Latest news with #Metapneumovirus
New York Post
07-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Top US turkey producer -- maker of Shady Brook Farms -- eyes exit: sources
The US turkey industry is facing a fully feathered crisis — and one of its biggest heavyweights is quietly trotting away from the business, The Post has learned. Minnesota-based food giant Cargill — the third-largest turkey processor in the US — is winding down its Shady Brook Farms line of turkey burgers, sausages, cutlets and whole birds as it eyes a broader exit from a slumping niche that has been slammed by bird flu, sources said. 7 The century-old Shady Brook Farms turkey brand is being phased out, according to industry sources. The 112-year-old supermarket label — whose packaging features a red barn and advertises meat without antibiotics, hormones or steroids — will be off the shelves at many stores by July, multiple retailers and distributors told The Post. That's despite the fact that Shady Brook Farms has been the dominant turkey brand in grocery stores along the East Coast — in many cases the only brand retailers have offered for decades. 'Cargill wants to get out of the turkey business,' a distributor told The Post. 'Cargill are big numbers people and they are spitting out numbers that don't make sense.' The shift is already underway. In March, Morton Williams supermarkets began receiving about half the amount of Shady Brook Farm pre-packaged meat than it had before and turned to two additional vendors to make up for the shortfall, according to Victor Colello, director of meat for the New York City-based grocery chain. 'Ground turkey is a huge item for us,' Colello said. 7 Morton Williams is offering customers Butterball turkey brand after its Shady Brook Farms orders were cut in half. Christopher Sadowski Stew Leonard's, a family-owned supermarket chain in the New York area, also saw its Shady Brook Farm orders slashed in recent weeks, chief executive Stew Leonard Jr. told The Post. 'We are scrambling on the buying side to find another producer of ground turkey,' he said. 'And we're expecting turkey prices to go up.' Earlier this year, Cargill announced that it would be closing one of several turkey processing plants this summer in Springdale, Ark. as consumer demand for turkey levels off, making it a less profitable protein for the massive supplier. More than 1,000 Shady Brook workers will lose their jobs. 7 Stew Leonard's grocery chain is 'scrambling' to find a replacement for Shady Brook Farms turkey meat. Bloomberg via Getty Images Still, Cargill called claims that it's exiting the turkey industry 'rumor and speculation.' 'Turkey remains an essential part of Cargill's protein portfolio,' the company said in a statement about the plant closing. 'We will shift much of Springdale's production to our turkey processing plants in Missouri and Virginia and work to minimize supply disruptions to customers.' The turkey industry has been hit mercilessly in recent seasons by viral epidemics. Bird flu has killed 19 million turkeys since 2022. A newer respiratory bug called Metapneumovirus is 'decimating' turkey flocks as it has hit between 60% and 80% of flocks nationwide, according to the National Turkey Federation. Many farms 'have quit raising turkeys' altogether because of the viruses and the financial jitters they have sparked, according to congressional testimony in February by the federation's past chairman, John Zimmerman. 7 Turkey meat accounts for just 11% of the poultry market. YouTube / Cargill 'Most farms operate on a credit line and the banks are saying that if you could lose 30% of your flock each time we lend you money, it doesn't make sense to lend you money right now,' Zimmerman told The Post. That's on top of declining consumer appetites for turkey, which has steadily lost market share to chicken — even during go-to holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Turkey now represents just 11% of poultry consumption versus 87% for chicken. 'Turkey demand went up in the 1980s and has been the same for 40 years,' poultry expert Paul Aho told The Post. 'It's a stagnant industry that hasn't experienced the explosive growth of the chicken industry.' Turkey reached its peak in the mid-1990s at 26.8 pounds per capita, fueled by aggressive marketing about lean meats, including turkey bacon. In 2024, the per capita fell to 13.9 pounds or one pound less than 2023, according to USDA data. 7 Shady Brook Farms is a century-old brand that many grocers have been offering exclusively for decades. Bloomberg via Getty Images Turkey is Cargill's least profitable protein and has been for years, sources tell The Post. Shady Brook has periodically failed to fulfill commitments to major retailers who were forced to turn to other suppliers — and who billed Cargill for the difference, multiple sources told The Post. 'Shady Brook is an albatross for Cargill,' one industry executive told The Post. 'We used to joke with Cargill employees about why Cargill didn't shut down Shady Brook years ago or sell it.' Cargill's Springdale, Ark. plant was built in 1965 and is among its oldest facilities. The plant lost as much as $38 million in a year and a glitch-ridden technology upgrade 'really impacted their business,' according to one source with knowledge of the breakdowns. 'That's an ancient plant and if it hasn't been upgraded over time,' Aho said. 'It makes sense that it might be it's least profitable facility.' 7 Cargill is closing a turkey processing plant in Arkansas this summer. Getty Images Shady Brook Farms is not the only struggling turkey processor. California based Foster Farms is closing a turkey plant on May 9, laying off 500 workers. 'Consumption has declined and so closing a plant is a business decision those companies have made,' Zimmerman said. 