Some of the poultry plants in the southeastern United States that were affected by Hurricane Helene have returned to production, while others remain offline.
As of October 1, Wayne-Sanderson Farms, Pilgrim’s Pride and House of Raeford Farms each had one plant that had not yet resumed production.
Wayne-Sanderson Farms
While Wayne-Sanderson Farms had operations at several of its complexes affected by Helene, the storm’s primary impact has been felt in Moultrie, Georgia.
A spokesman for the company said on October 1 that the plant “just got power back,” and that the plant is expected to be back online later in the week.
However, other issues remain. Many of the company’s contract farmers are still without power, but Wayne-Sanderson’s field crews “have been working to supply fuel for generators to keep them running.”
Road damage and debris in the roadways has caused some challenges, not only in the Moultrie area, but also around Dobson, North Carolina, where Wayne-Sanderson Farms has operations.
House of Raeford
House of Raeford Farms had earlier reported three of its plants went offline due to power outages caused by the storm.
However, the facilities in West Columbia, South Carolina, and Vienna, Georgia, have since returned to production.
The only plant in the company’s network to still be out of operation is in Greenville, South Carolina, “due to a lack of electrical power,” a company spokesman said.
Pilgrim’s Pride
On the morning of September 30, Pilgrim’s Pride reported that two of its plants were still offline, although a spokeswoman for the company did not identify the locations of those plants.
She has since reported that one of the plants returned to production.
