By Scout Nelson
Minnesota farmers are dealing with a crisis after Pure Prairie Poultry, a local poultry company, declared bankruptcy and abandoned over a million chickens across Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The company closed its chicken processing plant in Charles City, Iowa, leaving the farmers responsible for the chickens without funds for feed and care.
Thom Petersen, Minnesota’s agriculture commissioner, reassured that the farmers were not at fault, stating, “The farmers are trying to do what’s right for the birds before it becomes a neglect-type situation.”
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has been working with six farms to help manage the situation by feeding, selling, or giving away the chickens. Unfortunately, many of the birds are expected to be culled.
Pure Prairie Poultry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. After the court dismissed the case, the company stopped paying for the feed of about 1.3 million chickens. Despite the USDA providing a $39 million loan guarantee and a $7 billion grant to the company, the situation deteriorated rapidly.
The closure of the Charles City processing facility has left Minnesota farmers with nowhere to send the birds. Petersen shared that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture stepped in to handle around 300,000 chickens and had sold or given away some before the plant’s closure.
This situation mirrors a similar event in 2020 when processing plants closed, leading to the euthanization of millions of poultry. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is now working to manage costs and investigate the situation with the USDA.
Farmers continue to care for the remaining chickens while seeking solutions to this emergency.
Photo Credit:minnesota-department-of-agriculture
Categories: Minnesota, Livestock, Poultry