Early tests for avian flu in Hawaii chickens negative

The USDA is investigating the cause behind the deaths of about a dozen chickens in Kauai, Hawaii, but preliminary testing showed that the avian influenza virus was not present in three of the chickens sampled.
The dead birds were discovered by a resident recently near the front of the Historic County Building in Kauai. Hawaii’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife collected the dead birds and sent them to the USDA office in Oahu, according to a report in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
Avian influenza had been one suspected cause of the mysterious deaths, although the virus has not been detected in Hawaii. Still, the federal agency has been on alert as avian influenza has been detected in 21 other states since December, 2014. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has reported 223 detections of avian influenza between December 19, 2014, and June 14, affecting more than 48 million birds. While the virus has not been confirmed in the United States since June, APHIS is anticipating avian influenza’s possible return as wild birds fly southward during their annual migration.
Further testing of the birds is being done to determine the cause of death. One other potential cause of the chicken deaths that is being investigated is botulism.

Heat kills over 17 million broilers in India

Over 17 million chickens have died in India as a result of the country’s heat wave, and chicken meat prices have soared as a consequence.
May and June are India’s hottest months, but temperatures this year have been above average in some parts of the country, and the cooling monsoon rains are late.
A mortality rate of 2-3 percent in poultry flocks is not unusual during India’s summer months, however it rose to 10 percent during May. At least 17 million birds are thought to have died during the month, while chicken prices rose by 35 percent.
The number of human deaths attributed to the heat wave has been widely reported, however its impact on agriculture has been less widely discussed. The heat is not only negatively impacting the country’s poultry producers, but also its feed producers, who have seen demand fall as a result of the difficulties experienced by broiler producers.
“In the last two-to-three weeks, poultry feed demand has fallen by nearly 30 percent,” K V Krishan Charan, general manager of feed producer Komaral Feeds and Food Pvt Ltd, told Reuters.
Locally imposed bans on beef consumption have also helped to push up the price of chicken, reversing a drop in response to fears over avian influenza which saw prices drop below production cost.
Temperatures are expected to continue rising in June, and the death of more broilers is predicted. 

Tainted feed results in deaths of 47,000 turkeys

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  USDA

  Tainted soy oil cost a West Michigan turkey farm more than $1 million when it killed 47,000 turkeys and ruined 500 tons of feed.

  From WATTAgNet:
  Tainted soy oil cost a West Michigan turkey farm more than $1 million when it killed 47,000 turkeys and ruined 500 tons of feed, federal authorities said.
  Shur-Green Farms of Ansonia, Ohio, allegedly continued to sell the tainted product after the turkey deaths. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the company intentionally misrepresented industrial waste tainted by drug residue as recycled restaurant oil.
  FDA said at least two shipments of the waste byproduct, which is intended only for fuel use, was sold in September 2014 as soy oil with the implication that it was fit for use as food.
  The oil was used at Sietsema Farms of Allendale, Michigan, where turkey flocks at five of the farm’s locations died in August 2014 after eating feed that contained the oil. All the birds died before they went to market.
  Sietsema Farms believed the oil it bought was restaurant-grade oil used in the manufacture of pelleted animal feed, and was unaware of the drug content.
  Also as a result of the feed contamination, 35,900 head of swine were held from market for 29 days to assure none of the drug residue would be in the meat when they went to the slaughterhouse.

Charges dropped in case of 300,000 dead Pilgrim’s birds

Charges have been dropped against a man suspected of breaking into poultry houses that are owned by contract growers for Pilgrim’s, a vandalism spree that led to the deaths of more than 300,000 chickens.
James Laverne Lowery, 44, was arrested at his home in Sumter County, South Carolina, on April 7 on eight counts of second degree burglary and four counts of malicious injury to animals over $100,000. Lowery, a former grower for Pilgrim’s whose contract was not renewed, had been tied to the case where he was accused of tampering with alarms to the chicken houses and tampering with heating units that would ultimately cause death to the birds. The crimes occurred in February at eight farms in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Damages were estimated around $1.7 million.
However, this week, Clarendon County Chief Magistrate Judge Percy Harvin said there was not sufficient evidence to further pursue the prosecution of the case, reported Manning Live. But Harvin added that Lowery could still be prosecuted, should the solicitor’s office choose to present the case to a grand jury for an indictment.
Pilgrim’s had earlier offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the crime.

