Chicken producers asked for affidavits confirming price data

U.S. chicken producers including Tyson Foods Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. are being asked by the Georgia Department of Agriculture to meet new requirements for a price index as the agency makes changes amid concerns about the reliability of the benchmark.  The department is asking the companies and their representatives to submit affidavits and attestations declaring the price data they supply for the weekly so-called Georgia Dock index is accurate. The documents are due Tuesday, agency spokeswoman Julie McPeake said Monday. Companies that don’t meet the new requirements won’t be able to participate in the index.  Tyson, the largest U.S. chicken producer, continues to provide pricing data to the department but is considering whether to submit the affidavit, company spokesman Worth Sparkman said by telephone Monday. Sanderson said last week it’s also considering signing the affidavit.  "We’ve used it for 40 years and everybody’s always had a lot of confidence in it,” Sanderson Chief Financial Officer Mike Cockrell said of the index in a Nov. 23 telephone interview. “I hope they get this right because as I say, we’ve used it so long.”