Compilation by Sahar Yaghoubi
A Deere & Co (DE.N) dealership and a Pilgrim’s Pride Corp (PPC.O) chicken hatchery were destroyed and silos containing millions of bushels of grain damaged in Friday’s fatal storms that raced through Kentucky, the firms and the state’s agricultural commissioner said on Monday.
Six tornadoes killed 64 people in six states, including six children in Kentucky.
“A 200-mile region of Kentucky has blown-over grain systems, poultry hatcheries, and barns,” stated Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles.
The wreckage in the Midwest may increase already high poultry costs and contribute to supply-chain issues preventing farmers from replacing tractor components.
Quarles claimed at least a dozen poultry buildings fell in Kentucky. The state is working with the EPA to appropriately dispose of hens kept in damaged barns, he added.
President Joe Biden will see the wreckage on Wednesday.
One Pilgrim’s Pride chicken hatchery was destroyed, and another will be closed until spring due to damage, the firm said. Other corporate hatcheries are sending chicks to farms around Mayfield, a 10,000-person town hit hard by storms.
A nearby feed mill has been damaged, but a manufacturing unit is scheduled to be fully functioning by Wednesday, according to a statement from Pilgrim’s.
The loss of the Mayfield hatchery “automatically generates a multi-month delay in processing and growing hens,” Quarles added.
A general view from a bedroom window inside the home of the Cato family after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states in Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S. December 12, 2021. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo
According to USDA statistics, Mayfield accounts for 6% of the state’s total farm sales, despite not being a major grain producer. The USDA says Kentucky owned 1.5% of US corn stockpiles in December 2020.
“Many farmer elevators harmed. Some tiny feed mills suffer irreversible harm “Producers Hedge in Lancaster, Kentucky, broker Andrew Jackson.
Quarles said roofs were pulled off portions of a 6 million bushel grain storage facility owned by Mayfield Grain Company. That’s enough maize for two Panamax ships, each two football fields long.
Yellow grain was visible from the tops of bins that had lost their roofs. No reaction from the corporation yet.
“Millions of bushels of maize, most of it newly harvested, are being ruined,” Quarles added.
In addition to recovering spilled grain, the state is searching for other storage and transportation options.
Quarles said the agricultural department would assist farmers find customers for grain as livestock and poultry businesses cut down on feed purchases.
Hutson Inc, which sells Deere equipment, said its Mayfield shop was “devastated” by the storm.
Workers “waded through rubble and salvaged equipment to help with rescue attempts at a nearby candle company that had major fatalities,” CEO Josh Waggener stated online.
Deere said it is in contact with Waggener and working with Hutson to help the community financially.
