Department of Agriculture and Forestry, State of Louisiana - Mike Strain DVM, Commissioner

Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., said the United States Department of Agriculture will provide up to $60 million in grants to poultry producers who lost contracts due to the 2008 bankruptcy of Pilgrim’s Pride.

The grant covers eligible producers throughout Louisiana.

To be eligible, poultry producers must have lost their contract with the bankrupt poultry supplier between May 1, 2008 and July 1, 2010 and have suffered a financial loss.

Strain said the program will allow growers to recoup losses due to the Pilgrim’s Pride bankruptcy.

“Poultry farmers rely on their contracts with their integrators,” Strain said. “No doubt chicken farmers were hurt when Pilgrim’s Pride went into bankruptcy. Not all growers signed new agreements with Foster Farms, but this program is designed to help all the growers who lost their contracts.”

The Louisiana Agricultural Finance Authority within the LDAF will administer the program and will begin holding a series of informational meetings in the affected areas in early November.

For more information, contact Rene Simon at 225-922-1277.

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