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USDA Charts New Course to Provide Consumers Confidence in U.S. Meat, Poultry and Egg Products

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:18:38 GMT

When it comes to food safety, USDA is charting a bold new course to provide consumers confidence that their meat, poultry and egg products meet best-in-class food safety standards, explained U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins at the opening of the USDA’s new, modernized Midwestern Food Safety Laboratory.

On July 15, Rollins launched a comprehensive plan to bolster USDA’s efforts to combat foodborne illness. She says this plan better positions USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to protect the nation’s food supply.

“President Trump is committed to ensuring American consumers have the safest, most abundant, and affordable food supply in the world,” Secretary Rollins said in a release. “I look forward to continued collaboration across the Trump administration, with states, and with food producers from farm to table, to reduce foodborne illness and protect public health.”

FSIS will continue to work in close collaboration with partners like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure the safety of the entire food supply chain.

USDA’s 5-Point Plan to Bolster Food Safety
1. Enhance Microbiological Testing and Inspection Oversight
USDA is making continued enhancements to its Listeria testing method to provide quicker results to industry and to detect a broader set of Listeria species. These additional results highlight conditions where Listeria monocytogenes can thrive in facilities producing ready-to-eat (RTE) products and help industry and FSIS identify potential sanitation problems. In 2025, FSIS has tested over 23,000 samples for Listeria, a more than 200 percent increase in samples from 2024.

To support these enhanced testing efforts, FSIS opened its new, modernized Midwestern Laboratory in Normandy, Mo. During President Trump’s first term, FSIS collaborated across the Trump administration and with Congressional leaders to secure funding for a 70,000 square foot, state-of-the-art laboratory to replace the current outdated laboratory in St. Louis. This new facility will play a critical role in analyzing verification samples for foodborne pathogens and chemical residues and will also support efforts to streamline the FSIS laboratory system.

FSIS is also mobilizing its resources to perform more robust, in-person Food Safety Assessments (FSAs), prioritizing RTE meat and poultry establishments. In 2025, the agency completed 440 FSAs, a 52% increase from the same time period in 2024. These reviews proactively identify and address potential food safety concerns.  

2. Equip FSIS Inspectors with Updated Training and Tools
This year, FSIS implemented a new weekly questionnaire for frontline inspectors to collect data on specific Listeria monocytogenes-related risk factors at all RTE establishments. This new tool collects data to identify developing food safety concerns, allowing FSIS inspectors and their supervisors to take timely action to protect consumers.

FSIS is also enhancing its instructions and related training for inspectors to help them recognize and elevate problems with an establishment’s food safety system. New instructions aid inspectors in recognizing how to look beyond individual noncompliances and determine when an establishment has systemic problems that should be elevated and addressed. Since January, the agency also updated its Listeria-specific training and administered it to over 5,200 frontline inspection personnel.

3. Charge Ahead to Reduce Salmonella Illnesses
Rollins has charged FSIS to find a more effective and achievable approach to address Salmonella in poultry products. FSIS withdrew President Biden’s proposed Salmonella Framework in April in light of significant concerns raised by stakeholders about the regulatory burden and costly impacts it would have had on small poultry growers and processors. The Trump administration is pursuing a new, common-sense strategy on Salmonella to protect public health while preventing unnecessary regulatory overreach, which will begin by convening listening sessions with key stakeholders to collaborate on best approaches moving forward.

4. Strengthen State Partnerships
States are crucial partners in ensuring a safe and strong food supply and provide a vital service in bringing nutritious, affordable American food products to dinner tables across the country. In May, Rollins announced an additional $14.5 million in funding to reimburse states for their meat and poultry inspection programs and called on Congress to more sustainably fund these critical programs moving forward. This funding is needed to support more than 1,500 American businesses that rely on state inspection, including small and very small meat and poultry processors. She also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture in May to improve collaboration between USDA and states moving forward.

Additionally, this year, FSIS signed updated, comprehensive cooperative agreements with all 29 states that operate state meat and poultry programs. These agreements clarify expectations for oversight and enforcement of food safety laws, provide comprehensive training for inspectors, and ensure regular coordination with FSIS. As part of its enhanced oversight of Talmadge-Aiken (TA) state cooperative programs, FSIS has completed in-person reviews at 77% (320 of 414) of TA establishments in the first six months of 2025.

