to Keep Up with Inflation

Mon, 09 Aug 2021 18:04:00 GMT

Tyson Foods Inc cannot increase prices for chicken and prepared foods fast enough to keep pace with rising costs for raw materials like grain, Chief Executive Donnie King said on Monday, after the company reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings.

The meat company lifted its 2021 revenue forecast due to strong beef demand as sales of steaks and burgers from U.S. restaurants and hotels recovered following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. U.S. beef exports are also robust.

But costs are also increasing, a potential drag on future earnings.

Tyson has increased prices for restaurant customers to offset inflation and plans to raise retail prices on Sept. 5, King said on a conference call with analysts. More increases are planned, he said.

“Costs are hitting us faster than we can get pricing at this point,” King said.

Branded and value-added products are particularly affected by inflation, which reached 14% in the quarter ended on July 3, he said.

“We’ve seen unprecedented and accelerating inflation, and we’re trying to catch up with that,” King told reporters.

Tyson increased its average price for pork by 39.3% in the last quarter, while it raised beef and chicken prices 11.6% and 15.6% respectively. Sales volumes also increased.

Total quarterly sales climbed to $12.48 billion from $10.02 billion a year earlier, topping analysts’ estimates for $11.49 billion.

Net income attributable to Tyson increased to $2.05 per share from $1.44 a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, Tyson earned $2.70 per share, crushing estimates of $1.62, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The Jimmy Dean hotdogs maker said it expects total sales of about $46 billion to $47 billion for fiscal 2021, compared with an earlier forecast of $44 billion to $46 billion.

The company, which is mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for U.S. employees, said rising coronavirus cases have made it harder to find workers. “We were on a good trajectory and then the Delta variant showed up,” King said.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru and Tom Polansek in Chicago, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Chizu Nomiyama and Steve Orlofsky)

Got Chicken Litter? Pot of Soil Health in Poultry Waste

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 20:11:15 GMT

Mike McGregor rumbles down the turnrow of a buckshot soybean field and pulls a long train of dust behind his truck as he checks up behind a blue fertilizer buggy filled with chicken litter. He turns the buggy’s regulator wheel to control the gate’s spread rate and is back in his truck within seconds, seamlessly barking out direction to his operators over a CB radio. McGregor, agriculture’s version of the consummate field general, commands his chicken litter operation with military precision – and the results are evident in the flatlands of the southeast Arkansas Delta.

Hauling and spreading 2,000 loads of chicken litter each year in the Delta is a logistical nightmare. Equipment, supply, weather, downtime and producer whims – all the pieces play at different tempos, forcing McGregor to strain unity from complexity. “I’m an outdoors person and I love agriculture. People have always laughed at me for fooling with stinky chicken litter, but they don’t recognize a road to soil health. Chicken litter is far more than NPK. It’s the NPK plus all the micronutrients that deliver bang for buck. Growers that have used litter for years don’t continue because it doesn’t pay; they’re still putting it on because it brings results.”

In 1991, McGregor bought a small cattle farm on hill ground in Coleman, Ark., and began shipping hay nationwide – attempting to pump out the best Bermuda grass yields his land would allow. Yet, the ground was poor, sucked dry of nutrients by continuous cotton dating back before the steamroll of the boll weevil. Ever the perfectionist, he considered the advice of a chicken producer that was getting high tomato yields with 8 tons of litter per acre. McGregor bit the financial bullet and put out 2 to 3 tons per acre across his Bermuda grass, and began noting a major boost in phosphate, potash and pH. “We were harvesting 125 65-lb. bales of Bermuda grass four to five times a year – ridiculous numbers. That’s what keyed me in to chicken litter.”

When McGregor addresses the economics of agriculture and chicken litter, he carries a uniquely qualified perspective – nine years as a professor of finance and investment at the University of Arkansas-Monticello. In the early 1990s, McGregor began helping producer Matt Miles , McGehee, Ark., crunch numbers for his cotton module hauling operation and general farm business decisions. In 1995, Miles noticed the results on McGregor’s Bermuda grass and asked if litter success would translate to row crops. Miles had just taken on Dickens Farm in Jerome, Ark., for Ted Glaub, primary owner, Glaub Farm Management, and wanted to improve nutrient-poor land. “Matt and I hit about 200 acres at 2 tons per acre. At first it was experimental and we were trying for our own version of variable rate. On poor field spots, we’d drop a gear from 8 mph to 6 mph. Matt was confident in my mathematics, finance and perfectionism. We didn’t know exactly where we were going, but we knew we’d get there,” McGregor remembers.

