Current:Home > InvestMidwest chicken farmers struggle to feed flocks after sudden closure of processor -AssetScope
Midwest chicken farmers struggle to feed flocks after sudden closure of processor
View
Date:2025-04-12 21:03:37
CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — Dozens of farmers in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin are scrambling to feed their flocks after a struggling organic chicken producer abruptly closed.
Pure Prairie Poultry shuttered its Charles City, Iowa, plant after filing for bankruptcy last month. The Minnesota company provided farmers with chicks and feed to raise until the birds were ready to be slaughtered and prepared for sale at the northeastern Iowa processing center.
Associated Press emails to Pure Prairie lawyers were not immediately answered Thursday. But in bankruptcy court documents, the company detailed its fight to reopen and make profits after acquiring the struggling Charles City plant in 2021.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2022 gave Pure Prairie a $39 million guaranteed loan to expand operations, as well as a $7 million grant. The company said the grant worked as a stopgap as it waited for what it described as delayed access to the loan.
In court records, the company said financial problems also stemmed from supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and low chicken prices.
After Pure Prairie Poultry closed, checks and chicken feed for farmers raising the birds dried up — threatening an animal welfare crisis and straining farmers’ finances, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, of Wisconsin, said in a Wednesday letter requesting help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“This situation remains urgent due to the hundreds of thousands of animals’ lives at risk and the financial hit for the farmers that contracted with this processor,” Baldwin wrote.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture earlier this month pledged to feed and help care for about 1.3 million chickens at 14 Iowa farms. The agency took ownership of the birds through a court order and now is trying to recoup costs from Pure Prairie.
Another 300,000 chickens in Minnesota were “processed, moved off the farms, or depopulated,” state Agriculture Department spokesperson Allen Sommerfeld said in a statement.
“The MDA, farmers, and partners were able to process some birds, and others were given away by farmers,” Sommerfeld said. “While the chickens do not pose a health or safety risk, the MDA utilized emergency resources to ensure the remaining chickens were humanely depopulated according to American Veterinary Medication Association standards and overseen by experts from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.”
Baldwin in her letter to the USDA warned about the risk of bird flu spreading in Wisconsin “as farmers have no better option than to give away chickens by the tens of thousands” to people who can afford to feed them.
A USDA spokesperson said the agency is in touch with the Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of agriculture and is considering what financial aid could be made available to local farmers. Growers can file claims with the USDA and get support from local Natural Resources Conservation Service centers.
“At the same time, the number of producers who relied on this market underscores the need to explore how the facility might continue with a return to profitability, which USDA will continue to assist in,” the spokesperson said.
veryGood! (324)
Related
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Eagles' Nick Sirianni explains why he didn't address players following loss to Falcons
- US sends soldiers to Alaska amid Russian military activity increase in the area
- Jason Kelce returns to Philly, Travis Kelce takes on Chiefs bias on 'New Heights' podcast
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Ellen DeGeneres Addresses Workplace Scandal in Teaser for Final Comedy Special
- Woman accused of driving an SUV into a crowd in Minneapolis and killing a teenager
- Chris Hemsworth Can Thank His 3 Kids For Making Him to Join Transformers Universe
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Eva Mendes Reveals Whether She'd Ever Return to Acting
Ranking
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Many women deal with painful sex, bladder issues. There's a fix, but most have no idea.
- Boar's Head to 'permanently discontinue' liverwurst after fatal listeria outbreak
- Couple rescued by restaurant staff after driving into water at South Carolina marina
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- A bewildered seal found itself in the mouth of a humpback whale
- YouTuber Aspyn Ovard Reveals Whether She'd Get Married Again After Parker Ferris Split
- False reports of explosives found in a car near a Trump rally spread online
Recommendation
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
DWTS’ Stephen Nedoroscik Shares the Advice He Got From Girlfriend Tess McCracken for Emmys Date Night
Justice Department sues over Baltimore bridge collapse and seeks $100M in cleanup costs
Woman accused of driving an SUV into a crowd in Minneapolis and killing a teenager
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Where is 'College GameDay' for Week 4? Location, what to know for ESPN show
Florence Pugh Confirms New Relationship 2 Years After Zach Braff Split
City approves plan for Oklahoma hoops, gymnastics arena in $1.1B entertainment district