A recently opened organic chicken processing plant in Charles City, Iowa, shut down last week, accroding to Brownfield Ag News, citing The Charles City Press.

Bushman Family Farms reportedly closed the plant on 28 January and all 82 employees were sent home. The plant had laid off a dozen employees on 7 January.

The plant opened in November in a refurbished 42,000 square-foot All-States Quality Foods facility and was processing organic and antibiotic-free chicken for specialty markets. It could process 100,000 chickens per week and plans were to expand to 300,000 by the end of next year. A spokesman says the company is hoping to reorganise and then reopen the plant.