For more on Miles, see Breaking Through Farming’s Veil of Secrecy

Miles began requesting more litter for expanded acreage. Initially, Miles wanted litter solely for corn, but quickly added cotton and soybeans. “One day, Matt says, ‘I want you to put chicken litter on every acre I work.’ Are you kidding me? In addition, Ted Glaub said he wanted 2 tons per acre on everything for three consecutive years.”

McGregor’s litter operation went from 25 loads to 200 loads the second year and 500 loads the third year. Miles’ yields on the Dickens ground began picking up dramatically. With that jump, neighboring farmers began demanding litter from McGregor. He was stockpiling litter on turnrows and hauling in the spring and fall. “Matt was saying he wanted 1.5 tons on 6,000 acres per year – 9,000 tons. His neighboring farmers were asking for more litter.” McGregor kept possession of his growing cattle farm -- Organic Solutions Farms, Inc. – now 1,000 acres, but walked away from his teaching position and ownership of an Electrolux franchise with three stores. Chicken litter as a part-time job was finished.

On average, Mike McGregor’s crew spreads litter on 750 acres per day with four John Deere tractors, four Adams fertilizer buggies, and a single Caterpillar loader.

© Chris Benentt

Dickens Farm is a textbook case of litter success, according to Glaub, who manages farms for absentee owners and also is involved with consulting and auctions. When Miles began working the ground, fertility was extremely poor – plant consumption had consistently exceeded application. “We went with litter as a cheaper nutrient source and have applied it for 10 years,” Glaub details. “Mike provides a high-quality and consistent chicken litter product. In addition, he applies it timely and uniformly. Before Matt Miles got involved with the land and chicken litter, we were hitting 35-bu.-soybeans, but that ground averaged 80-bu. soybeans last year.”

Glaub uses litter on corn, cotton, soybeans, rice and wheat, but warns it’s not a cure-all with a one-time application. “I’m constantly driving farm roads and I see a significant amount of increase in chicken litter use, but you’d be cheating yourself to expect instant results. It’s a system where the entire team of farmers, managers, crop consultants, and Mike McGregor are involved. We’re trying to be holistic and not just mine the land. We want to make it better for future generations and use natural products when possible.”

Beyond boosting fertility, litter improves soil properties through the addition of organic matter that helps with water and nutrient holding capacity, says Larry Oldham, Extension soils specialist, Mississippi State University. “Chicken litter is an excellent fertilizer and provides all the NPK macronutrients, secondary nutrients -- calcium, magnesium, sulphur -- and micronutrients.”

On average, McGregor’s crew spreads litter on 750 acres per day with four John Deere tractors, four Adams fertilizer buggies, and a single Caterpillar loader. Premium quality litter is the mantra for McGregor and he pulls samples from each chicken house for analysis. In May through August, he drops hen and broiler litter that’s gone through five or six flocks on turnrows for fall application, and spreads the loads from September to November. Logistically, there is no way to haul litter in the fall; it has to be ready and waiting on the turnrow. “In order to have quality litter, I have to order from a chicken producer a year in advance. If a grower waffles, I’ve got to let him go because I’ve got to honor my word to the chicken producer. I’ve seen farmers nervous because they can save a few bucks by not using chicken litter. However, the big majority don’t bat an eye because they’re watching the results build in crop productivity,” McGregor notes.

Chicken litter provides the parts for a healthy soil equation, but litter loads aren’t necessarily equal and a range of variability can be found.