Avian influenza hits Nebraska layer flock of 1.7 million

Avian influenza has been confirmed in a Nebraska layer flock of 1.7 million. 
H5N2 avian influenza has been confirmed in a commercial layer flock in Nebraska, bringing the total number of states with confirmed avian influenza cases to 20.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on May 12 that samples from a layer flock in Dixon County, Nebraska, tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial layer flock in Dixon County, Nebraska. There were 1.7 million chickens in the flock.
The tests were conducted at the South Dakota State University Animal Disease Research & Diagnostic Laboratory and the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa confirmed the findings.
APHIS is working closely with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the premises and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease.
With the discovery of avian influenza in Nebraska, two new states have been added this week to the list of U.S. states with confirmed avian influenza cases. H5N8 avian influenza was confirmed in a backyard flock in Indiana on May 11.
To track confirmed cases of the North American avian influenza outbreak, see WATTAgNet's avian influenza tracker map and bookmark the avian influenza update page for news about and analysis of avian influenza.

Man gets jail sentence for fatal clubbing of chickens

A California man convicted for his involvement in the fatal clubbing of more than 900 Foster Farms chickens was sentenced to 120 days in jail and ordered to pay Foster Farms $4,620 for the losses.
Gabriel Quintero, 18, appeared in a Fresno County court on April 15, where he was also ordered to enroll in anger management and drug treatment programs, as well as undergo mental health counseling once he is released from jail, the Fresno Bee reported. Quintero had admitted that he had been drinking when the incident occurred.
The sentencing follows a guilty plea entered by Quintero in January to felony charges of animal cruelty and burglary. Quintero, along with three other juveniles, were arrested on suspicion of breaking into a Foster Farms facility near Caruthers, California, entering a poultry shed, and killing chickens with a golf club and other objects. Since the other three suspects arrested were minors when the incident took place in September, 2014, information about their court proceedings were not made public.
The arrest of Quintero and the other three suspects came shortly after the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department released information about the investigation in late September. Foster Farms and several animal rights groups offered rewards to people with information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of suspects.

Arrest made in deaths 30,000 Pilgrim’s chickens

Authorities in Clarendon County, South Carolina, have arrested a man suspected of vandalizing 16 poultry houses operated by contract growers for Pilgrim’s.
James Laverne Lowery, 44, was arrested at his home in Sumter County, South Carolina on April 7.  Lowery was a chicken producer in Sumter County who previously had a contract with Pilgrim’s, but that contract had been terminated, Clarendon County Sheriff's Office Maj. Kipp Coker told the Sumpter Item. Lowery faces eight counts of second-degree burglary and four counts of malicious injury to animals over $10,000.
All of the incidents occurred in February at eight farms with contracts with Pilgrim’s. The incidents caused about $1.7 million in damages.
Clarendon County Sheriff Randy Garrett had earlier said that he believed the vandalism was done by someone with a working knowledge of poultry operations.
"They know how to turn the heat on or off to kill these birds," Garrett said. "They know what those birds require to live in those houses and they know how this operates."
Pilgrim’s had offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the crime.
"The family farmer is the backbone of rural America, her values and her economy," Bill Lovette, president and CEO of Pilgrim's said upon offering the reward. "The American family farmer makes safe, nutritious and affordable meals possible for millions of American families every day. An attack against the family farm should not and cannot be tolerated.”

Arkansas storm damages Tyson Foods poultry grower’s farm

A storm that blew through Madison County, Arkansas, on March 25 caused about $600,000 worth of damage to a farm that was owned by Mike Ingram, a poultry grower for Tyson Foods.
Strong winds ripped the roof off a poultry building and damaged the roofs of several others in the county, according to a 4029TV report. Pieces of sheet metal were scattered across the farm.
Ingram said he had just arrived seconds before it happened.
“I came in from moving some cows around, stepped out of my truck and shut the door and my chicken house roofs were swirling around in the air,” he said.
Ingram said his wife and two sons were inside their house taking shelter. He said he ran in to be with them.
Ingram was not sure how many chickens were lost in the storm, but his focus will be to get the farm cleaned up and rebuilt. “Looks like pick up trash, start cleaning up, trying to get everything back to going and trying to make a living,” Ingram said.
Tyson Foods representatives were at the farm the day following the storm to view and assess the damage. The company said it is taking surviving chickens to another farm until Ingram’s farm is cleaned, but is not sure how long it will take.

