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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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Farmers Plucked by Chicken Slump

Foreclosures loom as chicken company cuts contracts

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(Newser) – Hundreds of poultry farmers face foreclosures on their pricey chicken houses after poultry giant Pilgrim's Pride dropped their contracts. Some are suing in return, claiming the company encouraged them to take on hefty mortgages and vowed to keep their grandkids in business, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most farmers own multiple football field-size coops that cost $200,000-plus, but have no resale value in this slump.

"It's a very sad situation," Pilgrim's president acknowledges. But "the company is in bad shape." This year, America's appetite for chicken waned for the first time since 1975, bursting a poultry bubble that emboldened the industry to make long-term investments. One Arkansas farmer went bankrupt after his contract was terminated with $100,000 left in coop payments. "That was my retirement," the 50-year-old laments.

Farmers whose contracts have been cut are left with football field-size chicken houses that have virtually no resale value.
Farmers whose contracts have been cut are left with football field-size chicken houses that have virtually no resale value.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Chickens huddle in their cages at an egg processing plant in California. Poultry farmers are taking a big hit in the recession.
Chickens huddle in their cages at an egg processing plant in California. Poultry farmers are taking a big hit in the recession.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Chickens are seen at a chicken house in California. Modern chicken coops can cost more than $200,000.
Chickens are seen at a chicken house in California. Modern chicken coops can cost more than $200,000.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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riffran
Feb 13, 09 6:01 AM CST
Those chicken houses stink...got two of them not 1/2 mile as the crow flies from my house....but they can sure turn a profit.....Tyson is real big down in south Texas, and a few others also....no problems down here.....yet Reply
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kati
Feb 13, 09 10:16 AM CST
Not sad enough, not until all those cruel factory farms are out of business. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
riffran
Feb 14, 09 4:01 AM CST
good point there kati....they can be horrific....but then again, I have a great marinated chicken breast recipe that I would have to throw away....talk about conflicting issues....and I am not a fan of PETA, but they do have some valid points, despite the rhetoric
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