WC Wisconsin News

Congressman Derrick Van Orden, representing Wisconsin's 3rd District, alongside Representatives Brad Finstad of Minnesota and Randy Feenstra of Iowa, has addressed a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. This correspondence follows the bankruptcy of Pure Prairie Poultry, which left nearly 50 farmers and over two million chickens in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa without essential resources like feed or processing options.

In the letter, Van Orden criticizes the USDA for a perceived lack of oversight and accountability concerning loans and grants distributed to Pure Prairie Poultry. "Many of our poultry farmers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa were left in the lurch by the USDA’s absence of oversight and accountability," stated Rep. Van Orden. He further emphasized that both the USDA and Pure Prairie Poultry must account for the $45.6 million provided in financial support before operations ceased.

Additional signatories on the letter include Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman from Arkansas, Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst from Iowa, House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson from Pennsylvania's 15th District, Congresswoman Ashley Hinson from Iowa's 2nd District, and Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach from Minnesota.

The situation began when Pure Prairie Poultry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 20, 2024. This led to their Charles City plant in Iowa shutting down on October 2. The company had received significant financial backing in 2022 with a $38.7 million guaranteed loan under USDA Rural Development’s Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program (FSCGLP) and a $6.9 million grant from the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). However, bankruptcy filings indicated liabilities between $100 million to $500 million against assets valued at $50 million to $100 million.

Concerns have been raised about how this funding was managed and what measures were taken by USDA following Pure Prairie Poultry's financial difficulties. The representatives seek detailed responses to several questions regarding USDA's notification process about defaults, criteria for fund allocation approval, consideration of previous bankruptcies during award processes, immediate actions post-closure to assist stakeholders affected by the shutdowns, current oversight mechanisms for grants and loans guarantees as well as future preventive steps.

They have requested that Secretary Vilsack respond by November 8 with clarifications on these matters.