5. Empower FSIS Inspectors to Take Action to Drive Compliance
FSIS is exercising its enforcement authorities and issuing notices of intended enforcement or suspending operations at establishments to address recurring noncompliance and ensure safe food production. The agency has taken 103 enforcement actions in 2025 to protect consumers, an increase of 36% over the same period in 2024. Additionally, FSIS has instructed its field supervisors to conduct in-person, follow-up visits when systemic issues are identified during a Food Safety Assessment. Follow-up visits by FSIS field supervisors bolster oversight to ensure an establishment fully addresses issues identified during a Food Safety Assessment and could inform enforcement action by FSIS.

National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) CEO Ted McKinney praised USDA’s commitment to better equip USDA Food Safety Inspection Service inspectors and strengthen state partnerships.

“NASDA commends Secretary Rollins for including states as key partners in USDA’s Plan to Bolster Food Safety,” McKinney said in a release. “State meat and poultry inspection programs have been and continue to be essential to protecting consumers and supporting small and mid-sized producers and processors. This collaboration strengthens our food system and delivers clear benefits to farmers, processors and consumers nationwide.”

Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts said the Meat Institute appreciates Secretary Rollins’ bold investment and prioritization of tools to combat foodborne illness.

“At the same time, our members are leading an effort to ensure food safety remains a critical focus of the top executives of each company,” Potts said in a release. “The goal is to prioritize food safety in all operations from the C-suite to the consumer. We appreciate USDA’s partnership in reducing foodborne illness and we are eager to work with USDA on this shared priority.”

California Has 'Gone Rogue,' Consumers Pay the Price Under Proposition 12, Rollins Says

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 14:25:52 GMT

President Donald Trump’s administration sued California on July 9 over its regulation of eggs and chicken farms, saying these California laws impose burdensome red tape on the production of eggs and egg products nationally in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“California has gone rogue and caused real harm to consumers under its cage-free egg commitments,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins said in a statement frollowing the announcement of the Trump Administration’s lawsuit. “By not allowing consumer choice, Californian’s are forced to buy more expensive eggs. California’s actions under Proposition 12 fly in the face of Federal jurisdiction and regulation over food production and safety under the Egg Products Inspection Act.”

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of California, Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and other state officials. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, argues that the federal Egg Products Inspection Act of 1970 pre-empts state laws related to eggs. The federal law authorizes the USDA and Health and Human Services to regulate eggs in order to protect consumers’ health and welfare, and it also requires “national uniformity” in egg safety standards, the lawsuit says.

“It is one thing if California passes laws that affects its own State, it is another when those laws affect other States in violation of the U.S. Constitution,” Secretary Rollins said. “Thankfully, President Trump is standing up against this overreach.”

Secretary Rollins has worked diligently to support American poultry and egg producers, combat avian flu, and lower the cost of eggs for consumers, USDA pointed out in a statement. In February, she announced a five-point plan to combat the avian flu and lower egg prices which has been applauded by agriculture and government leaders across the country. Since the five-point plan was announced, the price of eggs has decreased 63%.

“It is great to see the Trump administration taking decisive action to protect the country from California’s overreaching policies, but Americans facing high food costs cannot afford to wait for years of court appeals. Congress could—and should—pass legislation tomorrow to get us there sooner,” Jack Hubbard, executive director of the Center for the Environment and Welfare (CEW) said in a release. “Recent polling shows California voters now regret the passage of Proposition 12, and there is strong bipartisan support for a legislative fix to nullify California’s inflationary farm mandates.”

(YouTube)

In May, CEW launched a public education campaign urging Congress to stop the far-reaching consequences of Prop 12. According to Consumer Price Index data, national egg prices have spiked 103% since Prop 12 went into effect in 2022. Meanwhile, in California, the cost of eggs has tripled and pork prices have increased by between 20 and 40%.

EU Halts Brazil Poultry and Meat Imports After HPAI Outbreak

Mon, 19 May 2025 15:55:03 GMT

Brazil, the world’s largest poultry exporter and main poultry meat importer into the European Union, is no longer allowed to ship poultry and meat products to the EU due to the recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

Brazil confirmed the country’s first HPAI outbreak on a commercial farm in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul on May 16.

