The former Tyson Foods chicken farmers face high costs when they switch to eggs

Some U.S. farmers who once raised chickens for Tyson Foods to slaughter are shifting to sell eggs instead after the meatpacker closed six plants, a move that left local suppliers with limited options for work. In one example, former Tyson suppliers in central Virginia formed a cooperative that will produce cage-free eggs for Indiana-based Dutch Country Organics on a dozen farms, after Tyson closed its nearby Glen Allen plant last year. In Dexter, Missouri, the world's biggest egg company, Cal-Maine Foods, in March finalized a deal to buy another chicken meat plant Tyson shuttered.

Some U.S. farmers who once raised chickens for Tyson Foods to slaughter are shifting to sell eggs instead after the meatpacker closed six plants, a move that left local suppliers with limited options for work. In one example, former Tyson suppliers in central Virginia formed a cooperative that will produce cage-free eggs for Indiana-based Dutch Country Organics on a dozen farms, after Tyson closed its nearby Glen Allen plant last year. In Dexter, Missouri, the world's biggest egg company, Cal-Maine Foods, in March finalized a deal to buy another chicken meat plant Tyson shuttered.