Inspector General

Poultry growers, caught between strict rules and financial risk, lean heavily on government-backed loans

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Since 2010, poultry growers have taken out more than 3,000 loans backed by the SBA, totaling $2.9 billion, according to analysis of Small Business Administration loan data by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. In March, the Inspector General released a report looking into the relationship between poultry integrators and growers. It said the rules big poultry companies placed on chicken farmers means they are not independent small businesses, calling into question their eligibility for Small Business Loans. Now, the SBA is considering revising

Poultry

Insult to injury: How the poultry processing industry treats hurt workers
In the poultry processing industry, where reporting systems are often flawed and management intimidating, getting hurt may only be the beginning.

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The injury rate in the poultry processing industry is already higher than many other industries. Yet the rate would be higher still if not for faulty data collection methods and widespread underreporting problems across the meat and poultry processing industry, according to a 2016 Government Accountability Office report.

Agribusiness

Large animal feeding operations on the rise
Several states see shifts in animal production since 2011

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The number of new concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) have increased across the U.S. over the past six years - bringing the total operations just under 20,000, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. From 2011 to 2017, the United States saw more than 1,400 new large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) established. That’s up 7.6 percent. Here's a look at the issue in maps and charts.

Big Ag Watch: News & Updates

Mapping bird flu: the states hurting most

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Highly pathogenic avian influenza – bird flu – has affected more than a dozen U.S. states and led to the slaughter of more than a billion birds. Poultry producers in Arkansas alone have had to kill more than 870 million broilers and about 30 million turkeys in attempt to control spread of the virus. In neighboring Missouri, producers have killed more than 440 billion broilers and about 11 million turkeys.

FSIS

USDA pushes for standards on poultry parts

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Months after a handful of senators called for better food-safety regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed new standards for cut up poultry. Currently, agencies only monitor whole poultry carcasses for pathogens.

FSIS

U.S. Senators push for better poultry standards

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As Americans gear up to eat more than 40 million pounds of turkey this month, a handful of U.S. senators are calling for stronger Department of Agriculture oversight to reduce pathogens in poultry. Their push follows a recent government report that found poultry products – such as chicken and turkey – cause more foodborne-illness deaths than any other commodity.