Wayne Farms cut production by 6 percent

US poultry processor Wayne Farms LLC has cut its production by 6 percent due to continuous rising input costs.

Wayne Farms had cut production by 2 percent in April, bringing the total production cut to 8 percent.

Before the production cuts, Wayne Farms slaughter 5.8 million birds per week, said Stan Hayman, director of Marketing and Business Development.

The move is meant to offset rising feed ingredient costs that have been made worse by the government's ethanol plan, which allocated important feed grains to the production of ethanol, according to Elton Maddox, president and CEO of Wayne Farms.

Maddox added that the move is necessary to position the company and poultry industry for future success.

Oakwood, Georgia-based Wayne Farms is the US' fifth largest poultry company, producing a variety of fresh and further processed products with annual sales exceeding US$1 billion.