April 9, 2008

Closure of poultry processing plant worries Minnesota farmers

Many small poultry farmers are worried about possible reduced profitability due to closure of Burt's Hilltop Poultry, a poultry processing plant in the area.
 

If the Winona County plant does not receive investments or new owners, the local farmers would have to transport their poultry to a plant in West Concord or to another plant based in Decorah, Iowa, which would eat away the farmers' profits.

Several farmers are worried about lost profits and are considering whether they should raise chickens this year, according to Pam Benike from the Southeast Minnesota Food Network, which connect markets and restaurants with producers.

Both available plants are far from perfect - the Decorah plant sells only frozen half or whole poultry, while the West Concord plant can only handle 250 to 300 chickens per day and its processed meat cannot be sold across state borders.

Producers are allowed to butcher on their own as long as the meat is only sold on the farm and not marketed at restaurants, said Lisa Klein of Elgin, who is considering working with the Decorah plant.

Pine Island farmer Paul Wiens said he plans to send his chickens to Decorah, Iowa, for processing, even though the move could take away his profits. However, with rising gas and feed prices as well as high local demand, Wiens is confident that poultry prices will increase as well.

Burt's processes 200,000 chickens, more than 10,000 turkeys and about 2,500 ducks and geese annually. Burt's is the only federally inspected poultry processing plant in the area, allowing its processed meat to be sold across state and international borders. The facility was also certified organic and did not have restrictions on the number of poultry they would take.