The entire territory of Brazil has suspended its official status of being “free of highly pathogenic avian influenza.” The EU joins with bans from top buyer China, Reuters reported. According to a European Commission spokesperson, EU import conditions require that the country of export (Brazil) is free of HPAI.

Why do U.S. farmers need to pay attention?

There are two reasons for U.S. farmers to be watching the developments of the disease and its effect on the Brazilian poultry industry.

Dan Basse, AgResource Company, says Brazil poultry exports account for about 33% of the global poultry supply.

“A good portion of that goes to China,” Basse says. “The Chinese are out and already saying that they are going to be restricting Brazilian poultry but, we’ll see. The Chinese took last year about 570,000 tons of Brazilian product. I don’t know where they would replace it–but they’re not going to do it from the United States with the trade war.”

He says another reason to watch is the feed side of the Brazilian poultry flock.

“Those birds consume a lot of meal and a lot of corn, it’s like 17.6 million metric tons of Brazilian meal, and 42 to 43 million tons of corn,” Basse says. “So we’ve got to think about this not only from a export opportunity for US poultry, but from a demand concern of what the Brazilians will do in terms of feed consumption. They’ll become more aggressive in offering meal and corn to the world market if flocks down there do need to be depopulated and are starting over.”

What are teh next steps?

Restriction on poultry exports follows rules agreed on with each importing country, based on international health certificate requirements, the Agriculture and Livestock ministry told the Associated Press (AP). Depending on the type of the disease, some deals apply to the whole country while others involve limits on where products can come from — for example, a specific state, city or just the area of the outbreak.

Countries like Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines have already accepted this regional approach, AP reported.

Brazil exported more than 5 million tons of poultry meat in 2024. Reuters reported that approximately 4.4% headed to the EU. Of total EU poultry imports, Brazil is the main origin with a share of 32% last year, according to official EU data.

The U.S. bird flu outbreak and wider trade tensions with Washington have limited Chinese appetite for American poultry. China now blocks poultry from more than 40 U.S. states over HPAI, according to U.S. government data, Reuters reported .

If the HPAI outbreak spreads across Brazil, as it did in the U.S., officials and analysts said outlooks could get dimmer, Reuters reported. That scenario would raise U.S. hopes for China to ease restrictions on American poultry.

Under a Phase 1 trade agreement China signed with U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in 2020, China is supposed to lift statewide bans on U.S. poultry 90 days after states eliminate bird flu from infected farms.

However, China has kept bans in place longer than it had agreed in that deal, according to the article.

Greg Tyler, CEO of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council industry group, told Reuters he is hopeful China will move back to abiding by that regionalization agreement.

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Why Students Should Apply for the 2025 Summer Veterinary Internship Program Now

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 21:48:54 GMT

The Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine (ISU CVM) is seeking veterinary student applicants for summer 2025 swine, bovine and poultry internship positions.

Will Fombelle, DVM, is a veteran of several internships spread across his undergraduate studies in animal sciences and also into his veterinary school education. During the summer of 2012, he completed the Swine Veterinary Internship Program (SVIP).

“While in school, I took on the attitude of completing as many internships as I possibly could in order to not only narrow down my career choice but also my future employer. By participating in these programs, I was able to mold my interests into the fields of swine medicine and production which greatly accelerated my vision of where I chose to start my career in veterinary medicine at Carthage Veterinary Service,” he said in a previous PorkBusiness.com article .

Participants in the SVIP collaborate with a mentoring veterinarian or team of veterinarians at a production system or practice. Students are immersed in modern swine production and health daily and take the lead on designing and executing a field trial with guidance from mentors, ISU CVM said on its website . Students also take part in diagnostic test sampling and implement the principles and methods of swine diagnostic collection, testing and interpretation.

“Even if your university has classes well into the summer, you have a study abroad trip planned, a wedding or another reason you might not be able to commit to the entire 12 weeks, go ahead and apply,” ISU CVM encouraged. “Just note your availability in the section where it asks about conflicts. We can’t guarantee we can accommodate all schedules but if a student is selected we will try our hardest to be flexible and make it work.”

