by Lynn S. Caldwell

Most of the poultry and pork you find in the refrigerated cases at the grocery store – more than 90 percent — has been produced for decades by farmers under contract to an industrial company with brand recognition. Industrial livestock farming, also known as factory farming, has developed a reputation for being inhumane to animals, but until recently the well-being of the farmers was left out of conversations. 

A handful of major vertically integrated companies control the poultry and pork industries, prioritizing efficiency and profit more than the welfare of their growers and sustainability. Vertical integration is when a company owns the entire supply chain from end to end. In livestock, this means contracted farmers own the facilities and the waste, but have no say in how the animals are raised.

As a result, when an industrial producer collapses, its supply chain does, too. Cooks Venture, a relatively small company based in Arkansas and trying to implement a “higher animal welfare” model, closed down abruptly in November 2023. Its closure put more than 19 contracted poultry farmers out of business and put them in debt and financial distress. As a result, more than 1 million birds were euthanized at the direction of Cooks Venture and left on the farms for disposal.

One vocal farmer in North Carolina, Craig Watts, went public with his story in 2014 after 23 years as a contract grower. With the help of Compassion in World Farming, Watts allowed his chicken houses to be filmed because he believed the product was potentially unsafe for consumers and harmful to the environment. The resulting footage highlighted how contract poultry farming typically works.

Since that time, Watts has become an advocate for farmers wishing to transition away from industrial farming. “You’ve got to have something that’s good for the farmer, good for the animal, good for the environment, good for the consumer, good for the community,” says Watts. After he ended his contract with a commercial processor,  he began farming mushrooms in a regenerative way four years ago and promotes similar practices for farmers who are attempting to exit their contracts.

There are a variety of reasons why farmers face challenges when trying to exit a contract. Those challenges are most often related to overwhelming debt which sometimes ends up in bankruptcy, but can also be associated with the psychological and emotional challenges of making a monumental change in management and farming practices. 

In part due to Watts’ leadership, as well as a growing awareness of alternatives, an increasing number of formerly contracted farmers are moving in the direction of regenerative agriculture and establishing crops where they used to grow chickens or pigs. Regenerative agriculture is a movement to original farming principles practiced by indigenous Americans and is helping to restore both the land and our environment.

Until the last several years, for farmers like Watts, there has been no clear path forward after ending a contract. Fortunately, organizations have emerged and are working together to change that. Transitioning farmers are getting guidance on how to repurpose facilities that were used to raise pigs or chickens on an industrial scale, and gain the education and resources necessary to head in a new direction.

The Transfarmation Project grew out of the work done by Mercy for Animals, and actively provides resources and support for farmers trying to exit contract poultry and pork farming and transition to plant-based operations as an entrepreneur. Many of these farmers are part of an aging population and are making huge changes, often late in life. 

When the Transfarmation Project meets a farmer that is interested in their assistance, they do an assessment to determine if they are a good fit for their program and align with their mission. The next step is to assess the farmer’s current resources. Transfarmation follows up with a transition plan for that farmer which might include educational materials, training on crop development, a business plan, and connections to financial resources.

Katherine Jernigan currently serves as Farmer Outreach Manager of Transfarmation Project, working to connect communities through food and relationships, as well as economic development.

Most importantly, they help farmers connect to a local market for their products. “We want to make sure that we are not advising farmers to grow something that they aren’t going to be able to sell,” says Jernigan. ” One way to do that is to help them establish purchasing agreements so that they are sure they have buyers, and another way is to help them establish relationships with outlets like farmers markets where they will be able to develop a consistent customer base. We want to set the farmers we work with up for success.”

In addition to looking at market trends for things like mushrooms and heirloom vegetables, the Transfarmation Project also looks at local and culturally relevant opportunities in a market to give the farmer a pathway to address gaps in what is available in the farmers local community. Jernigan calls that tapping into the “human element of culture.” For Watts, that was what was missing most in his time as a contract farmer.

“Being a farmer in the Transfarmation program is the absolute antithesis of what being a factory farmer was,” he says. “Getting away from the industrial system gave me back my autonomy and, more importantly, my dignity.” 

Watts was the first farmer supported by the Transfarmation Project in 2014, and is now the director of the Contract Growers Transition Program — part of the emerging  Socially Responsible Agriculture Project (SRAP).

“My work with SRAP allows me to share my experiences and draw on the experiences of others as factory farmers who have exited the industry and prove to other farmers who might feel hopeless that there is indeed a better life after a chicken contract,” Watts says.

One such farm in North Carolina is owned by Dale and Paula Boles in Granite Falls, N.C. In 2015, the Boles decided that contract poultry farming was not for them and were looking to make a change from being a concentrated animal farming operation (CAFO). 

“It’s hard to describe how extremely difficult life was operating a CAFO, and the transition for us was a long process, leaving us feeling at times that we were alone in our battle — like David facing the giant Goliath with only a pocketful of rocks,” Paula Boles says. “Meeting the folks at The Transfarmation Project and SRAP was like finding a community of believers where you can share your experiences, ask advice, seek help, and have the security of knowing that there are teams in place with the goal of helping you through the process.”

Boles knows conscientious consumers hope to make good food choices, but it can be difficult to do so unless you know where that food came from and see it was raised. What the Boles witnessed near the end of their contract with Tyson helped push them toward their current path. They agreed to grow Monsanto Roundup Ready corn to feed their chickens due to a drought in the Midwest, where that corn is usually acquired.  

“Once the corn was about 12 inches tall, Dale went through all 25 acres spraying Roundup on the corn. I can recall standing there looking at our yard with the realization that the Roundup was sprayed on the corn, the corn was ground into feed, it was fed to the chickens, and we ate the chickens, consuming the Roundup poison — poison that can have long-term effects on our health,” Boles says. “That image comes to my mind often when I’m selecting different types of meat, particularly chicken. I believe painting a picture that someone can visualize is the first step in getting their attention and helps them understand how crucial it is to consider that the food choices you make today affect the quality of your health tomorrow.”

Watts offered some additional advice to consumers looking to purchase healthier foods. 

“You have to work a little bit, but it isn’t as daunting a task as it used to be,” he says. “Animal Welfare Approved” is a certification to seek out. Otherwise, shopping at local farmers markets that you trust and where you can ask questions is your best bet.

The poultry and pork industries market their product as a way to feed the world in a consistent way at an affordable price, but ultimately taxpayer dollars are subsidizing their industries, and there is a tremendous cost to the environment from carbon emissions, as well as to the well-being of a many of the farmers who are under contract with them. The Transfarmation Project has actively supported more than 12 farmers, including several dairy farmers, in making a transition to raising crops in a regenerative way, and 9 currently remain in farming. Five of them are in North Carolina, a state that is populated by a tremendous number of contract farms. Transfarmation sees an opportunity here for the development of a regionalized food system beyond the industrial infrastructure.

Transfarmation’s farmer success stories give them a foundation to show other farmers what is possible. Their current focus is on making information available to contract farmers who are looking to transition and have the will to move forward on their own. Transfarmation is also developing two demonstration hubs to use as training centers. One of those hubs is located in Wadesboro, N.C. They have a waiting list of more than 75 farmers wanting to enter their program — three of which are in North Carolina.

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