© Chris Benentt

Although chicken litter provides the parts for a healthy soil equation, litter loads aren’t necessarily equal and a range of variability can be found. The quality of litter is a key issue and McGregor’s operation is associated with a reputation for premium product. He makes certain his farmer clients get a minimum of five or six flocks on every delivered load. “My No. 1 goal is to make farmers satisfied and give them the best chicken litter product I possibly can offer – application and spread. It’s a privilege to be allowed to work on my customers’ farmland. If I do my job right in serving farmers, they get better economic results than if they had spent the same amount of money on commercial products.”

As a field general across thousands of farm acres in the Arkansas Delta, McGregor has developed a thriving fertility program – feeding the soil through his chicken litter system, but keeps close tabs on success with a humble perspective. “Family, employees, and particularly me – we all know our success comes through blessings from the good Lord. I love my job every day because I make a lot of farmers happy.”

Pilgrim’s Pride Agrees To $110 Million Price-Fixing Fine

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:57:18 GMT

In a statement issued Oct. 14, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. says it has agreed to pay a $110 million fine in a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division.

The plea agreement was made regarding the DOJ’s investigation into the sales of broiler chicken products in the U.S. and is subject to approval of the U.S. District Court of Colorado. The statement said, “Pilgrim’s and the Antitrust Division agreed to a fine of $110,524,140 for restraint of competition that affected three contracts for the sale of chicken products to one customer in the United States.”

The agreement ends the investigation into Pilgrim’s Pride for its role in alleged wide-ranging schemes to fix prices in the broiler market that has ensnarled several companies in multiple lawsuits. The agreement also does not recommend a monitor, any restitution or probationary period, and provides the DOJ will not bring additional charges against Pilgrim’s Pride in this matte, all contingent upon the company complying with the terms and provisions of the agreement.

“Pilgrim’s is committed to fair and honest competition in compliance with U.S. antitrust laws,” said Fabio Sandri, Pilgrim’s CEO. “We are encouraged that today’s agreement concludes the Antitrust Division’s investigation into Pilgrim’s, providing certainty regarding this matter to our team members, suppliers, customers and shareholders.”

Previously, the DOJ has announced indictments against 10 chicken company executives alleging price-fixing and bid-rigging for broiler chicken products. Included in those indictments were Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Jayson Penn, former CEO William Lovette, and former Pilgrim’s Pride vice president Roger Austin.

On September 23, 2020, Pilgrim’s Pride announced the appointment of Fabio Sandri as CEO, replacing Jayson Penn.

Pilgrim’s Pride, which produces 20% of U.S. chicken, is headquartered in Greeley, Colo., has 37,000 employees and reported $10.7 billion in 2017 revenue. JBS USA Holdings owns 78% of Pilgrim’s Pride.

Related stories:

New Indictments In DOJ Chicken Price-Fixing Probe

DOJ Alleges Price Fixing Conspiracy

Companies Are Rushing to Meet Cage-Free Egg Deadline

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:17:22 GMT

As consumers clamor for cruelty-free protein at the grocery store and in restaurants, big food is obliging them -- hundreds of companies have pledged to sell only cage-free eggs by 2025, for example.

But has Corporate USA bitten off more than it can chew?

Producers are trying to create new housing for more than 300 million egg-laying hens across the U.S. -- a gargantuan change that can’t happen overnight. Currently, the country is only about a quarter of the way to those commitments, according to Christine McCracken, a protein analyst at Rabobank, a Dutch lender specializing in food and agriculture. The Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University, meanwhile, uses USDA data to estimate that about 17 percent of output is now cage-free, including organics.

Going forward, the transition will cost companies, which include Walmart Inc., McDonald’s Corp. and General Mills Inc., about $7 billion, McCracken predicts. That forecast is “roughly correct,” according to the EIC.

To nudge the industry forward as it confronts this task, the Humane Society of the United States recently sent out a survey to the 100 biggest food companies, asking them to report advances they’ve made in the treatment of livestock like pigs and chickens. It’s also requesting information about companies’ ability to comply with new state laws, like California’s recent mandate on animal housing, and details on what they’re doing to add more plant-based options to their menus. Responses are due June 1.

“Consumers and investors are going to have an opportunity to see which companies actually live up to their policies,” said Josh Balk, vice president of farm animal protection for the Humane Society.