'But it's not the death knell of the turkey industry [and] hopefully we can find ways to bring back consumption.' Cargill is the largest privately owned company in the US with $160 billion in revenues. Sales dropped 10% in 2024 as both its meat and crops businesses suffered losses. The company is laying off 5% of its workforce. At the retail level, Cargill is initially only choking off smaller chains, and will continue to supply larger retailers, including Stop & Shop, Shop Rite and Aldi along with the some big club stores. 'We continue to offer retailers the Shady Brook Farms brand of turkey products as they request and as are available,' the Cargill spokesperson said. 7 Distributors and retailers who have spoken with Cargill officials say the company wants to exit the turkey market. Getty Images Colello of Morton Williams fears his stores will lose business to the larger chains because customers have been buying Shady Brook Farms for decades. Without the brand, retailers are reaching out to Butterball, Jennie-O and Perdue, which also have been stretched by the bird flu. 'You have to get customers used to a new brand,' Colello said.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Animal disease outbreaks bring on emergency declaration in Minnesota
Feb. 20—The impact of three animal disesases in Minnesota is being felt and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Rural Finance Authority Board is responding with interest-free loans. The RFA has declared an emergency for avian Metapneumovirus, highly pathogenic avian influenza, and the H5N1 flu virus. This makes zero-interest Disaster Recovery Loans available for Minnesota farmers whose operations have sustained livestock losses due to the diseases from Feb. 12, 2025, to Feb. 12, 2026, according to a Minnesota Department of Agriculture news release on Friday, Feb. 14. "The RFA Board's declaration is an important step in helping Minnesota farmers affected by these three animal health diseases," said Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen in the release. "I encourage those who have faced livestock losses to explore these zero-interest loans." Avian Metapneumovirus is a highly infectious respiratory disease affecting poultry. It causes significant immunosuppression in birds which leads to secondary infections and often high mortality. Minnesota has reported 871 aMPV-positive tests since April 2024, which is likely an undercount of actual cases across the state. The disease is a burden to producers who lose birds and have no means of financial support like they do with HPAI and other diseases. HPAI is a contagious viral disease of domestic and wild birds and is fatal. It's a major threat to the poultry industry, animal health, trade, and the economy worldwide. The first cases of the current HPAI outbreak in Minnesota were confirmed in March 2022. Since then, there have been 185 cases affecting 9.1 million Minnesota domestic birds, mostly turkeys. There have been four HPAI cases reported in 2025. H5N1, the same virus that causes HPAI in poultry, can also affect dairy cows and other animals; however, it rarely kills cows. The H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle appeared in a Texas dairy in March 2024. The first Minnesota case appeared in June 2024. No cases have been reported in 2025. The Disaster Recovery Loan Program offers affordable financing to support Minnesota farmers after declared disasters or hardship events, such as animal disease outbreaks. These funds are available to farmers for expenses not covered by insurance, including replacement of flocks or livestock, building improvements, or to cover the loss of revenue when the replacement, improvements, or revenue loss is due to the confirmed presence of one of the three animal diseases. Eligible farmers will work with their local lender to secure the loans from the RFA. More information, including full eligibility requirements, can be found on the Disaster Recovery Loan Program webpage at
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rural Finance Authority declares emergency due to animal disease outbreaks
Feb. 14—The Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Rural Finance Authority (RFA) Board has declared an emergency for three animal diseases: avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV), highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), and the H5N1 flu virus. This makes zero-interest Disaster Recovery Loans available for Minnesota farmers whose operations have sustained livestock losses due to the diseases from Feb. 12 to Feb. 12. "The RFA Board's declaration is an important step in helping Minnesota farmers affected by these three animal health diseases," said Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen. "I encourage those who have faced livestock losses to explore these zero-interest loans." aMPV is a highly infectious respiratory disease affecting poultry. It causes significant immunosuppression in birds which leads to secondary infections and often high mortality. Minnesota has reported 871 aMPV positive tests since April 2024, which is likely an undercount of actual cases across the state. The disease is a burden to producers who lose birds and have no means of financial support like they do with HPAI and other diseases. HPAI is a contagious viral disease of domestic and wild birds and is fatal. It's a major threat to the poultry industry, animal health, trade, and the economy worldwide. The first cases of the current HPAI outbreak in Minnesota were confirmed in March 2022. Since then, there have been 185 cases affecting 9.1 million Minnesota domestic birds, mostly turkeys. There have been four HPAI cases reported in 2025. H5N1, the same virus that causes HPAI in poultry, can also affect dairy cows and other animals; however, it rarely kills cows. The H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle appeared in a Texas dairy in March 2024. The first Minnesota case appeared in June 2024. No cases have been reported in 2025. More information, including full eligibility requirements, can be found on the Disaster Recovery Loan Program webpage.
