Politico: Contract poultry farmers may not qualify for small business loans

POLITICO’s Morning Agriculture

By Sabrina Rodriguez | 03/09/2018 10:00 AM EDT

Contract poultry farmers may not qualify for small business loans: Large poultry companies like Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride exert so much control over their contract farmers’ operations that these growers don’t appear to meet the regulatory definition of a small business required to be financed by the Small Business Administration, according to a report by the agency’s Office of Inspector General. Between fiscal 2012 and 2016, SBA guaranteed about $1.8 billion in loans to poultry farmers – accounting for more than three-quarters of its agricultural portfolio.