Dozens of farmers in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin are trying to feed their flocks after a struggling organic broiler chicken producer was forced to abruptly close its doors a year ago after receiving a $39 million federal loan.
Pure Prairie Poultry closed its plant in Charles City, Iowa, 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 its processing center in northeastern Iowa.
“We know our issues are causing real hardships for our growers and for others,” Pure Prairie spokesman Jon Austin said in an email. “And for that we apologize unreservedly.”
In bankruptcy court documents, the company details its struggle to reopen and turn a profit after acquiring the struggling Charles City plant in 2021.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave Pure Prairie a $39 million guaranteed loan in 2022 to expand operations, as well as a $7 million grant. The company said the grant worked as a stopgap until it accessed the loan in April 2023.
In court filings, the company says financial problems also stem from supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and low chicken prices.
Pure Prairie eventually withdrew from bankruptcy and Austin said the company’s funds were subsequently frozen by a third-party lender.
Austin said Pure Prairie is still trying to sell the company.
After Pure Prairie Poultry closed, checks and chicken feed for farmers who raised the birds dried up — creating an animal welfare crisis and straining farmers’ finances, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin said in a letter Wednesday. he asked the US State Department for help. Agriculture.
“This situation remains urgent because of the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals at risk and the financial blow to the farmers who contract with this processor,” Baldwin wrote.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture pledged earlier this month to feed and help care for about 1.3 million chickens on 14 Iowa farms. The agency took ownership of the birds through a court order and is now seeking to recover costs from Pure Prairie.
Another 300,000 chickens in Minnesota were “processed, removed from farms or depopulated,” Department of Agriculture spokesman 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. “Although the chickens do not pose a health or safety risk, the MDA used emergency resources to ensure that the remaining chickens were humanely depopulated according to American Veterinary Medication Association standards and under the supervision of experts from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health .”
Baldwin, in her letter to the USDA, warned of the risk of bird flu spreading in Wisconsin “as farmers have no better option than to give away tens of thousands of chickens” to people who can afford to feed them.
A USDA spokesperson said the agency is in contact with the agriculture departments of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin and is considering what financial assistance could be made available to local farmers. Growers can file claims with the USDA and receive support from local Natural Resources Conservation Service centers.
“At the same time, the number of producers dependent on this market underscores the need to explore how the facility can continue to return to profitability, with USDA will continue to assist,” the spokesperson said.
Note: The above video originally ran in April 2024.
