USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service announced on Tuesday plans to purchase dark meat products for surplus removal. This announcement is the result of an August 2 letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack from the National Chicken Council recommending that commodity purchases would be appropriate for the supply of chicken meat available and consistent with past programs.
AMS said in announcing the purchase program that it is “found and determined that up to $18.3 million of Section 32 funds may be used for the purchased and distribution of chicken products to various food nutrition assistance programs, including charitable institutions to encourage continued domestic consumption of chicken products by diverting them from the normal channels of trade and commerce.”
“Please know the processors and the family farmers who grow the chickens that supply these products are grateful for your Department’s initiative,” said NCC President Mike Brown in a letter to Secretary Vilsack. “By helping to bring better market balance to the supply/demand for dark meat chicken parts, producers will have greater confidence in a more stable market in the months ahead. I am confident the worthy recipients, such as financially-stressed families, federal nutrition assistance programs, school meal programs and similar consumers needing food assistance, will benefit from the good protein chicken products provide.”
AMS stated it will issue a solicitation in the near future. All offers must be submitted electronically through the Web-Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) website at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=WBSCM.
