Feds say railroad must deliver grain to California chickens

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators have ordered Union Pacific railroad to make sure a livestock producer gets the grain it needs in California to prevent millions of chickens and hundreds of thousands of cattle from starving. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board told Union Pacific it must improve service to Foster Farms to keep it from running out of feed. The railroad has blamed the extreme cold and blizzard conditions across the Western U.S. late last month for its problems. Foster Farms said it turned to regulators for help because it has little confidence Union Pacific will deliver the trains it promised on time.