Dive Brief:
- Iowa has culled approximately 1.3 million chickens after being unable to find a market for the birds following the sudden closure of Midwest poultry processor Pure Prairie Poultry, which left many farmers stranded with the prospect of lost income.
- The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said it euthanized the birds from Oct. 17 to Oct. 25 due to an unavailability of buyers, a lack of processing capacity and the costs to feed and care for the birds.
- The state had taken custody of the birds following the abrupt closure of Minnesota-based Pure Prairie Poultry. The company declared bankruptcy Sept. 20 and closed its Iowa processing plant in early October, laying off 138 workers.
Dive Insight:
Pure Prairie's bankruptcy has left poultry growers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa without income and forced state officials in those states to make tough decisions about the birds' future.
Iowa state officials took control of the birds' care after Pure Prairie said it was unable to purchase feed for approximately 1.3 million broiler chickens across 13 farms in the state. The state for weeks had struggled to find a buyer, soliciting offers for the chickens from a number of other processors and markets. However, because of the structure of the broiler industry, large-scale processors have limited ability to increase capacity through the open market, the state said.
Iowa was able to secure an offer from Tyson Foods to purchase the birds for processing when they reach market weight, according to court records reviewed by local paper Charles City Press. However, the offer was rescinded at the last minute after creditors for the processing plant threatened to sue for part of Tyson's profits.
Iowa officials also explored whether the chickens could be processed and donated to those facing food insecurity. However, the state was unable to find a willing processor given the legal risks and the scale of the logistics required.
State officials received court approval to euthanize the birds on Oct. 11 after demonstrating "exhaustive efforts" to find a credible buyer.
"Though the Department believes depopulation should always be a last resort, it provides finality to this unfortunate circumstance, limits the ever-increasing costs to the taxpayers of Iowa and prevents any potential animal welfare issues," the state's agriculture department said in a statement.
Unlike Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota do not have the legal authority to take control of the birds, leaving farmers scrambling to find potential buyers on their own. Around 400,000 birds in Wisconsin and another 400,000 in Minnesota are impacted by the closure, according to Charles City Press.
Some farmers in Wisconsin have listed their chickens on Facebook for free or a donation, WPR reported. And while officials in Minnesota have worked with affected individual farms to send some birds to processors, the state's agriculture commissioner said in a statement that many of the birds were expected to be euthanized .
The U.S. Department of Agriculture told Progressive Farmer earlier this month that it was "actively looking" into the situation. Last year, Pure Prairie had been awarded a $38.7 million loan guarantee and a nearly $7 million grant from the USDA to reopen and expand the Iowa processing plant.
