Missouri chicken farmers are suing Tyson

Kansas City Today

When Tyson closed a chicken processing facility in southeast Missouri, it also ended contracts with nearby chicken farmers. Now, some of those farmers are suing. Plus: Kansas farms are consolidating, pushing people to leave the region and making rural life even lonelier.

Commercial chicken farmers literally bet the farm, spending millions of dollars on land and enormous chicken houses to raise birds they never own, and putting their livelihoods in the hands of a single company that is both their supplier and sole buyer. When Tyson closed a processing plant in southeast Missouri, some farmers facing bankruptcy decided to sue. KCUR's Frank Morris reports for Harvest Public Media.

Kansas farms have consolidated and expanded their operations in recent decades to become bigger than ever. That has economic benefits for the owners, but bigger farms also mean fewer farmers. That has contributed to depopulation in rural parts of the state. Sociologists say it has also taken a toll on farmers' mental health. Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports.

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Kansas City Today is hosted today by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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