Miller Poultry paused operations at its plant in Steuben County, Indiana, as the company awaited the results of COVID-19 tests that were conducted on employees at the facility.
All shifts at the plant were cancelled for May 4. There were reportedly six poultry processing plant employees and a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector who worked at the plant that had tested positive for COVID-19, as of May 1. The company stated that the additional testing was being done as a precautionary measure to protect employee and communities.
Galen Miller, owner and CEO of Miller Poultry, said the closure lasted only one day, because there was a delay in test results for the company's entire 800-member team, and that operations resumed on May 5..
"We decided to be proactive and test 100% of our team members. The local hospital generously helped in the process," said Miller.
According to the Indiana State Department of Health website, there have been 41 positive COVID-19 cases in Steuben County, including one fatality. A total of 245 tests have been conducted in the state’s most northeastern county.
The decision to idle the Miller Poultry plant followed a busy week for meat and poultry plant closures. For the week beginning April 26, Tyson Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Smithfield Foods and JBS were among the companies to suspend production at U.S. plants. Two poultry plants in British Columbia, Canada, also recently paused operations due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Miller Poultry, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, processed 2.75 million pounds of ready-to-cook poultry on a weekly basis in 2019, making it the 24th largest broiler producer in the United States. The family-owned poultry company’s history dates back to 1942. Its key brands include Amish Country Poultry, Pine Manor Farms and Katie’s Best.
Headquartered in Orland, Indiana, Miller poultry operates one slaughter plant, one hatchery and one feed mill. It was announced in 2018 that the company was renovating its hatchery, located in Goshen, Indiana, and that renovation would give the hatchery the capacity to set 1.1 million eggs on a weekly basis.
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