Applications are due Dec. 1, 2024 (late applications are accepted but higher priority will be given to those received by Dec. 1).

Apply here.

“These summer internships are the first exposure for students to the real world, and we should do our best to make each student’s experience a positive one,” Fombelle wrote.

Learn more here.

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Walmart Vs. Big Chicken

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:25:43 GMT

Walmart, America’s largest retail grocer, has filed suit against various U.S. poultry companies alleging a conspiracy to inflate chicken prices.

The antitrust suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, alleges that more than a dozen major chicken companies “reached illegal agreements and restrained trade.”

The suit alleges that as early as 2008 through at least 2016, “Defendants’ restraint of trade was implemented primarily through two mechanisms. The first focused on coordinating their output and reducing the supply of broiler chickens into the market. The second focused on (among other things) manipulating price indices with respect to wholesale chicken prices.”

Companies named as defendants include: Pilgrim’s Pride, Koch Foods, JCG Foods, Koch Meat Co., various Sanderson Farms units, House of Raeford Farms, MAR- JAC Poultry, Perdue Farms and Perdue Foods, Wayne Farms, various O.K. Foods units, Peco Foods, Harrison Poultry, Foster Farms, Claxton Poultry Farms, various Mountaire Farms units Amick Farms, various Case Foods units and Agri Stats Inc.

Noticeable by its absence in the suit is Tyson Foods, Inc, George’s Inc., and Simmons Foods, Inc. All three companies were named as defendants in similar price fixing cases in Illinois. An annual SEC filing from November 2018 indicates 17.3% of Tyson’s consolidated sales in 2018 were to Walmart.

Walmart’s lawsuit alleges, “the broiler producers’ coordinated output restriction scheme was successfully facilitated by, monitored and policed using reports purchased, at significant cost, from Defendant Agri Stats, Inc. Agri Stats collects detailed, proprietary data from all Defendants and others, including housing used, breed of chicks, average size, production, and breeder flock levels.”

Several lawsuits have been filed since 2016 alleging price-fixing by poultry companies. One defendant to an earlier lawsuit, Fieldale Farms, “agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle claims by a putative class of direct purchasers alleging that it participated in this conspiracy.” As a result, claims against Fieldale Farms were released.

Related stories:

Walmart Partners To Establish Its Own Angus Beef Supply Chain

Strong Third Quarter for Red Meat and Poultry Exports

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:17:54 GMT

U.S. red meat exports had a strong finish to the third quarter, according to data compiled by USDA agencies (Foreign Agriculture Service and the Economic Research Service). Beef exports are leading the way. In the third quarter, U.S. beef and veal exports on a carcass weight rose by 11% year-over-year, stretching the double-digit growth out to its third consecutive quarter. Double-digit percentage increases in beef export tonnage have been posted for eight of the last ten quarters. Pork exports were up 5% this quarter, a small drop from the gains of 6% in both the earlier quarters this year. Lamb exports increased 6% year-over-year in the third quarter, the lowest quarterly increase so far this year (the first and second quarters posted jumped-up by 67% and 40%, respectively).

U.S. poultry exports have struggled. Broiler exports, the biggest category, was the only category to show positive gains in the third quarter, rising 8% year-over-year. Other chicken exports fell 27%, the smallest decline so far this year. First quarter other chicken exports were down 30% and second quarter was down 43%. Turkey exports have fared only slightly better. Third quarter posted a 16% drop, on the heels of a 1% decline in the second quarter and a 15% gain in the first quarter.

Compared to a year ago, beef imports were down 1% in both the third and second quarters of 2018. Pork imports dropped by 13% in the third quarter, following a 4% decline from 2017’s level for the second quarter. Both beef and pork imports were up year-over-year in the first quarters of 2018 (up 3% and 6% respectively). Lamb imports increased 2% in the latest quarter. Broiler imports surged 28%, while turkey gained a modest 3% from last year. Other chicken imports have been down all year; the third quarter was down 31%.

