Arrangements to process the Iowa chickens being raised for Pure Prairie Poultry were derailed after entities the company was indebted to threatened legal action.
According to a press release from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), depopulation of the estimated 1.3 million chickens began on October 17 and was concluded on October 25.
The birds had been under the care and custody of IDALS since October 2, after Pure Prairie Poultry had filed for bankruptcy, ceased processing operations and stated that it no longer had the financial means to provide feed for the chickens. The company’s processing plant is in Charles City, Iowa.
Following the court order, IDALS “actively pursued numerous other processors and markets, and solicited offers for the purchase of the birds,” the IDALS release stated.
The agency was able to secure an initial offer to purchase all of the birds and IDALS and a processor it did not identify reached a tentative agreement for all birds to be processed once they reached market weight.
However, before a legal hearing could be held concerning that tentative agreement, attorneys representing some of Pure Prairie Poultry’s creditors notified IDALS they would assert their lien rights and security interests in the chickens, including against the buyer’s proceeds from the sale of the processed products from those chickens.
The hearing had been scheduled for October 8.
The prospective buyer then withdrew its offer. While IDALS never revealed who the potential processor of the birds was, The Gazette, citing court documents, reported that it was Tyson Foods.
Following the withdrawn offer, IDALS pursued other potential buyers and processors. It also explored whether the broilers could be processed and donated to help Iowans facing food insecurity. However, the agency stated, because of the continuing lien and claim risks, as well as the “timeliness, logistics and scale required,” no other options were found.
The planned October 8 hearing was rescheduled to October 11, where IDALS detailed to the court the efforts it made to obtain an offer for the birds.
“Given the unavailability of buyers and lack of processing capacity combined with the ever-increasing feed and yardage costs, as well as the taxing of Department staff resources managing broilers with no end-market, the Court granted the Department authorization to begin depopulation. The court required the Department to begin the depopulation process with the largest and least marketable birds in the unlikely event that a credible last-minute market solution could be found for some of the younger broilers. 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 IDALS press release stated.
Each of the farms where Pure Prairie Poultry birds were raised are utilizing composting to dispose of the birds.
Pure Prairie Poultry filed for bankruptcy on September 20. It reportedly owed between $100 million and $500 million to hundreds of entities, while having less than $100 million in assets.
The company formed in 2021 with the purchase of the plant in Charles City, previously owned by Simply Essentials.
Pure Prairie Poultry, which is headquartered in Minnesota, also had birds being raised by contract farmers in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
