Minnesota moves to cull or process hundreds of thousands of chickens at struggling farms

State agriculture officials have stepped in to process or cull nearly 2 million chickens in three states after a western Minnesota chicken company abruptly closed following failed bankruptcy proceedings.

The birds are housed on local farms across Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Farmers say the company that owns them, Fairfax-based Pure Prairie Poultry, ran out of money to continue paying to feed the animals or accept them for slaughter at its facility in Charles City, Iowa.

“We and the farmers are still working to get chickens to processing,” said Allen Sommerfeld, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

On Sept. 20, Pure Prairie Poultry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with plans to continue operating. In late September, the company backed out of bankruptcy proceedings, citing an inability to “secure anticipated funding necessary to its reorganization efforts,” according to a court filing.

As a result, 138 full-time employees and numerous contractors are out of work and chickens in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin need to be accounted for. As is common in the poultry industry, Pure Prairie owned the chickens and contracted with farmers, or growers, to raise them for slaughter.

After the company told Iowa officials they’d run out of money to feed the birds, the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship used state law to take on ownership and care of about 1.3 million stranded birds housed on 14 farms across the state.

“The department will seek reimbursement of the taxpayers’ costs from responsible parties, including through possible legal remedies,” according to a news release.

More than 300,000 chickens in Minnesota on farms across five counties are affected, as are an unknown number in Wisconsin.

In 2020, when hog processing facilities closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, producers similarly euthanized hogs in southern Minnesota.

Wisconsin officials say they lack “the statutory authority to assume control of the birds unless it is related to an animal disease response,” according to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. “We have heard from a small number of Wisconsin growers and have been in contact with the company, our neighboring states and the federal government to identify options for them.”

The animal rights group PETA has launched a petition calling on Wisconsin officials to do more for “birds at imminent risk of starving.”

It took years for Pure Prairie to purchase and upgrade the Charles City plant, a process that started in 2019, according to a court filing from George Peichel, chief financial officer for the company. Last year, the facility was operating at full strength and marketing air-chilled “premium” chicken cuts.

Pure Prairie received more than $45 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including a $7 million grant and a $38 million loan guarantee.

The company owes more than $100 million — and possibly as much as $500 million — to more than 200 creditors, according to bankruptcy filings.

Peichel blamed COVID-19 and “contemporaneous supply-chain issues” for bogging down the young company.

“Due in significant part to factors well beyond its control, [Pure Prairie] has faced an uphill battle from the outset,” he wrote in an affidavit filed in September.

An attorney for the company did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

In April, Pure Prairie CEO Brian Roelofs told a local economic development board the plant was processing 300,000 birds a week, according to the Charles City Press, and a second shift was in the works.

“You’ve got to have that continuous improvement mindset and hopefully have a little bit of foresight and attack the things that are going to come up to bite you,” he said. “We’ve got a good team of folks that are very seasoned leaders in the industry, and they seem to be able to anticipate those kind of things and make us better.”

Tammy Crowell and her husband, Chad, have raised 30,000 broiler chickens just outside Windom, Minn. On Tuesday, hearing their birds would be euthanized, they opened their doors to anyone in the community to come and take some birds home.

People from across the region arrived. A line of cars stretched down the road from their farm until 10 p.m. In sum, the Crowells estimate 25,000 birds went home with families, likely to be slaughtered and then eaten.

“We wanted to help as many people as we possibly could,” said Crowell. “You put your heart and soul into these things. At least they’re not put to death so senselessly.”

On Wednesday morning, representatives from Pure Prairie Poultry and the government arrived to assist in euthanizing some 5,000 birds. Now, the barns are quiet, and Crowell is unsure how she and her husband — who has raised chickens for 35 years — will go forward with their business.

She said they’ll keep watching news out of Charles City.

“We’re just hopeful that they can get it up and running.”