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Article: `One-sided' contracts make farming risky. (World/Nation).
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- November 15, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Holy Cross Br. David Andrews, executive director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, says contract poultry farmers have become cogs in megasystems organized by big corporations.
If you're raising chickens in eastern North Carolina, you're probably working with Perdue, Tyson or Goldkist. And if you're going to work with them, you have to have a contract.
Andrews said there is no long-term security for the contract farmer. The farmers often spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to meet the company's specifications for chicken houses, feed and irrigation systems, lighting and ventilation in return for "one-sided, risky ...