Some companies are ready to report on their progress, while others are more reticent. Kraft Heinz Co. said it now sources 60 percent of its eggs as cage-free or free-range globally. General Mills reached 40 percent cage-free worldwide in 2018 and Campbell Soup said it’s at 16 percent. McDonald’s declined to comment on its progress and Walmart didn’t respond to inquiries.

The changes -- which often include the planning, permitting and building of new barns -- aren’t easy to make.

“It’s a major construction project,” said Brian Moscogiuri, an egg market analyst with Urner Barry.

But the pace will accelerate, Rabobank’s McCracken said. She cited Proposition 12 in California, which passed in November and established more humane housing requirements for all eggs, pork and veal sold in the state by 2022. As part of these rules, all eggs sold will have to come from hens that are cage-free.

‘Entirely Different’

“It’s an entirely different way of raising animals,” McCracken said. “It takes some learning on how to do that well. It’s a slow conversion.”

There is no uniform cage-free system, but the United Egg Producers mandates that each bird have 144 square inches of space. Caged systems, meanwhile, provide 67 to 86 square inches. The new spaces must allow birds “to exhibit natural behaviors” -- so housing features like scratch areas, perches and nests are common. These spaces are also more expensive for producers, because they require more labor and can be less productive.

Even so, food-service operators haven’t raised prices, as the higher cost of production is still just a small part of the price of a menu item like an egg sandwich. At the retail level, cage-free egg sales rose 10 percent in the 12 months through Feb. 23, according to data from Nielsen. But those gains are largely driven by distribution into new stores, according to McCracken. Not all cage-free eggs find a home, either, Moscogiuri said, meaning they are sold as commodity eggs and the producer loses the premium.

Panera Bread, which was 14 percent cage-free according to its 2017 animal welfare report, is working to change the way it buys eggs, said Sara Burnett, the company’s director of wellness and food policy.

“We have to rethink our supply chain contracts to make sure we are being good partners to these farmers,” she said. The chain is using longer-term contracts to help cover upfront capital investments as egg producers transition to the new barns.

Companies have also made commitments to produce antibiotic-free chicken and gestation crate-free pork -- which means female pigs aren’t packed into tiny containment areas for most of their lives.

With 2025 six years away, McCracken expects food service to hit their targets on cage-free eggs. But she isn’t convinced about retailers. Balk, meanwhile, is more optimistic.

“I expect by 2025 virtually every single egg-laying hen to be in a cage-free facility,” he said. “There may be some outliers that have to be spotlighted so they comport with the norm.”

Tyson Foods: Tax Reform Bonus Checks

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:17:19 GMT

SPRINGDALE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas-based Tyson Foods Inc. says more than 100,000 employees will receive bonuses as a result of company savings due to the overhaul of federal tax laws.

Tyson said Thursday that full-time employees who do not receive an annual bonus will get $1,000 and part-time workers who receive no annual bonus will get $500.

Tyson President and CEO Tom Hayes said in an email to employees the company expects to save over $300 million in taxes. He said the remaining funds will be used in areas such as improving training and education, including teaching English as a second language and General Educational Development classes.

The announcement follows similar actions at big companies including Walmart, Starbucks and Disney after the tax overhaul was approved and signed by President Trump in December.

Copyright 2018, The Associated Press

Easter Eggs to Cost Less This Year

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:17:19 GMT

The next few days are big for eggs, with egg hunts and Easter on Sunday, and there’s good news if you’re buying eggs.

Usually, a week or so before Easter, there’s a big bump in prices, but not this time. In fact, one USDA economist says prices are down 8% year over year.

USDA Livestock, Poultry and Dairy Analyst Shayle Shagam said, “Prices are down dramatically. This year, we have a lot of eggs available.”

Analysts say production is running 3.5% higher than a year ago. Retail experts are forecasting egg prices to decrease 1% to 2% this year, after last year’s 11% hike.

John Phipps: Why Chicken's New Slogan Should be "The Other Dark Meat"

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:17:19 GMT

Consumers are fickle, and nobody knows that better than protein producers. The latest example is the shift away from that chicken sandwich standard – white, or breast meat. It seems after years of worrying about too much fat, people started noticing they weren’t getting too much flavor either. The result is booming sales of thighs and drumsticks, while breast meat falters.

