WISCONSIN – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide immediate assistance for Wisconsin farmers impacted by the sudden closure of Pure Prairie Poultry, which has left poultry farmers in Wisconsin staring down crippling financial losses without feed and a processor for their birds.
“Hard-working Wisconsin farmers across our state have been left high and dry by the abrupt closure of Pure Prairie Poultry,” said Senator Baldwin. “Our agriculture industry is the beating heart of many of our communities and, in the face of this dire situation, I’m calling on USDA to do everything they can for these Wisconsin farmers who now stare down financial ruin through no fault of their own.”
In September, Pure Prairie Poultry, an Iowa-based Poultry processor, abruptly closed its plant, leaving farmers across Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota without access to feed for their chickens or capacity to process the birds. In her letter today, Senator Baldwin continues to call on USDA to intervene and assist farmers who now face extreme financial hardship, especially given USDA’s substantial investment of over $47 million in Pure Prairie Poultry prior to their closure.
Senator Baldwin also raised concerns for the animal’s well-being and the potential for this closure to exasperate the avian flu outbreak as farmers are resorting to giving away chickens by the tens of thousands.
Today, Senator Baldwin called on USDA to immediately address this emergency for Wisconsin farmers by:
- Engaging with the Wisconsin State Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to locate all impacted producers;
- Providing feed and/or financial assistance to all impacted farmers to make them whole again;
- Providing recommendations for legislative or regulatory solutions to ensure a preventable emergency like this never happens again.
A full version of this letter is available here.