Pilgrim’s offers reward in case of killed chickens

Pilgrim's is offering an award of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators of vandalism against family farmers in Clarendon County, South Carolina.
"Pilgrim's was recently made aware of several unfortunate and deliberate acts of vandalism at the operations of some of our contract grower partners in Clarendon County, South Carolina," said Randy Stroud, live operations manager, Pilgrim's Pride. "These heinous acts resulted in a cruel death for several thousand chickens that were under the care of dedicated family farmers. These are not factory farms - they are family farms operated by good men and women who work hard each day to provide humane care and safe living conditions for their birds."
The affected family farms are under contract to grow chickens on behalf of Pilgrim's, delivering the birds to the company's prepared foods facility in Sumter, South Carolina. Pilgrim's Sumter is a critical part of the economic viability of the local community, the company stated, employing more than 1,600 team members, partnering with more than 90 local growers and paying more than $24 million in annual grower payments. Pilgrim's Sumter provides high quality chicken products to retail and food service customers throughout the U.S. and around the world. Pilgrim's will deliver new flocks of birds to affected growers in the coming days to help compensate losses.
"I want to personally thank Clarendon County Sheriff Randy Garrett and his team, the USDA and the South Carolina state police for their efforts to investigate this matter and hold those responsible accountable," said Mickey Baugher, complex manager, Pilgrim's Sumter. "We have no idea why our grower partners may have been targeted. We will continue to assist authorities in any way possible to resolve this unfortunate situation."
The reward of up to $50,000 is being offered by Pilgrim's Pride Corporation. Anyone with information about these incidents or as to the identity or whereabouts of the perpetrators is urged to contact the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office at +1.803. 435.4414.
"The family farmer is the backbone of rural America, her values and her economy," said Bill Lovette, president and CEO of Pilgrim's Pride. "The American family farmer makes safe, nutritious and affordable meals possible for millions of American families every day. An attack against the family farm should not and cannot be tolerated and we hope this reward will help bring the perpetrators to swift justice."

Willamette Egg Farms sues installer over dead hens

Willamette Egg Farms has filed a lawsuit against a company that installed a controller that allegedly malfunctioned and caused the deaths of about 100,000 hens.
According to a suit filed by Willamette Egg Farms, an alarm system failed during an electrical malfunction at a brooder house in Moses Lake, Washington. The malfunction caused ventilation fans to stop working, allegedly asphyxiating the hens, according to a report from the Capital Press.
The suit in federal court seeks $500,000 from Spectrum Communications, the installer of the controller. Spectrum Communications is also located in Moses Lake.
The lawsuit further contends that the controller installed by Spectrum failed to signal an alarm for more than three hours, and the chickens died in abnormally high heat.
The complaint alleges that Spectrum Communications is liable for negligence and breach of contract because it installed a control system that failed to set off an alarm when the ventilation system stopped operating.
Willamette Egg Farms is headquartered in Canby, Oregon. The company provides the Pacific Northwest with eggs and egg products, including cage-free, organic, omega-3 and conventional, according to the WATT Global Media Top Companies Database. Willamette doubled its cage-free production in 2013 to increase its cage-free production to 8 percent of company sales.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice in Spokane, Washington, is presiding over the lawsuit, which was filed in the Eastern District of Washington.

Pilgrim’s growers lose more than 300,000 chickens to vandals

More than 300,000 chickens being raised for Pilgrim’s have been killed by vandals in Clarendon County, South Carolina.
The county’s sheriff says he believes the killings were not done randomly, but instead that the poultry company is being targeted by someone with a working knowledge of how chickens are raised that wants to cause financial harm to the company.
"They know how to turn the heat on or off to kill these birds," Sheriff Randy Garrett told WLTX. "They know what those birds require to live in those houses and they know how this operates."
In three incidents involving a total of eight farms, the vandals have killed more than 300,000 chickens to farms licensed with Pilgrim’s. Garrett estimates the total loss is around $1.7 million dollars.
Ambrose Hahn, one of the contract growers whose farm was hit, explained that the alarm had been turned off, and by the time he and his brothers reached the farm, he lost two houses containing 40,000 chickens. Hahn says each house is worth $10,000 for the farmers, but much more for the company.
Garrett is seeking the public’s help in solving the crimes.
Contacted by WLTX, the company issued the following statement: "Pilgrim's was recently made aware of acts of vandalism in Clarendon County that have resulted in the loss of chickens raised by some of our contract grower partners. These unfortunate, yet apparently deliberate acts show a blatant disregard for the welfare of the chickens and the livelihood of the family farmers involved. We are fully cooperating with local authorities. Given the ongoing investigation, we have no further comment at this time."

