Poultry farmers in the US seek justice at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and USDA's joint workshop on competition in the poultry industry held last Friday in Normal, Alabama.

Some 30,000 poultry growers face daily fear, uncertainty and intimidation from the companies they contract with, otherwise known as "integrators."

As the second of five DOJ/USDA hearings to be held across the country this year, a number of attendees felt this hearing was more balanced than the previous hearing in Iowa, but still left many wondering what the overall impact these hearings would have in such a highly consolidated industry which continues to force so many family farmers out of business.

Of the seven chicken producers that opened the session's morning Roundtable Discussion on Poultry Grower Issues, four of the farmers were former producers.

In the weeks leading up to the Alabama workshops, many poultry farmers across the country reported threats from the broiler company representatives, warning them that they would face negative consequences if they spoke at the event, or even attended.

Sitting next to Secretary Vilsack, former North Carolina poultry grower Kay Doby said, "The growers that are here today are in jeopardy because of intimidation by company personnel. They're taking a big risk. Every grower here is taking a big risk."