Farmers that formerly produced broiler chickens for Tyson’s Glen Allen processing facility are preparing to receive their first flock of layers.
According to news outlet 6 News Richmond, former Tyson farming family known as the Ingrams have five commercial chicken houses that have been vacant for over a year but are preparing to soon house almost 18,000 laying hens in Nottoway County, located just outside of Richmond, Virginia.
The push for egg production in the once broiler production area is a result of the newly created Central Virginia Poultry Cooperative (CVPC), formed to attract new poultry business to the central Virginia area. The cooperative recently acquired a 10-year deal with Indiana-based egg producer Dutch Country Organics.
Dutch Country Organics is a cage-free and pasture-raised egg producer based in Middlebury, Indiana, that contracts with over 50 local Amish farms.
As of now, Dutch Country trucks will travel to Nottoway County from Indiana to transport shell eggs to its grading facility. However, the CVPC said that once the county’s farmers house one million laying hens, another facility will potentially be opened in Central Virginia.
The Ingram family’s house conversions have been underway over the last few months, including the installation of new concrete flooring, feeding lines, egg conveyor belts and nesting systems. Other farmers in the area are in the process of ordering new equipment and converting their broiler houses as well.
The cooperative
The CVPC was formed in January 2024 by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) following Tyson Foods’ closure of its Glen Allen processing facility, which ended poultry contracts with dozens of poultry farmers in the area.
The cooperative was created to help mitigate the loss of the Tyson broiler processing complex and to support Virginia poultry growers. The CVPC supports multiple regions in the area including Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties.
