Effective September 11, 2022, Foster Farms increased the entry level wage rate for its Farmerville, Louisiana, processing facility TEAM members to $17.30 per hour from the current start rate of $12.70 per hour. Farmerville TEAM Members also qualify for a very comprehensive health care plan, as well as disability and life insurance coverage.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an additional investment of more than $14 million to support agricultural workforce training in historically underserved communities that will increase the resilience of the U.S. meat and poultry processing sector.
Read MoreAtlas Holdings has acquired California-based poultry company Foster Farms from entities associated with the Foster family.
Under the new ownership, Foster Farms will continue to operate under the Foster Farms name, while continuing to offer products nationwide. Foster Farms, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, is the nation’s 12th largest broiler producer and 14th largest turkey producer. It operates facilities in California, Oregon, Washington, Alabama and Louisiana. It's headquarters are in Livingston, California.
Read MoreAmerican Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on USDA’s proposed poultry marketing disclosure requirements and the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking under the Packers and Stockyards Act.
Read MoreAn outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, seen in parts of the U.S. this year has not been detected here, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) said.
Read MoreOn April 12, American Farm Bureau published an article describing the 2022 high path avian influenza outbreak and spread and compared it to the 2014-15 outbreak. At that time, there had been 158 cases of HPAI in domestic flocks, of which 104 were in commercial flocks.
Read MoreThe bird flu outbreak is spreading quickly. The US has now lost 17 million commercial birds and 11 million egg-laying birds to the current Avian Influenza outbreak according to Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain.
That’s up from just 1.6 million when WWL checked in with Strain last week about the outbreak. The outbreak has now impacted half of the country according to the Commissioner, and while Louisiana and Arkansas have yet to be hit, our neighbors in Texas have likely cases pending.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Poultry Industries Educational Foundation, Inc., will be offering scholarships for the 2022-2023 academic year on a competitive basis for students demonstrating a sincere interest in the poultry industry.
Read MoreHighly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a serious disease and requires rapid response because it is highly contagious and often fatal to chickens. In the beginning of February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the first case of HPAI in a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) is urging poultry producers and owners, including commercial and non-commercial backyard flocks, to increase biosecurity measures at their operations in response to several reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in other states.
Read MoreThe January 2022 Price & Production Summary gives prices for cattle, poultry, hogs and dairy.
Read MoreThe day started at the rice farm of Michael Fruge, and ended with a hot bowl of gumbo from Ross LaFleur of Kary’s Roux.
Read MoreSeveral U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) national program deadlines are approaching.
Read MoreA 62-year-old man is accused of multiple counts of cockfighting.
The Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office responded to a disturbance Saturday night in the 600 block of Linden Lewis Road in Youngsville.
Read MoreThe final edition of the Sanderson Story-a story of how one family, with plenty of hard work and conservative values, achieved the American dream by opening a small-town farm supply business in rural Mississippi that would one day grow to become the third largest poultry producer in the nation. Seventy-five years later, that same family-owned feed and seed store that first planted its roots in 1947 has accomplished what few people even deemed possible. This is a story of that growth and how family values have shaped the company's business philosophy for over 75 years.
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