Fire kills 17,000 Jennie-O poults, nearly destroys barn

A fire near Swanville, Minnesota, killed an estimated 17,000 poults and nearly destroyed the barn where the birds were housed. The barn and the poults were owned by Jennie-O Turkey Store.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
According to a report by the Morrison County Record, the fire broke out on the evening of January 18. Firefighters from the Swanville, Grey Eagle and Flensburg fire departments responded to the call, taking nearly six hours to get the fire under control.
“It’s still standing, but I’d say it’s 75 percent destroyed, Swanville Fire Chief Jerry Hollermann said of the barn.
No people were injured in the fire.
Jennie-O Turkey Store is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hormel Foods. Headquartered in Willmar, Minnesota, Jennie-O Turkey Store is the second largest turkey company in the United States. According to the WATT Global Media Top Companies Database, the company slaughtered 1.25 billion pounds of live turkeys in 2013.

Pilgrim’s worker dies at plant in Mount Pleasant, Texas

An employee at a Pilgrim's Pride plant in Mount Pleasant, Texas, has died after an apparent accident at the poultry plant. The accident is believed to have happened on October 17.
The worker, whose identity has not yet been released to the public, had apparently been working in the ice room at the Pilgrim’s facility in Mount Pleasant and was hit by a block of ice. The employee was found passed out in the ice room, according to a news report from KSLA TV.
When the worker was discovered on the floor, fellow employees attempted to revive him by performing CPR at the plant. Those attempts to resuscitate him were not successful. The patient was then taken to Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant. Titus County Justice of the Peace Kay McNutt was called to the hospital and pronounced the patient dead around 1:30 p.m.
The Mount Pleasant Police Department is in the process of investigating the incident at the Pilgrim’s plant. A spokesperson with the police department was unable to confirm if the accident victim died as a result of the ice block’s impact, or if it was caused by a medical condition.
An autopsy has been ordered.

Electrocution at Pilgrim’s plant fatal to Texas man

A man was fatally electrocuted during the early morning hours on August 4 while working on machinery at a Pilgrim’s processing plant in Nacodoches, Texas. The victim has been identified as Bobby Joe Beall, 50, Nacodoches.
Beall was taken to a nearby hospital at 3:22 a.m. where he was pronounced dead, according to a KTRE report.
"Pilgrim's is saddened to report the death of Bobby Joe Beall, age 50, on Monday, Aug. 4, due to an accident at the processing facility. We are cooperating with local officials and our partners at OSHA to determine the cause of this incident,” the company said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Beall family during this difficult time. Out of respect for the family, we not provide further comment at this time."
The poultry company stated it is working with Beall’s family to help meet their immediate needs. A chaplain has also been made available to provide assistance to Beall’s family members and his co-workers.

Koch Foods worker dies from electrocution

A Koch Foods employee was fatally electrocuted on July 2 while unloading grain from a truck at a poultry farm in Etowa, Tennessee. The victim was identified as Billy Dougherty, 63, Kingsport, Tennessee.
"We think he was in the process of swinging the boom up towards the silo when it made contact with the electrical wires," McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy told WTVC-TV.
Co-workers on the scene tried unsuccessfully to assist Dougherty. Personnel from the Englewood and Etowah rural fire departments, along with AMR EMS medical services and the McMinn County Sheriff’s Department, responded to the incident.
The accident caused an explosion and fire, while leaving nearby residents without electricity for about 30 minutes. Power was restored after the fire was extinguished.