I don’t have much control over what shows up on our plates, but Jan has long preferred chicken thighs for cooking. They were better portion-sized for us compared to what have become enormous chunks of chicken breasts. Plus, in my opinion, the leftover drumsticks served cold still had flavor and was not as dry as breasts.

Chicken breeders had performed miraculous feats of genetic manipulation to produce birds that were almost too top heavy. And while chicken has always been popular because of cost, years ago thighs were almost free compared to breasts. Notice the price spread between breasts and thighs had gotten as high as $1.20, but while varying wildly, is gradually approaching parity. I remember years ago when we virtually dumped leg quarters on the Russian market to get rid of them.

When you add in the boom in chicken wings – which are now often the most expensive part of the bird, chicken breeders have their work cut out for them again. They have shown remarkable agility to breed to meet the market, and with a faster turnaround time than other species will undoubtedly be putting what consumers want in the grocery case and on the restaurant menu. Still you have to wonder what a chicken designed to maximize wings and thighs would look like. Nobody expects breast meat to disappear, however. Suddenly it is not too valuable to be in chicken nuggets or fingers, for examples. Regardless it is clear chicken has become the meat of choice, or at least the most formidable economic force in the protein market.

Still, the test will be finicky three-year-olds and consumers still focused on fat. Maybe because we are eating so much chicken, we’re finally beginning to notice the flavor. I can even see a new marketing campaign on the way: Chicken – the other dark meat.

13 States Sue to Stop Cage Free Eggs Law in Massachusetts

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:17:16 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts is being sued by 13 other states that claim a voter-approved law to ban the sale of eggs and other food products from farm animals that are confined in overly restrictive cages is unconstitutional.

The states, led by Indiana, filed the lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court last week. It follows another action filed by more than a dozen states earlier in the month against California, which has a similar law.

The 2016 ballot question in Massachusetts was backed by more than 77 percent of voters. It requires, among other things, that only cage-free eggs be sold in the state by 2022, regardless of where the eggs were produced.

The law backed by animal protection groups defines an overly restrictive cage as one that would prevent an egg-laying hen, breeding pig or calf raised for veal from standing up, turning around or fully extending its limbs.

In their compliant, the states claim that Massachusetts is attempting to impose its own regulatory standards on farmers in other states, in violation of the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The plaintiffs claim farmers “will have to increase their production costs by decreasing flock or herd size, investing in new infrastructure, and undertaking contentious zoning approval processes.”

“If they do not, they must forego completely any sales in Massachusetts or to national distributors that may resell products in Massachusetts,” according to the suit.

Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey’s office said it had received the lawsuit and was reviewing it, but had no additional comment.

Paul Shapiro, vice president of policy for the Humane Society of the United States, said opponents of the law are “grasping at straws” and he expects the legal challenge to fail.

“Massachusetts has an interest in protecting its consumers from inhumane and substandard production of eggs,” said Shapiro, who noted that the state is applying an even standard by requiring the same conditions for housing animals at its own farms.

Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin also signed on to the lawsuit. The states said it filed the action directly with the Supreme Court because it has jurisdiction over lawsuits between states.

Critics of the cage-free laws also argue they result in price increases for consumers. The Missouri-led suit filed Dec. 4 against California claims that state’s law, which took effect in 2015, has cost U.S. consumers up to $350 million annually in higher egg costs.

Shapiro said most studies have predicted the Massachusetts law would add only a penny or two to the cost of an egg.

Copyright 2017, The Associated Press

Taco Bell Joins Fried-Chicken Fad as Consumption Reaches Record

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:17:16 GMT

With much of the fast-food industry embracing fried chicken despite health concerns about the greasy fare, Taco Bell is making its own foray into the category.

The Mexican-themed chain will begin serving a new chalupa this month with a shell made out of fried chicken, rather than corn or flour. The item is an attempt to capitalize on record-high demand for chicken while still appealing to its customers’ desire for over-the-top food combinations. The division of Yum! Brands Inc. has been experimenting for years to find a fried-chicken item it could add to its menu.

