United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Marketing Service

What is the 

Poultry Trust?

The poultry trust is a statutory trust authorized in the 

Packers and Stockyards Act. The trust protects certain 

live poultry growers and sellers by making their rights to 

specific assets of the live poultry dealer legally superior to 

the interests of any secured lenders to whom the live poultry dealer offered those assets as collateral for loans. 

Whose rights does the trust protect? 

Live poultry growers and cash sellers of poultry. If you raise and care 

for live poultry (1) for delivery, in accordance with another’s instructions; (2) for slaughter, or (3) you sell live poultry on a cash basis for 

slaughter, the poultry trust protects your rights. A cash sale is one in 

which you do not expressly extend credit to the buyer. Therefore, the 

poultry trust does not protect you if you, as a cash seller of poultry, 

extend credit to a live poultry dealer. 

Read documents carefully before signing. Credit agreements have 

sometimes been included in small print on receipts, scale tickets, 

and other documents. Never sign or verbally agree to anything you 

do not understand, or you could forfeit, unwittingly, the benefits of 

the poultry trust. 

How do you preserve your rights? 

Notify the live poultry dealer and the nearest Packers and 

Stockyards Division (PSD) regional office that the live poultry dealer 

failed to pay you for poultry. Your claim must be in writing. If you do 

not give the required written notice to both the live poultry dealer 

and PSD, you will forfeit the benefits of the poultry trust. 

How quickly must you 

file a claim? 

• Thirty (30) calendar days

after payment was due. 

Notify the live poultry

dealer and PSD of your

claim within 30 calendar days immediately

following the day the

live poultry dealer owed

you payment. If you

delivered poultry under

a growing arrangement, 

the live poultry dealer

must pay you by the

close of the 15th day

following the week

in which the poultry

is slaughtered. If you

sold poultry on a cash

basis, the live poultry

dealer must pay you by

the close of the next

business day following

purchase. 

• Fifteen (15) business

days after payment

instrument is not

honored. You must notify

the live poultry dealer

and PSD of your claim

within 15 business days

immediately following

the day you received

notice that the payment

instrument was not

honored. If the live

poultry dealer gave you

a payment instrument, 

you should properly

present it for payment

and receive notice that

it is dishonored (for

example, a bounced

check), before you make

this claim. Do not delay

in giving written notice

of your claim, or you will

forfeit the benefits of

the poultry trust. 

www.ams.usda.gov Continued on back
Agricultural Marketing Service The Poultry Trust

What information 

should you include? 

Include all of the following in 

your claim: 

• The name and contact

information of the live

poultry dealer

• Your name and contact

information

• The date of the transaction(s) in which the live

poultry dealer failed to

pay you

• The date you received

notice that one or more

payment instruments

from the live poultry

dealer were dishonored

(if applicable)

• The amount of money

the live poultry dealer

owes you

• Any other information

necessary to support

your trust claim

What is a live 

poultry dealer? 

Under the P&S Act, a live poultry 

dealer is someone who engages 

in the business of 

• Obtaining live poultry

under a poultry growing

arrangement, or

• By purchase, either for

slaughter, or for sale to

another for slaughter. 

Which live poultry 

dealers are subject to the 

trust? 

Live poultry dealers whose 

average annual purchases, sales, 

or value of poultry produced 

under a growing arrangement 

exceed $100,000 are subject to 

the statutory trust provisions of 

the P&S Act. If you cannot determine if a live poultry dealer is 

subject, contact the nearest PSD 

regional office for assistance. 

What assets are 

subject to the trust? 

Subject assets include:

• Poultry that a live

poultry dealer bought in

cash sales, 

• Poultry produced under

growing arrangements, 

as well as

• Inventories, receivables, 

and proceeds derived

from that poultry are

subject to the poultry

trust. 

Other assets, such as plant 

equipment and buildings, are 

not subject to the poultry trust. 

What can USDA 

do about live 

poultry dealers nonpayment? 

USDA can:

• Notify the live poultry

dealer of its responsibility to hold subject assets

in trust for the benefit

of unpaid growers and

cash sellers

• Penalize a live poultry

dealer for failing to pay

for poultry, since that is

a violation of the P&S

Act

• Ask a court to prohibit a

live poultry dealer from

committing future violations of the P&S Act, 

while these proceedings

are in progress

USDA cannot:

• Furnish you with

a lawyer to collect

payment for you

• Compel a live poultry

dealer to pay you

What can courts do 

about live poultry 

dealers that do not 

pay for poultry? 

A district court of the United 

States (or a bankruptcy court 

if the live poultry dealer is in 

bankruptcy) can order a live 

poultry dealer to hold specific 

assets in trust for the benefit of 

unpaid growers or cash sellers 

of poultry who have given the 

required notices. The court can 

only order this upon receiving a 

written complaint. As an unpaid 

grower or cash seller of poultry, 

you may file the necessary written complaint with the court. 

What should you do 

after a court issues a 

trust order against a 

live poultry dealer? 

As an unpaid grower or cash 

seller of live poultry, you should 

petition the court to order 

payment from the assets being 

held in trust. You should file this 

petition even if you already notified the live poultry dealer and 

PSD that the live poultry dealer 

failed to pay you. If you do not 

file a petition, the court may 

order distribution of the assets 

to other unpaid growers or cash 

sellers who did file a petition. 

Contact info for PSD regional 

offices: www.ams.usda.gov/

about-ams/programs-offices/

fair-trade-practices/packers-andstockyards-contacts

Please direct comments 

or questions about this 

publication to: 

USDA Agricultural Marketing 

Service

Fair Trade Practices Program

Packers and Stockyards Division

1400 Independence Avenue S.W. 

Washington DC 20250-3601 

Phone: 202-720-7051

Fax: 202-205-9237

Email: PSDWashingtonDC@ams.

usda.gov

Toll-Free HOTLINE: 

1-833-DIAL PSD

(1-833-342-5773)

This publication does not create 

or confer any rights for or on 

any person. Nor does it operate 

to bind the public. You can 

use an alternative approach, 

if the approach satisfies the 

requirements of the P&S Act, 

and regulations. See 7 U.S.C. 

182 (a) (8) - (10), 197, 224, 228a, 

and 228b-1 through 228b-4, 

and 9 CFR 201.43, which relate 

to content in this publication. 

You may also want to see 9 CFR 

203.15.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, 

March 2018 www.ams.usda.gov employer, and lender.