March 19, 2026 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) yesterday proposed delaying a set of regulations that were set to change how chicken companies pay contract farmers and how they communicate with farmers around required infrastructure investments.

The rule was the third in a series finalized under former President Joe Biden to enforce the more than 100-year-old Packers and Stockyards Act, a law intended to ensure farmers are protected from potential meatpacker abuses.

The new rule prohibits companies from reducing pay to farmers based on rankings that compare them to others—a practice that has been common within the industry’s “tournament system.” It also requires companies to provide more-detailed paperwork about capital investments that farmers are required to make. In the past, many farmers have struggled with expensive, unexpected barn upgrades that companies require.

The rule was set to go into effect in July. The USDA is now proposing a year-and-a-half delay, until December 2027, “to allow for thorough consideration of estimated costs and the policy and legal issues associated with the final rule,” according to the regulatory filing.

In the explanation of its delay, the agency said Congress had encouraged the USDA to delay the rule and that there is uncertainty around whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

However, in a press statement, National Farmers Union (NFU) president Rob Larew said the rule had established guardrails for the tournament system, offering farmers more transparency and certainty.

“Growers have long raised concerns about the unfairness of tournament pricing and the amount and quality of information provided to them by poultry companies,” Larew said. “NFU is eager to see implementation of this long-overdue rule. Delaying it is a disservice to family farmers who deserve a fairer system.”

The USDA is taking comments on the delay of the rule until April 17. (Link to this post.)

The post USDA Proposes Delaying Poultry Industry Rule appeared first on Civil Eats.

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