 991249 USDA Investigating PerdueDecember 31, 1999 Dover, DE - USDA is investigating whether Perdue Farms Inc. cheated farmers who grow chickens for the company by overestimating the weight of trucks used to haul the birds. “We're looking at several issues,” Dan VanAckeren, director of field operations for the USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, said. Carole Morison, a Pocomoke City, Md., farmer with a contract to raise chickens for Perdue, said complaints involve whether Perdue misrepresented the weight of company tractor-trailers. By claiming the trucks weigh more than they do, the company could cheat farmers when the chickens and trucks are weighed together, she said. Tita Cherrier, a spokeswoman for Perdue, based in Salisbury, Md., said she did not know about the investigation, but said she knows some growers under contract to raise broilers for Perdue are unhappy. “I'm sure the USDA is compelled to investigate complaints,” she said. “We do know that there are some growers, they've formed groups, who are dissatisfied and may have made complaints.” Ms. Morison claims the weight of some Perdue trucks have been overestimated by as much as 3,500 pounds. “The tractor-trailers go on their scales with the chickens, and that's 3,500 pounds of meat that's not going to be counted. It's going to be counted as the weight of the truck,” she said. By that estimate, a farmer getting paid about 3.7 cents per pound of chicken would lose $129.50 per truck. “As a contract farmer, there's no way to verify anything they do,” she said. If Perdue is found to have violated federal law, the matter will be handed over to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.
|
