The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced Friday it had “depopulated” birds from Pure Prairie Poultry, Inc., which had previously informed the department it was unable to purchase feed for its broiler chickens and closed its processing plant in Charles City.
Fearing animal welfare concerns, the department intervened Oct. 2 and took over the care, custody and control of the 1.3 million birds, located across 13 Iowa farms. The same day, Pure Prairie Poultry Inc. shuttered its Charles City processing plant and laid off its employees.
Pure Prairie Poultry received $45.6 million from U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2022 to expand the Charles City processing plant. Iowa’s USDA Rural Development office celebrated the expansion with a ribbon cutting in July 2024, just two months before it filed for bankruptcy.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the situation in a statement Friday:
“This is an incredibly unfortunate situation and raises serious questions about USDA’s oversight of taxpayer dollars. Congress should exercise its oversight authority to ensure that something like this does not happen again and that those responsible are held accountable.”
A spokesperson with USDA said the investment in the plant was made in support of a local bank’s efforts to reopen the plant, “for the benefit of farmers, workers, and the Charles City community.”
“Rather than trying to deflect attention away from a decision he made, Secretary Naig could instead work constructively with USDA, creditors, and the Charles City community to find a way to reopen the plant to preserve an important processing option for Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin farmers,” the statement read.
The spokesperson said USDA is searching for ways to reopen the plant and has worked “closely and as supportively as possible” with state departments of ag through the federal indemnity program and poultry trusts to help growers who relied on the market.
Growers contracted by Pure Prairie Poultry in Wisconsin and Minnesota were also affected by the plant’s closure and company’s inability to purchase feed.
The closure of the plant sent IDALS searching for a buyer and processor in early October, which was difficult, “due to the structure of the broiler industry,” the press release from the department said.
According to court filings in the Third Judicial District Court of Iowa located in Sioux County, IDALS reached an agreement with Tyson Foods. It stipulated that IDALS would cover care costs for the chicken until they reached market weight, then Tyson would handle catching, loading and transportation of the birds to a processing plant. The filings state Tyson would have purchased the birds for 50 cents per bird, which was half of the company’s original offer.
“Tyson’s offer represented a global resolution, limiting the uncertainty of what happens to the chickens moving forward and how the chickens would be fed and cared for,” the court filing read.
Several interested parties and some of the growers contracted by Pure Prairie Poultry indicated they would argue their lien rights on the birds, which the court filings said, “caused Tyson to reconsider the agreement for fear of future litigation” and eventually rescinded its offer.
With mounting costs of caring for the 1.3 million birds, IDALS asked the court to authorize the department to pursue depopulation, or culling the birds.
“While IDALS believes depopulation should be a last resort … depopulation provides the State, and everyone, with finality to this unfortunate circumstance and limits the costs to the citizens of Iowa,” the filings read.
Culling of the birds began Oct. 17 by licensed veterinarians employed by the department and concluded Oct. 25.
The department has spent over $1 million in dealing with the birds so far, but Don McDowell, IDALS communications director, said the anticipated figure is over $2 million, as many of the expenses have yet to be paid.
McDowell said these costs include feed, farmer contracts, depopulation, disposal, personnel expenses, and mileage.
The IDALS press release from Friday said it would, “pursue all available avenues to recoup taxpayer costs … including through possible future legal remedies.”
The court ordered on Oct. 11 that, “defendants with any ownership interest in any of the livestock” must pay the department for expenses incurred with feeding and maintenance.
It also ordered IDALS to submit a final report detailing the depopulation and detailed accounting of the state’s costs through situation.
This article has been updated to better represent the opposing lien holders and to include comment from USDA.
Source: Iowa Capital Dispatch