Strength in red meat exports has been a bright spot this year, especially for beef. Next year is expected to bring further gains in production of beef and pork, but it seems unlikely beef exports will be able to maintain double-digit growth into 2019. The significant headwinds are a strengthening U.S. dollar, softer economic growth in Asian countries, and tariff levels. LMIC forecasts 2019 beef exports to be up about 2% on the year, and pork exports to rise near 3%.

Poultry Sectors Face Margin Challenges

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:12:58 GMT

Overall chicken industry profitability so far this year, when adjusted for the mix of products produced has been slightly better than 2016, which was not a good year and far below 2017’s. Hatchery output is expected to reflect this situation, with hatchings up 2% this quarter but then tailing to unchanged from last year’s during the summer quarter, and maybe even a slight decline for the last quarter of the year. Much depends on the path of corn and soybean meal prices in coming months, and higher costs for these production inputs will skew chicken production decisions to the downside.

Increases in U.S. chicken production will struggle to be absorbed overseas or on the domestic market without lower prices. U.S. consumption (retail weight) is expected to increase from 2017’s 63.7 pounds per person to only 64.0 pounds this year. Excess production will accumulate in cold storage. Inventories of chicken in cold storage at the start of the second quarter were up 15% compared to a year earlier and will be a factor limiting production expansion later in 2018.

Chicken processor gross margins were unseasonably weak during April and May as wholesale breast meat and wing prices struggled. Most important has been depressed prices for deboned products. Margins for lighter weight whole birds, such as rotisserie-style product have improved during the same interval and are at the highest levels in at least two years. The dichotomy in economic returns between the two markets should encourage some more production of smaller birds over the course of the next year or two, which would moderate the pace of total tonnage increases.

U.S. turkey production in 2018 is set to decline year-over-year by 1-2% as producers respond to negative economic conditions. Whole bird prices were well below a year ago throughout the first half of this year. Expectations are for those prices to improve as downward production adjustments tighten inventory.

Supported by low prices, turkey exports were active in the first quarter. The gain compared to 2017 was 15%, and was the largest for the quarter since 2014. Strength in the export market is expected to continue, and the annual forecast is for turkey exports to be up 7%. Mexico is the largest market, which of course could be problematic, especially if NAFTA stumbles.

Lackluster domestic consumption is the biggest challenge for the turkey industry. Domestic use was down 5% from a year earlier during 2018’s first quarter. There is little incentive to increase, or even maintain production at recent levels until there is some clear sign of an uptick in U.S. consumer demand.

Tyson Building Poultry Plant in Tennessee; Kansas Plans on Hold

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 02:56:09 GMT

Tyson Foods, Inc. has announced plans to build a new chicken processing plant in western Tennessee. The $300 million project would create more than 1,500 jobs and is expected to be operational by the end of 2019.

An announcement was made on Nov. 20 by Tyson that the company had accepted an “invitation of city, county and state leaders to build a new chicken production complex in the City of Humboldt.”

“This project will enable us to provide even more fresh chicken to consumers across the country,” said Tom Hayes, president and CEO of Tyson Foods. “As one of the world’s leading protein companies, we continue to raise the world’s expectations of how much good food can do.”

Tyson has already made an investment in Tennessee earlier this year with the announcement of an $84 million expansion of its Union City plant.

“I want to thank Tyson Foods for choosing Humboldt as the location for its new operations and for creating more than 1,500 new jobs in Gibson County,” Governor Bill Haslam says. “The new facility will be Tyson’s fifth location in Tennessee and it means a great deal that a company of this magnitude will continue to grow its footprint in our state.”

Tyson chose the location in Humboldt, Tenn. over potential sites in other states. A similar project was proposed in Leavenworth County, Kan. in September, but due to public backlash the proposed plant never got any footing. Three other sites in Kansas were thought to be replacements to the unsuccessful location in northeast Kansas.

In a statement the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) congratulated Tyson and the state of Tennessee.

“Consumer demand drives growth in the food and agriculture industry, and we have been aware throughout our own discussions with Tyson Foods that their expansion plans included multiple facilities in more than one state, so this announcement was not unexpected. We look forward to continuing to work with Tyson Foods as they further evaluate expansion of their poultry business unit growth opportunities in Kansas,” says Heather Lansdowne, director of communications at KDA.

Officials with Tyson say they are still interested in building a poultry processing site in Kansas, however it looks like those plans are not in the immediate future.