Tornadoes claim 1.2 million birds in Mississippi, Alabama

An estimated 1,044,800 birds were killed or lost in Mississippi and another 181,000 were lost in Alabama after tornadoes struck April 27-28.  Between the two states, about 60 poultry houses were destroyed.
Eighteen farms in Mississippi received substantial losses from the storms, according to Dr. Jim Watson, state veterinarian for the Mississippi Board of Animal Health.
Watson said on those 18 farms, a total of 28 poultry houses were damaged and 48 were destroyed.
“No hatcheries or processing facilities were hit. Most were broiler farms, but there were a handful of breeder farms,” Watson said.
The damage was “fairly localized,” Watson said, with all of the poultry farm tornado damage reported in Scott, Newton, Winston and Wayne Counties. The most recent storm-related poultry loss figures do not include the storms that hit the state in the earlier part of April, he added.
While Mississippi saw a heavy amount of damage in a fairly concentrated area, the damage in Alabama affected fewer farms and covered a wider geographical area, said Ray Hilburn, associate director of the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association.
“We lost some throughout the state, but it was the worst in the north part of the state,” he said. “We had about 12 houses that totally got destroyed, and we had hundreds of houses that had tin torn out and things like that.”
While about 181,000 birds were killed in the Alabama storms, about 500,000 surviving birds had to be moved to new barns after the destruction occurred. Two poultry houses were destroyed by flooding, while another was lost to a lightning strike.
The Alabama tornadoes damaged broiler, pullet and breeder farms, Hilburn said. No processing plants, feed mills or hatcheries were affected.
Tyson Foods assisting producers, communities hit by storms
Eight poultry farms hit by tornadoes were growers for Tyson Foods, according to Gary Mickelson, director of public relations, Tyson Foods. Team members from Tyson Foods have been assisting those farmers with cleanup efforts and are hoping the producers will be able to soon begin rebuilding.
Tyson Foods has also been providing tornado relief in other ways. The company has provided disaster relief to communities in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas and Tennessee that sustained major tornado damage. Tyson’s Meals that Matter disaster relief trailer was sent to Central Arkansas, and the company sent food, ice and cooking teams to other affected areas, Donnie Smith, CEO of Tyson Foods said during a May 4 conference call.
Tyson employees have also pledged financial assistance, with the company matching its workers’ contributions to the American Red Cross, up to $100,000.
“I’m proud of our team members and their willingness to help and make a difference in the aftermath of these storms,” said Smith.

High temperatures, lack of ventilation kill 4,000 broilers in Sao Paulo

High temperatures killed 4,000 broilers on a single farm in Brazil in late January. The farm, in Pereiras, Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, had been hit by storms which cut of its electricity supply, meaning ventilation equipment could no longer work. Without ventilation, the chickens dehydrated and died, the local press reports.
The birds were 42 days old and would have gone to slaughter within the following seven days. Some 30,000 birds in total are reared on this particular farm.
Power cuts are thought to have been responsible for the death of 10,000 birds in the same region in October last year. 

Death toll rising in China poultry processing plant fire

Estimates of deaths ranging from 60 to more than 100 are being reported from the blaze that hit a poultry processing plant owned by Jilin Boayuanfeng Poultry Co. in Dhui, Jilin, China, on June 2.
More than 500 firefighters were called to the facility, which was constructed as recently as 2009. The company employs nearly 1,200 people, however it remains unclear how many were working at the plant at the time of the fire or how many died.
Various news agencies reported that the fire was preceded by an explosion, the result either of an ammonia leak or an electrical fault. It is reported that the premises was kept locked during working hours and that escape was made more difficult by the building's complicated layout, which added to the panic of those trying to escape. Dozens of injured people have been taken to hospital.
The facility produced 67,000 tons of chicken products annually.

India poultry producers have lost 2 million birds since beginning of May due to heat wave

The poultry industry in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh is being hit hard by a heat wave that has resulted in the deaths of over 2 million birds in the East Godavari district since the first week of May, according to reports.
Small farmers, already facing losses due to increases in the cost of poultry feed and labor charges, have been the worst hit. As many as 150,000 eggs were being exported each day to surrounding areas prior to the heat wave, but daily production has dropped to 90,000 eggs since May 1, negatively affecting exports, according to the industry.
Poultry farmer Kovvuri Srikantha Reddy said he lost 5,000 chicks in one week and puts the casualties in other farms in his village at 20,000. The casualties among broiler chicks are more when compared with layer chicks, and the weight of broiler chicks has dropped from 2 kg to 1.5 kg.
According to producers, the total loss is being estimated at between Rs 200 million (US$3.6 million) and Rs 300 million (US$5.4 million).

Maple Lodge Farms faces charges in chicken deaths

Canadian chicken processor Maple Lodge Farms is facing 60 criminal charges from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency due to alleged violations of federal animal health regulations in the wake of thousands of chicken deaths between December 2008 and February 2009, and December 2009 and April 2010.
According to the charges, the chickens died from exposure to cold conditions during transportation from farm to slaughterhouse, often because of proximity to a truck trailer's floor or walls. Maple Lodge has emphasized that it does everything it can to ensure the humane transportation of its chickens. “We have very stringent protocols in place regarding the transportation of animals,” said company spokesperson Carol Gardin. “At the end of the day, it’s not only moral and ethical considerations regarding the humane handling of the birds, there’s a financial incentive to keep the birds in the best health.” From January to June 2011, Maple Lodge accrued 26 administrative monetary penalties from the CFIA and paid $120,600 in fines.