News & Updates

WASHINGTON — Jay Jandrain, president and CEO of Butterball LLC, was elected to serve as the National Turkey Federation’s 2025 chairman during the group’s recent Annual Convention in Scottsdale, Ariz. NTF also announced its Executive Committee and Board of Directors for the upcoming year. Joining Jandrain in the new slate of NTF officers will be Christy Puffenbarger, Aviagen Turkeys, vice chairwoman; Leon Fletcher, Cargill, secretary/treasurer; and John Zimmerman, P&J Products, ... read more

ATLANTA — The Joint Industry Safety & Health Council recognized six poultry facilities with the Frank Cruice Innovation in Safety & Health Award at the 2025 International Production & Processing Expo. The facilities were recognized for a significant advancement in operational excellence in a safety and/or health innovation. “It is inspiring to witness companies introducing creative and effective initiatives to enhance safety within their operations, and we are proud ... read more

WASHINGTON — USDA employees working on the department’s avian influenza response recently discovered they were facing job terminations. Now, the agency is offering them their positions back. The layoffs began on Feb. 15, with rescinded offers being made the following week. In a statement provided to Poultry Times on Feb. 21, a USDA spokesperson said, “Although several positions supporting HPAI were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are ... read more

The event will highlight the future of the African poultry industry. ... read more

Christy Puffenbarger of Aviagen Turkeys will serve as vice chairwoman and Leon Fletcher of Cargill will be secretary-treasurer. ... read more

The latest cases of avian flu reported by APHIS include turkeys and ducks in Indiana and layers in Ohio. ... read more

KITCHENER, Ontario — Cargill and BinSentry have formalized a partnership to provide artificial intelligence (AI)-powered sensor technology to help Brazilian producers improve efficiency and control of their animal feed supply chain for healthier pork and poultry, and more profitable operations.  The agreement makes Cargill the exclusive distributor in Brazil of BinSentry’s animal feed inventory management platform. It builds on a partnership that began more than four years ... read more

More layers have been depopulated in the first two months of 2025 than in the last six months of 2024. ... read more

WASHINGTON — To help get more eggs onto grocery store shelves, the National Chicken Council has sent a petition letter to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration urging the reversal or modification of regulations that require the broiler industry to dispose of what could be usable eggs.  “With government risk assessments affirming their safety, and the fact that surplus broiler hatching eggs would be pasteurized (cooked), we ... read more

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, poultry have tested positive for the virus in Australia, Nepal and Turkey. ... read more

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — To assist with the availability of table eggs for consumers, the state of Nevada has issued a temporary order that will allow for the sale of non-cage-free eggs, which runs counter to the state’s law requiring only the sale of cage-free eggs. The Nevada Department of Agriculture announced that as of Feb. 20, eggs for retail sale can be sourced from any producer, regardless of if they ... read more

Meanwhile, more presumed-positive cases are being reported in Indiana. ... read more

ATLANTA — The National Protein and Food Distributors Association Board of Directors recently convened in Atlanta, Ga., to tap officers and welcome newly elected board members. Chan Windham, House of Raeford Farms, is the new NPFDA chair, succeeding Laurie Pate, Foodlinx. Greg Morgan, Quirch Foods, transitions to the role of vice chair after previously serving as treasurer. Barry Moose, Koch Foods, has been elected to serve as treasurer on the ... read more

ATLANTA — After six years at the helm of the National Protein and Food Distributors Association, Cece Corbin, will be, partially, retiring from the association in 2025. Wendy Kavanagh has been named Corbin’s successor. When Corbin came on board in 2019 the head of the association’s staff was the executive director, a title that has since been changed to president and CEO. Corbin has worked with associations for more than ... read more

ATLANTA — Agriculture producers in Georgia, along with several southeastern states, are still recovering from the devastation left by last September’s Hurricane Helene. The Georgia House of Representatives has passed a Hurricane Helene Tax Relief bill aimed to provide some needed financial relief to affected Georgia agricultural communities. Georgia House Bill 223 passed by a 173 to 0 vote on Feb. 18 and was introduced by Georgia state Majority Leader ... read more