“Our plans for a chicken complex in Kansas remain on hold while we move forward in Tennessee. We still have interest in Kansas and will continue to consider potential sites in the state for additional expansion of our poultry business,” says Worth Sparkman, manager of public relations at Tyson.

The plant in Tennessee is expected to process 1.25 million birds per week. Tyson plans to work with local farmers to raise birds and to purchase grain locally to feed the chickens.

Farmer Wins Case After Losing $2.2 Million of Chickens to Bald Eagles

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 00:12:00 GMT

A farmer in Georgia who has lost an estimated $2.2 million worth of pasture-raised chickens to bald eagle attacks has won a restitution case as determined by a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The decision was handed down by USDA’s National Appeals Division (NAD) of the Farm Service Administration (FSA) following years of dispute between White Oak Pastures and FSA .

White Oak Pastures in southeast Georgia has lost nearly 160,000 chickens via bald eagles in the past few years after the farm expanded its pasture-based, organic chicken business in 2010.

Will Harris, owner of the farm, had filed claims with FSA seeking compensation for chickens lost to the bald eagles through the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). The ruling by NAD determined that FSA had not followed its own rules in regards to compensating White Oak Pastures’ claims.

“The ruling is a win not just for us – but for all small farms everywhere. At White Oak Pastures, we are committed to animal welfare, regenerative farming and empowering and supporting our local economy,” says Harris, a fifth-generation livestock producer. “To survive at a time when conventional producers dominate the market, independent ranchers rely on equitable treatment by laws often written for big agricultural operations.”

When White Oak Pastures’ poultry operation grew to approximately 100,000 chickens, turkeys, guinea hens and ducks in open pastures in 2012, it was not long before bald eagles began roosting in trees around the property. The numbers of the federally protected bald eagles reached about 80 birds and they were preying on up to 30% of the farm’s chickens.

Eagles typically arrive in October and leave in March, although Harris says a few remain throughout the year.

During the winter months, the eagles kill more than 100 chickens every day and thousands of chickens per month. They feed from just before daybreak through mid-morning, then nap until mid-afternoon in the trees, and return to feed again until dusk.

Harris obtained a non-lethal permit to scare away the raptor population (killing a bald eagle carries a $100,000 fine and potential incarceration), but after cannons, flares, sparklers, carwash scarecrows, netting, tarps and 15 dogs, nothing has worked long term.

With the deterrents making little difference in the eagles preying on chickens, White Oak Pastures approached the FSA regarding the poultry losses and applied for LIP benefits.

Under LIP regulations, losses to federally protected species such as wolves and avian predators (including eagles and hawks) are eligible for benefits when “livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality.”

Harris documented his poultry losses, exceeding $125,000 in 2015 and again in 2016. When he shared his story with Farm Journal in 2017 , Harris expected his losses to be higher that year. LIP pays up to 75% market value per dead animal, subject to reduction for natural mortality rates, with total indemnity capped at $125,000 per year.

After filing LIP claims with FSA, Harris’ requests was denied in 2017. FSA claimed that the farm failed to prove its livestock losses occurred as a direct result of avian attacks, despite intensive documentation, confirmation from biologists, and video and photographic evidence of the attacks.

An appeal by White Oak Pasture of FSA’s decision was filed with NAD. Following several appeals by both FSA and the farm, NAD officially ruled in White Oak Pastures’ favor on Aug. 21. The ruling determined that FSA’s decision was “erroneous” and that the agency’s request for proof was inconsistent with program regulations.

“We are extremely grateful that the National Appeals Division ruled in our favor and recognized our right to fair compensation for our losses,” Harris says. “We are proud to be a working farm, committed to doing what is right for the land and our animals, and appreciate the recognition that the FSA acted improperly when it denied our claims.”

Under the NAD ruling FSA has been ordered to work with White Oak Pastures to resolve the claims and issue a new decision.

In addition to raising poultry, the 3,200-acre farm also raises beef cattle, goats, sheep and hogs on the organic, pasture-based property.

Note: This story includes additional reporting from Chris Bennett who covered the issue in an interview with Harris during 2017 for a story called “ Bald Eagles a Farmer’s Nightmare ”