Northwest Arkansas chicken growers are still cleaning up the mess left after the state euthanized a million chickens late last year.
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture helped depopulate the birds at the request of Cooks Venture, a poultry company that abruptly closed in late November due to financial problems.
Three chicken growers told the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Friday that the months-long situation has been fraught with communication issues and broken promises.
Some farmers have yet to receive payment or have the rotting carcasses removed from their property. Cooks Venture had said in letters that it would compensate growers for services already rendered and be responsible for the disposal of the birds.
Cooks Venture did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
Cooks Venture had operations in Arkansas and Oklahoma and sold meat from pasture-raised heirloom chickens, as well as grass-fed beef and lamb, that was flash frozen and delivered in a customizable box to customers’ homes, according to its website.
Arkansas agriculture secretary declines request to provide financial assistance to poultry farmers
When he founded the company in 2019, Matthew Wadiak, former chief operating officer of Blue Apron, described Cooks Venture as a “next-generation food company rooted in regenerative agriculture and transparency,” according to a WATTPoultry article.
Former growers testify
Having seen what happened to other growers, Lance Logan said he refused to authorize the depopulation of his birds until he saw trucks that would haul away the chickens’ remains.
“I’d talked to other growers and they still had all these chickens rotting in their houses. Some of them still have them in their houses and these growers don’t have a way to get rid of them,” Logan said.
“Another lady in our town, her husband died the next day, elderly lady. She still has chickens in her house, but it’s up to us to get rid of them when they’re not ours.”
Growers typically sign contracts under which the chickens are the company’s property. The company provides the birds and feed, while the growers provide the labor.
Leslie Harp said she was blindsided by the closure because Cooks Venture delivered new birds to her farm the same day it announced its closure. Growers said everything happened quickly and they were given little notice about the actions that followed.
“Why was it such a quick decision for the state to jump in and help a company out to just leave these growers in the situation that they’ve been left in and not just a little bit more time taken to assess the situation?” asked Justin Maybee, a grower from Green Forest.
Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Division Director Patrick Fisk said Cooks Venture asked the state for assistance because the company did not have the funds to feed or process the birds. Fisk also told lawmakers he couldn’t find a processing plant willing to take the chickens.
Arkansas ranks third in the nation for broiler production, producing 7.46 billion pounds of poultry meat valued at $3.97 billion in 2021, according to the Poultry Federation. Tyson Foods, one of the largest meat processors in the world, is also headquartered in Northwest Arkansas.
Let us know what you think…
Fisk told about 50 former Cooks Venture growers at a Dec. 7 meeting that he was responsible for deciding to kill the chickens, according to the Madison County Record. Fisk said he acted in the best interest of the animals, which faced starvation after the closure.
State law grants the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission the “authority for the control, suppression, and eradication of livestock and poultry diseases and pests” as well as supervision of the animals.
Lawmakers questioned the agriculture department’s supervisory responsibilities after euthanizing the chickens. Because they were dealing with 1.3 million birds, Fisk said they didn’t have the resources to dispose of them and placed the responsibility on Cooks Venture.
“If you didn’t have the funding, why would the poultry grower themselves have the funding?” Republican Sen. Matt Stone of Camden asked.
“Fair enough,” Fisk responded.
Lawmakers questioned whether there’s a way to compensate taxpayers for the $77,000 Fisk said the operation has cost the state.
Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward said complaints and compliance issues will be presented to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission, which has authority to levy penalties.
“We do not like this situation anymore than y’all do or the growers…it’s just an incredibly unfortunate situation and we hate it as much as they do,” Ward said.
Poultry industry lawmakers
Sen. Tyler Dees of Siloam Springs, a Republican lawmaker who works for a Northwest Arkansas poultry company, said he’s frustrated with the situation because he’s heard this type of testimony from other growers in the area.
“We as a body and us as a state, it’s not our place to step in, but it is our place to hold accountable the right folks that are at fault here and I believe it is with Cooks Venture and issues we’ve seen here…it’s not a bailout situation but instead it’s an accountability situation,” Dees said.
Rep. Roger Lynch, R-Lonoke, said the fact that Cooks Venture didn’t follow through on its promise to remove the birds “doesn’t absolve the state from creating the situation that left these birds dead in a house.”
“Once you start a process, you’re responsible for that process. You can’t hand it off to somebody else and leave a landowner in a situation that they can’t afford and can’t manage,” Lynch said.
“So I think we made a mistake there. I don’t think we managed that very well…this doesn’t smell good.”
Need to get in touch?
Have a news tip?
Sen. Bryan King, a chicken grower and Republican senator from Green Forest, said he will present legislation during April’s fiscal session to compensate growers for the cleanup costs incurred by the state’s euthanization of the chickens.
In a letter to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, King announced his intent to pursue legislation and requested the resignation of Ward and Fisk.
“The State of Arkansas and our farmers need competent and responsible leaders who are responsible to our farmers and taxpayers…The handling of the Cooks Venture disaster has clearly shown that the department has acted with gross negligence and incompetence,” King wrote.
King also said he would discuss legislation to change the appointment process for the Secretary of Agriculture and other agriculture department positions.
Sanders’ communication director Alexa Henning said, “Secretary Ward and Director Fisk do an excellent job representing our state’s largest industry, and have broad and enthusiastic support from the Governor, legislature, and farmers and ranchers across our state.”
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
