US poultry processor Sanderson Farms has reported that it is near completion of its assessment of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and said it experienced no significant damage to any of its Mississippi or Louisiana processing facilities, feedmills or hatcheries.
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The company’s four hatcheries located in the affected area, all in Mississippi, maintained generator power until electrical service was restored. The company resumed operations at all three of its Mississippi feedmills by the end of last week, began operations over the weekend at all of its Mississippi and Louisiana processing plants except for the Laurel, Mississippi, plant, and will resume operations at its Laurel processing plant on 7 September 2005. The slower resumption of operations at the Laurel plant has been caused by a delay in the completion of water quality tests in the city of Laurel.
Sanderson Farms said it is currently evaluating the terms, conditions and extent of its insurance coverage, which is expected to cover a significant portion of the loss.
Over the weekend, the company said it was able to complete its assessment of damage and losses to its live inventories. The company estimates that, out of a total of 1,874 broiler houses in Mississippi, 72 were totally destroyed. Another 86 experienced considerable damage and will be unable to house broilers until repairs are made. In addition to broiler houses, two breeder houses out of a total of 187 in Mississippi were either totally destroyed or heavily damaged, and two pullet houses out of a total of 100 were destroyed or heavily damaged. As a result of these losses, the company estimates that approximately 3.0 million head of broiler chickens out of an average live inventory of approximately 35.0 million head, ranging in age from 7 days to 62 days, have been destroyed.
The company does not believe the loss of this housing capacity will affect its ongoing operations, however, as it can take temporary measures to compensate for these losses.
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By GlobalData“I am relieved that it appears the company’s employees and independent contract growers experienced no loss of life or serious injuries,” said Joe Sanderson, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer.
“I am also pleased that our assets were not significantly damaged by the hurricane. While the storm’s impact on our live inventories and our live production process will have an impact on the company’s capacity and volume over the next three months, none of the losses we sustained will affect the company over the long term,” he added.
