In rural towns across Missouri and Tennessee, hard-working farmers once believed they were securing a future for their families by partnering with chicken industry giants like Tyson Foods. Today, those same farmers are left financially ruined, their land devalued, and their trust shattered. Why? Because they were exploited by a vertically integrated system designed not to empower independent farmers—but to use them.

At our firm, we've reviewed devastating evidence showing how poultry giants systematically manipulated small family farms into long-term financial commitments—only to pull the rug out from under them. We are now seeking justice on behalf of farmers who trusted these companies and paid the price.

The Tyson Model: Profits for Them, Risk for You

For decades, Tyson Foods operated what is known as a vertically integrated poultry system. On paper, this system offered rural farmers a chance to participate in a booming food production industry. But in practice, it meant that Tyson controlled everything—from the genetics of the birds to the feed, the lighting in the barns, and even how many hours the lights could be on.

Under this model, farmers like Elijah and Melissa Skaggs of Missouri were induced to borrow millions of dollars—secured by their land and backed by taxpayer-supported loans—to build facilities to Tyson's exact specifications. But these weren't truly independent businesses. The Skaggses couldn't raise birds for any other company. Their operations were designed solely to serve the Tyson complex in Dexter, Missouri.

And then Tyson shut the plant down.

Broken Promises, Broken Lives

For years, Tyson assured its farmers that the Dexter Complex would remain in operation. It presented long-term financial models to farmers—models used to convince banks and families alike to take on massive debt. But as early as 2021, Tyson's executives were planning otherwise. Internal documents, later revealed in court, show that even as the company demanded more investments from growers, it was already preparing to exit the region.

In August 2023, Tyson finally announced the closure of the Dexter plant. The result? Farms that once thrived were now worthless. Equipment once compliant with Tyson's specs was now obsolete. And worse still, when public officials like Senator Josh Hawley and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey demanded that Tyson not sabotage future poultry operations at the Dexter site, the company ignored them.

Instead of selling the plant to another chicken processor, Tyson struck a backroom deal with Cal-Maine Foods—an egg company with no use for fertile chicken operations. As a result, farmers like the Skaggses were offered a false choice: retrofit their farms again for a completely different operation with inferior pay, or walk away from the investments of a lifetime.

A Restraint on Trade and a Betrayal of Trust

Tyson's agreement with Cal-Maine wasn't just a bad business decision—it appears to be a calculated restraint of trade. Documents reveal that Tyson included a 25-year “Property Use Agreement” preventing any competitor from operating a meat processing facility at the Dexter site. When this was uncovered in court, Tyson and Cal-Maine scrambled to “rescind” the agreement—an admission that it was likely illegal from the start.

By that point, however, the damage had been done. The Dexter facility had been stripped of its poultry-processing equipment, making it unfit for future competitors. The economic heart of Stoddard County was surgically removed by corporate design.

A Repeat Offense in Tennessee

Sadly, Tyson's model of farmer exploitation doesn't stop in Missouri. In Gibson County, Tennessee, farmer Hunter Crowson was lured into the same trap. Crowson entered into a contract to grow breeder hens for Tyson's Humboldt complex. To do so, he relied on Reliable Poultry—a construction company deeply entangled in Tyson's network—to build the required barns.

Reliable Poultry promised “turnkey” chicken houses that would meet Tyson's specs and Tennessee state regulations. But what Crowson received was anything but. His barns failed state electrical inspections and did not meet Tyson's lighting standards. Reliable Poultry even refused to fix its errors, leaving Crowson with unusable barns and over $2 million in debt.

It gets worse: Crowson was not alone. Reliable Poultry admitted in writing that all hen houses built for the Humboldt Plant had only three rows of lights—when Tyson's specifications clearly required four. As a result, breeder hens laid fewer eggs, and many eggs were deemed unfit for sale. The economic fallout spans dozens of farmers and tens of millions of dollars in lost income.

The Real Cost: Rural Ruin

What unites these cases is a cynical business model: get farmers to finance infrastructure, shift all risk onto them, control every operational detail, and then walk away when it's no longer profitable—leaving families bankrupt, land devalued, and entire communities in economic freefall.

Tyson and its enablers, like Reliable Poultry, have used their market power not just to dominate supply chains, but to extract wealth from rural America while leaving its people with the liabilities.

This isn't just a breach of contract. It's systemic fraud, deception, and—at its core—an attack on the American farmer.

We're Fighting Back

At our firm, we believe in standing with the families who feed America. We believe that no corporation should be able to lie to farmers, manipulate public officials, and destroy communities in pursuit of profit. If you or someone you know has been affected by Tyson's shutdowns, Reliable Poultry's broken promises, or similar schemes, we want to hear your story.

You don't have to go through this alone. Legal action is already underway, and every farmer who steps forward helps build the case for justice. These companies counted on small farmers staying quiet. They underestimated your courage—and your right to fight back.

Contact us today at 833-381-6589 or send us an email on our Contact Page. Let's hold Big Chicken accountable.