“Fried chicken is growing at a tremendous clip,” Taco Bell President Brian Niccol said in an interview. “It’s a real void on our menu, and it’s something that our customers ask us for.”

Americans are expected to eat about 91.7 pounds of chicken per person this year, the most on record, according to the National Chicken Council. That dwarfs demand for beef and pork. And at quick-service restaurant chains, much of it is being served up fried.

Shake Shack Inc., better known for burgers and milkshakes, rolled out a fried chicken sandwich nationally last year. It has already become one of its top sellers, and the company is adding a barbecue version.

Southern Style

Habit Restaurant Inc., another burger chain, also began selling a Southern-style chicken sandwich last year. Customer response has been “overwhelmingly positive,” Chief Executive Officer Russell William Bendel said on a conference call in November.

Fast-food chains are having to fight harder to get customers in the door, increasing pressure to add the most in-demand menu items. Industrywide same-store sales -- a key measure of health -- grew less than 1 percent for the past eight months through November, according to MillerPulse data.

Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken helped to popularize the southern specialty when he first began cooking for hungry travelers at a gas station in 1930. KFC, also owned by Yum, said same-store sales jumped 6 percent in its most recent quarter domestically. The chain’s Extra Crispy ad campaign helped pull in diners.

Fried poultry is showing up at fancier places too. David Chang, head of the Momofuku Milk Bar empire, is known for his $8 spicy fried chicken sandwiches at Fuku in New York. This year, he’s opening another Fuku location on Wall Street.

Taco Bell’s offering will be cheaper, at $2.99. The item, called the Naked Chicken Chalupa, will debut on Jan. 26 and may be added to the menu permanently if it does well, Niccol said.

“The thing about chicken is, it can take on a lot of different flavors,” he said. “It hits the right chord of being known, but yet different.”

45,000 Chickens Killed in Pennsylvania Farm Fire

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:17:05 GMT

Authorities say more than 45,000 chickens have been killed in fires this week at two central Pennsylvania farms.

A fire Monday killed 32,000 chickens and caused an estimated $400,000 in damage to a chicken barn and fields at Neal Sensenig’s farm in Heidelberg Township.

Officials say the blaze isn’t considered suspicious.

A fire early Wednesday at a Bethel Township farm destroyed a barn and killed about 13,000 chickens.

No people were harmed. Fire marshals are investigating.

The U.S. Produced Enough Eggs in January to Reach the Moon

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:16:58 GMT

Americans can’t seem to get enough eggs.

The U.S. produced 9.41 billion eggs in January, according to government data . That’s enough to go to the moon and halfway back if you stacked them together. January’s total was the second-largest on record, falling just 0.3 percent lower than the all-time high set in December.

Per the U.S. Department of Agriculture breakdown , 8.2 billion eggs were used for table consumption, with 1.2 billion used to hatch more chickens. Of the table eggs, the agency projected just 3.7 percent to be exported. All those eggs stacked lengthwise would be a staggering 338,581 miles (544,890 kilometers).

Americans are projected to each eat 279.2 eggs in 2019, according to the USDA’s latest per capita forecasts published in its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. That would be the highest in since 1973, according to the agency’s Economic Research Service . Even as it’s way down from the 1945 high of 404.6 eggs, it reverses a low of 228.8 set in 1995.

While the total chicken count can be tough to estimate given the short life span of broilers consumed by humans, the latest USDA tally puts the number at 392.8 million, about 67 million more than the 2018 U.S. population estimate.

U.S. Bird Flu Spreads to Egg-Laying Chickens in Minnesota County

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 02:55:06 GMT

ird flu has spread to egg-laying hens in Minnesota, the top U.S. turkey producer that’s been battling the disease since early last month.

A flock of 175,000 birds in Clay County was confirmed to have the highly contagious variety of avian influenza, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement Friday. This is the first case in the state for chickens, data from the agency show. The USDA also confirmed additional cases for turkey flocks in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin.

With flocks of more than 7.8 million birds ravaged by the disease this year, U.S. farms are stepping up clean-up efforts and Minnesota’s Governor Mark Dayton declared a state of emergency. At stake is the roughly $44 billion made from poultry and eggs produced in the U.S., the latest government figures show. The outbreak, the worst in three decades, has prompted poultry buyers from Europe to Asia to place restrictions on American shipments.

