CHARLES CITY, IOWA — New chicken integrator, Pure Prairie Poultry Inc., received $36.7 million in funding for future renovations and expansions at its existing processing plant in Iowa.

The financing comes from a loan guaranteed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program. Greater Commercial Lending (GCL) will assist Pure Prairie with the loan. 

Prairie Poultry purchased the facility in 2021 that was previously operated by Simply Essentials, which closed in 2019.

In November 2022, it received a $6.9 million grant from the USDA’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP).

The company said it processes chicken products raised by family farm partners in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin using strict animal welfare standards. 

The chickens are fed vegetarian diets with no animal byproducts and without antibiotics. The products will be air-chilled, highly trimmed and contain no added ingredients.

When it reaches full capacity, Pure Prairie Poultry plans to have a network of more than 75 barns within a 250-mile radius of the facility. The company expects to bring more than 520 jobs to the surrounding communities.