DES MOINES, IOWA — The approximately 1.3 million broiler chickens seized earlier this month by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) from Pure Prairie Poultry have been depopulated.

The agency took control of the birds on Oct. 2 after Pure Prairie Poultry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and notified the department that it could no longer purchase feed to care for the birds.

Once IDALS was granted an emergency court order to provide immediate care for the birds, the agency began seeking a buyer for the birds from processors and markets, which proved to be challenging.

“Due to the structure of the broiler industry, large-scale processors have limited ability to increase their processing capacity utilizing the open market,” IDALS noted.

Despite the limitations, IDALS did receive an initial offer to purchase all 1.3 million birds. A tentative agreement was reached for all birds to be processed once they reached market weight, pending court approval on Oct. 8.

A day before the scheduled hearing, attorneys for some of Pure Prairie Poultry’s creditors notified IDALS that they would assert their lien rights and security interests in the chickens, which would include the potential buyer’s proceeds from the sale of the post-processed poultry.

Upon learning this information, the buyer withdrew its offer, citing costs surrounding potential litigation due to the lien claims.

During the Oct. 8 hearing, the parties agreed to allow additional time to find a new resolution for the birds. The hearing was extended through Oct. 11.

Even with the extension, IDALS was unable to find another buyer. The department noted that efforts to process the birds and donate the poultry meat to Iowans suffering from food insecurity wasn’t a viable option due to looming litigation.

“After exhaustive efforts, no credible offers or proposals materialized,” the department said.

Given the unavailability of buyers and lack of processing capacity combined with the feed and yardage costs, the court granted IDALS the authorization to begin depopulation.

“Though the department believes depopulation should always be a last resort, it provides finality to this unfortunate circumstance, limits the ever-increasing costs to the taxpayers of Iowa and prevents any potential animal welfare issues,” IDALS said.

Depopulation began on Oct. 17 and was completed by Oct. 25.

Each of the Iowa farms where the birds were raised are using composting as the means to dispose of the birds.

With the depopulation of the birds, nine members of Congress wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Oct. 25 with concern about how nearly $46 million in taxpayer dollars were allocated to Pure Prairie Poultry only a couple of years prior to its bankruptcy.

“Iowa taxpayers deserve to know the full story behind the Pure Prairie Poultry bankruptcy and how the USDA approved nearly $46 million in taxpayer dollars for a company that left millions of chickens uncared for,” said Representative Randy Feenstra. “This serious lack of oversight is extremely concerning and has caused massive uncertainty for our growers who are already facing a harsh farm economy.”

In 2022, Pure Prairie Poultry received a guaranteed loan of $38.7 million from USDA Rural Development’s Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program (FSCGLP) and a grant of $6.9 million from USDA Rural Development’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP).

According to Pure Prairie Poultry’s bankruptcy court filings, the company reported liabilities between $100 million and $500 million, with $50 million to $100 million in assets. Additionally, the company projected a negative cash flow of $1.8 million per week over the following six weeks.