If Congress does enact comprehensive immigration reform that includes a robust guest worker program, I don’t think it will provide a long-term solution for the shortage of eager applicants for jobs in poultry plants and on poultry farms.

All egg farms with 3,000 or more layers that produce shell eggs for human consumption now fall under the Egg Safety Rule which requires each facility to have a plan in place for the prevention of Salmonella enteriditis contamination.

An outbreak of H7N3 avian influenza in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes was confirmed on January 8, 2013. Aguascalientes, located in central Mexico, is close to the state of Jalisco where a H7N3 outbreak occurred in the summer of 2012. Mexican authorities have reported to the OIE, the world animal health organization, that around 300,000 laying hens have been culled from two table egg farms as a first step in stopping spread of the virus.

At least one former plant manager and current Sanderson Farms executive may not be excited about the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s proposed new chicken slaughter inspection system.