Just Rambling May 2020: The Louisiana Farm Bureau Poultry Committee has been meeting by conference call for the last few weeks trying to put together a plan to reach out to our elected delegation in Washington D.C. and to the USDA, specifically Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Sonny Perdue. Our Louisiana Farm Bureau Poultry Committee is composed of Mr. Ron Harrell and Mr. Andy Brown, who are commodity representatives with LA Farm Bureau. Mr. Butch Oaks, poultry farmer from Ouachita Parish, is the chairman of this committee. Along with Mr. Oaks, there are several other poultry growers from Foster Farms—Farmerville, House of Raeford—Arcadia, and Pilgrims Pride of Natchitoches. Also meeting with this group is Dr. Mike Strain, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, Mr. Craig McCain, Louisiana FSA Director, and Chad Kacir, State Conservationist with Natural Resources Conservation Service. As a past poultry grower, I serve on the LA Farm Bureau Poultry Committee as well. Our goal is to enable poultry growers to be compensated for their losses, which are no fault of their own, during this pandemic. The sixteen billion dollar stimulus bill did not include anything for poultry because they are contract growers and do not own the chickens. This has to change because many growers are having long out times due to production cuts and placements are being cut as much as 20% for some growers. Louisiana Farm Bureau Commodity Representatives, Ron Harrell and Andy Brown, have reached out to other states’ Farm Bureau Commodity representatives and their state Farm Bureau Poultry Committees. They are now having conference calls with Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas and Texas concerning the lack of financial help for poultry growers. This past Monday, May 4th, myself, Ron Harrell, Andy Brown, Jason Holmes, Regional Livestock Specialist, and Dr. Kurt Guidary, Regional Director Southwest Region, both with LSU Ag Center, were on a conference call. This call was to establish a survey/letter combination for each grower to fill out showing their losses. These surveys/letters will then be sent to the USDA in Washington D. C. This is taking place in the above states mentioned, as well. Jason Holmes has been working with our Farm Bureau Poultry Committee to help develop correspondence , which has been sent to the USDA. In talking with Ron Harrell today, American Farm Bureau has now joined forces with the above states to help address the problem. Also, Phillip Morgan, CEO of Southern Ag Credit of Ridgeland, MS. and Stephen Austin, CEO of Louisiana Land Bank, have drafted a letter to Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, with copies going to Senator Cynly Hyde Smith of Mississippi and Dr. Ralph Abraham, United States Representative from Louisiana. Dr. Abraham is also on the Agriculture Committee for the House of Representatives. In addition to this letter, Farm Credit Services out of Washington D.C. also held a webinar this morning, May 6th, with Willie T. (Butch) Sensley representing the poultry industry and the problems they face. Mr. Sensley is a large poultry grower and his father was before him. He did an excellent job and has now been invited to Washington D.C. to continue telling the poultry growers’ story. All poultry growers, when you are asked to provide information about your losses, please do so. By doing this, hopefully, some stimulus money can be directed your way to cover your losses, as well as all the other poultry growers that have suffered losses. Pull together to help each other. Thank you, Van Bennett