June 2009 Articles

Archives by Months

Just Rambling:

May 29th was the day growers with the Farmerville Division Poultry Facility had been looking for--the day that Foster Farms began to place chicks back on broiler farms that had been left empty by Pilgrims Pride after they made the decisions to close the facility in February of 2009. Foster Farms finalized the purchase in early May and immediately began to set eggs. At this time it appears that placements are going well and that Foster Farms has plans to have this facility back in full production by early 2010. This is not an easy task and we all must realize this. Foster Farms did not cause our problem--Pilgrim’s Pride did. Sure Foster Farms got a good deal with the state of Louisiana contributing forty million to the purchase price but without Foster Farms and our state where would we be? I know that many growers don’t have chickens and it may be weeks even months before all growers get chickens on their farms again. The harsh reality is that some of us may never get chickens again but we don’t need to complain about out neighbor growers, our elected officials, Foster Farms, or our state. We need to think positive and as growers stay united together as we have been since the closing of both the Farmerville and El Dorado Facilities. Strength is in numbers and we need not forget that. We are all growers--broilers, pullets, and hens--we all walk the same path in this industry, regardless of the age of our facilities. There are two types of poultry houses--experimental and obsolete. Just because you have experimental (newer), don’t discount the obsolete (older) houses because, as rapidly as the poultry industry changes, in a short time your houses will be obsolete. If you have chickens, that’s great! If your neighbor doesn’t have chickens, don’t forget him. If they want chickens back, pull for them--put in a word for them with Foster Farms personnel, remind out state officials (both LA and AR) that we still have growers without birds and most of all remain united. By remaining united we all have a better opportunity of being compensated by Pilgrims Pride through the court system and to improve our industry in the future. As a united group we need to remain level headed, think smart about our industry, and to work with our elected officials to improve the poultry industry for the growers. During the past few months, the importance of the poultry industry to both Louisiana and Arkansas has been magnified with the closure of these facilities. Growing chickens doesn’t only provide a livelihood for growers--it provides a life blood for so many businesses and people in our two states. Growers don’t forget how important you are, stay united, and may we all strive together to improve our industry.