When Poultry Partners organized in March 2005, we stated our mission: “to band together to ensure the survival of the family farm and our communities.” Keeping that in mind, the board of directors has spent many hours on the issues we feel are the most important to its members.

Since March, 2005, there have been many letters, briefs, news releases, legal correspondence and talks presented to lawmakers, state agencies and others concerning the lawsuit filed by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office against the poultry companies.  We have made presentations to several civic clubs and Chamber of Commerce groups; hosted a lenders meeting of about 70 individuals including bankers and legislators; spoke to Cattlemen’s Associations and told our situation to the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ Rural and Business Development Initiative forums in Idabel Okla., and Poteau, Okla. in November.  Poultry Partners’ members continue to tell our story - if the poultry companies are bankrupted by the multi-million dollar lawsuit or if the poultry companies simply choose to close their doors and move to another country like Brazil or Mexico where the cost of raising birds is less expensive than in our region of the world, it’s the farmers that will be left without an income. It’s the family farmers’ homes, farms and livelihoods that will be impacted.  It’s our rural communities - the banks, insurance companies, real estate companies, allied vendors, poultry supply businesses, farm and feed stores, equipment dealers – that also will suffer. Our school districts and all tax-based systems will be affected. Our nation will suffer if we no longer provide it with the safest and most affordable food in the world.

Poultry Partners, Inc. does believe there is a win/win solution for both the environment and agriculture. We do not think high dollar lawsuits are the answers to making a better world. Today, Poultry Partners, Inc., is working with some state agencies and also applying for grants that will help us all move together towards solutions. It’s a slow process, but we hope to soon have one or more programs in place. We have been in contact and had two meetings with Winrock International. We are looking to partner with this very professional and productive organization in the near future to help us solve some problems. 

When Poultry Partners made it’s list of priorities for its members, finding affordable health insurance was near the top. This has been much harder than we originally thought but we are still working on this project. The board will be hearing more proposals and talking to more companies as we seek out something that will help farmers who need this coverage.

A group discount rate on property insurance seemed like a “real” possibility until the hurricanes hit in August and September. Since that time, the companies we had been talking to has told us they are not going to be able to offer a program. The biggest challenge we face here is there are not a lot of companies that even offer poultry building insurance, as most of you know. We will go back to the drawing board.

If you know of an insurance company that would be interested in offering an affordable group plan for either health or property, please let us know. (I apologize that the insurance projects are taking longer than we’d hoped.)

There is nothing we can do about the rising costs of fuel but we will continue to provide you with poultry disease information and bio-security guidelines we hope will help. We will also provide you with information about the laws and education classes as required by both Arkansas and Oklahoma laws in our quarterly newsletter.

And we will continue to look for a solution to the litter situation, one that will benefit the farmers as well as the environment.

Thanks to each of you for your membership and support this first year. To those who have sent money, an extra big thank you. God bless.