Sanderson bird losses increase; Perdue losses ‘minimal’

Sanderson Farms’ live poultry losses related to Hurricane Florence have grown from the figure previously reported by the company. Meanwhile, Perdue Farms reported that bird deaths were limited to partial losses at two farms.

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Yurii Bukhanovskyi, Bigstock.com
Yurii Bukhanovskyi, Bigstock.com

Sanderson Farms’ live poultry losses related to Hurricane Florence have grown from the figure previously reported by the company. Meanwhile, Perdue Farms reported that bird deaths were limited to partial losses at two farms.

Sanderson Farms

In a press release issued on September 19, Sanderson Farms reported that 70 of 880 broiler houses in North Carolina that raise chickens for Sanderson Farms have been flooded. That number has increased from the 60 the company earlier reported. The number of chickens lost to the storm has also gone up. The company earlier reported that it had lost about 1.7 million chickens, but in its latest report, losses are estimated at 2.1 million birds. Of those, 1.35 million were being raised for the company’s big bird deboning facility in St. Pauls, North Carolina, while 755,000 of the chickens lost were being raised for the tray pack processing facility in Kinston, North Carolina.

“The company has been able to reach most of the farms previously isolated by flood waters to ensure adequate care and feed is available to the chickens on those farms,” Sanderson Farms stated in its press release.

“While the company is pleased its employees and growers have remained safe, the company deeply regrets the loss of animals under its care. Although the company and family farmers who care for its chickens did everything possible to prevent the loss of birds, the unprecedented rainfall from Hurricane Florence caused serious flooding that affected the Company’s live grow out operations.

Perdue Farms

Speaking to WATT Global Media via telephone on September 21, Perdue Farms spokesman Joe Forsthoffer described the company’s live bird losses as “pretty minimal.”

“We had partial losses at two farms,” said Forsthoffer. “We had flood waters reach one chicken house and there was a generator failure during a power outage at another farms. It was just partial losses at both farms.”

Up to that point, the company was able to get feed delivered to all of the farms. All Perdue feed mills in the area are in operation, he added.

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