Nine poultry growers in southeast Georgia have been forced to dispose of laying hens after the bankruptcy of Tampa, Florida-based Cypress Foods Incorporated left the growers with little or no supply of feed.
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Under the established agreement between the growers and the company, Cypress Foods supplied feed for the birds, the cost of which could be thousands of dollars per week depending on the size of the operation.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture has been assisting the companies dispose of the birds, which number approximately 1.2 million, and Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin commented: “Some growers tried purchasing feed themselves to keep the flocks alive until a solution could be found.
“We successfully persuaded the bankruptcy judge to allow what little cash assets were available be used to remedy the situation.
“Abit Massey and The Georgia Poultry Federation helped rally support from the poultry industry.
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By GlobalData“We advocated for the prompt disposal of the birds and sought companies to assist in providing feed, workers and services. Wimpey Poultry, Tommy Bagwell of American Protein Inc, and Jerry Lane of Claxton Poultry have all provided assistance.
Irvin added that of the birds involved, “about 550,000 of these are still in critical condition but most are not believed to be salvageable”.
“We are providing feed until they can be humanely euthanized and properly dispose,” he said.