Avian flu has been found primarily in commercial turkey flocks, particularly in Minnesota, where abundant waterways attract wild geese and ducks, suspected of carrying the disease. Egg-laying hens in neighboring Wisconsin have also been infected. This week, the USDA also reported the disease in millions of egg-producing chickens in Iowa, the nation’s top producer.

Can Americans Eat More Chicken?

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 17:50:04 GMT

(Bloomberg) -- As if Americans didn’t have enough chicken on the menu already, production of the nation’s most-popular meat is headed for the biggest growth spurt in more than a decade.

Companies including Tyson Foods Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. are leading an industry expansion with new processing plants from Tennessee to Texas, fueled by years of profit gains from cheap feed grain and record demand. Even retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. is getting into the act, building its first-ever poultry plant in Nebraska.

While U.S. consumers are eating more chicken nuggets, boneless breasts and wings than ever, Sanderson estimates the industry’s production will increase 3 percent annually from 2019 through 2021. That’s the most since a three-year expansion ended in 2005, creating a possible “ dogfight” for market share and jeopardizing prices that last year were 10 percent higher than in 2016.

“I don’t see this construction causing prices to crash, but it certainly is going to take away from any upside,” said Tom Elam, president of Indiana poultry consultant FarmEcon.

The industry has been riding a profit boom as low feed costs allowed farmers to raise bigger birds and more of them. Americans have been eating more chicken than any other meat for two decades, but demand has taken off in recent years. Per-capita consumption will jump to a record 92.4 pounds (42 kilograms) this year, up 15 percent since 2012, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show.

Tyson, which also produces beef and pork, had record earnings in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. On Thursday, the Springdale, Arkansas-based company probably will report that net income for the three months through the end of December was $541 million, or $1.50 a share, according to the average of seven analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Analysts predict quarterly earnings gains later this month for Greeley, Colorado-based Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. and Laurel, Mississippi-based Sanderson Farms. The two companies, along with Tyson, control almost half of domestic supply.

Poultry production has been profitable since 2011, when surging corn and soybean prices led to losses that forced companies to cut back operations. Since then, output has continued to increase to almost 19 million metric tons this year, mostly by raising bigger birds, USDA data show.

Most of the processing expansions will be completed beginning next year. Sanderson, which has added seven plants since 1993 and has been more aggressive about adding capacity, recently broke ground in eastern Texas. Tyson, the biggest producer, plans to build its first new chicken plant in two decades, opening in 2019 in western Tennessee. Costco says its $300 million plant in Nebraska will produce almost 100 million chickens a year, supplying about a quarter of what its stores need and reducing costs by 10 cents to 35 cents a bird.

The pace of planned expansions has some analysts concerned. Shares for Tyson, Pilgrim’s and Sanderson have fallen since mid-December. Frozen chicken supplies are at a 12-year seasonal high, and the USDA forecasts broiler prices to slip about 3.2 percent in 2018 to average 90.5 cents a pound.

“There may be more expansion than we had initially thought,” Heather Jones, an analyst at Vertical Group, said in a Feb. 5 report. In a separate interview, Jones said that while the production increases will be absorbed by the market, “margins will be compressed.”

The outlook also could be tripped up by lawsuits filed by chicken buyers accusing producers of illegally conspiring to raise prices and any disruption in trade deals that have helped fuel U.S. exports.

Still, some older plants may be closed as more-efficient facilities are built, and not all the new capacity may get used if market conditions deteriorate, said Christine McCracken, an animal-protein analyst at Rabobank.

Some producers have no choice but to add capacity if they hope to meet growing demand, because efforts to make birds bigger may erode the texture and appeal of the meat. Others need new facilities to address the changing tastes of consumers.

Bell & Evans, an organic and specialty chicken company in Pennsylvania, is constructing a facility that will process 2.6 million chickens a week when it opens in 2020. The company supplies retailers including Whole Foods Market Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

“I’ve got to expand,” owner Scott Sechler said. “We rarely change prices, and when we do, it only goes up.”

Copyright 2018, Bloomberg News