U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy Signs Letter to Support Poultry Industry
By Avery Davidson
The Voice of Louisiana Agriculture
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, joined sixteen other senators by signing a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue asking the United States Department of Agriculture to provide “direct financial assistance” to poultry farmers.
Poultry is Louisiana’s largest animal agriculture industry with a $1.03 billion dollar impact on the state’s economy annually, according to the 2018 LSU AgCenter Ag Summary.
Senators Cassidy and the other senators write in the letter, “The impacts of COVID-19 on the chicken industry are becoming more serious and visible as the disease continues to spread throughout the United States. As an industry essential to American food security, we urge you to provide necessary support for chicken farmers and processing facilities.”
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Commodity Managing Director Ron Harrell, Ph.D. said conversations he’s had with officials at USDA indicate poultry would not be included in COVID-19 disaster assistance passed by Congress. He added that he and staff in the LFBF Commodity Department are working diligently to have poultry added to the disaster rules and they hope this letter helps with that effort.