Poultry producer Zacky Farms LLC filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on Tuesday. San Jose Mercury News states that court documents point to Zacky Farms’ debt being anywhere between $50 million and $100 million. By filing Chapter 11, Zacky is able to continue operations despite surmounting debts.
Zacky Farms, has fostered a working relationship with Fresno State’s Animal Science Department since the 1990s. Zacky’s involvement allows students interested in poultry production the opportunity to work in situations similar to professional facilities found outside the school farm.
The turkeys provided by Zacky and raised by students are processed at Zacky facilities. The birds are then sold to the public at Fresno State’s Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market. Some turkeys are given to Community Food Bank and Poverrello House.
Considering the Chapter 11, filing there is a chance the company will survive its debt crisis. Michelle Ganci, professor of poultry science, believes Fresno State poultry production will continue despite the Chapter 11 announcement from Zacky Farms.
“The industry as a whole, including Zacky Farms, have been very supportive,” Ganci said. “I don’t expect Zacky to go away. They’ve been a longtime entity in the valley.”
According to The Fresno Bee, Zacky blames increasing feed costs for its current debt problems. Professor Ganci said Fresno State poultry and livestock production units experience these same price woes.
Some perspective on the price increase: In 2007, a bushel of corn costed somewhere between $2 and $3.75. Feed corn’s current price sits at $7.50. These facts indicate a very challenging economic climate.
Zacky and other poultry producers have gone from calibrating their expenditures by $3 feed prices to trying to operate with 30 percent price increases in the period of a few years.
Fortunately, the California poultry industry is an avid supporter of Fresno State’s poultry unit. Recently, Foster Farms, a local poultry producer has collaborated with Fresno State to build a facility that will house chickens.