NOTTOWAY COUNTY, Va. — It’s been eight months since farmers in rural Virginia formed the Central Virginia Poultry Cooperative. The group comprises chicken farmers whose contracts were bought out after Tyson Foods decided to close its Glen Allen processing plant.
Since late April, Nottoway farmer Matthew Ingram and his family have been able to get their egg production up and running.
The fourth-generation poultry grower has spent a few hundred thousand dollars transforming one of their four chicken houses into a community nest.
"It won't cheap at all," Ingram explained.
But it's been worth it, he said, because they have birds back for the first time in over a year, and they're laying more than 15,000 eggs per day.
"We started packing by hand," laughed Ingram. "It was a lot."
They now have a full-scale operation, with a conveyor belt, scanner, and packer, that does the work for them.
"The farmers are stepping into the 21st century," Ingram smiled. "You got more time to spend with the birds making sure everything is okay with them.”
Since April, the Ingrams' chickens have produced 2 million eggs for Indiana-based Dutch Country Organics. The eggs are picked up by trucks and transported to Indiana twice a month.
"Once we get a couple more farmers, and we get our bird numbers up, we should be getting a facility down here," said Ingram.
"This is the first time Virginia has had egg production," explained John Baptiste, president of the Central Virginia Poultry Cooperative.
Baptiste said the Ingrams have set the example that the 11 other farms that have signed on hope to follow.
"I think what sold everybody with the Co-op is that they are part of the company," noted Baptiste. "They don't have somebody telling them what to do or how much you're getting paid.”
"We want to help each other, and we want to see everybody do the best they can," said Ingram.
But nearly a year and a half after Tyson Foods ended its broiler contracts in Central Virginia, there are still dozens of empty chicken houses and poultry farmers out of business.
"A lot of them have houses that are less than 10 years old, so they have at least 30 to 40 years left in the building easily," said Baptiste.
Those are years that these farmers are still paying for, and Baptiste understands many are struggling to afford the egg transition costs. He notes transitioning one house can cost between $400,000 to $1.2 million.
“It's tough," explained Baptiste. "It's a lot of money.”
The Co-op has worked to secure state and federal grants to help offset expenses, but now community members are also offering their support.
Virginia Farm Fest: Playing for Laying
"Farmers are the heartbeat of this country, and when I heard what was going on, I wanted to jump in and help," Virginia-based country musician Woody Woodworth said.
Woodworth has organized the first “Virginia Farm Fest: Playing for Laying." It’s a benefit concert featuring 10 Country and Americana bands, and all of the money raised will go directly to the Central Virginia Poultry Co-op.
“How can we help the next family, the next generational farm in Virginia that needs, you know, the converting of the houses," said Woodworth.
The festival will also give the community the chance to meet Ingram and the other men and women whose work keeps our supply chain running.
"We're competing with ourselves to do as best as we can and keep the chickens as happy as they can be," said Ingram.
A happy chicken means a whole lot of eggs and a bright future for this farmer.
"It gives us something to look forward to every day," smiled Ingram.
The Ingrams hope to get another house or two up and running over the next several months.
Meanwhile, a second farm will receive 87,000 birds at the beginning of December.
They are expected to produce 22 million eggs over their lifespan.
Click here if you’d like to purchase tickets for Saturday’s Farm Fest, which will be held at The Barn at Poor House Farm in Rice, Virginia.
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