The family experienced years of financial hardship as contract poultry farmers. When they began raising chickens, they had to take out a large loan to build their chicken houses. Once the chicken farm was up and running, they hoped to make enough money to steadily pay off that loan. Unfortunately, the income from chicken farming proved to be unreliable. The Halleys faced many unexpected costs. The chickens that the integrator gave them to raise often had a variety of health issues, and the family had to bear the financial burden when these birds died. They also had to deal with the cost of managing the tons of waste that the farm produced. These additional costs, combined with the operational expenses of the chicken farm, made paying off their debt extremely difficult.
As they finally came close to paying off their loans, they received a terrible blow from the integrator: If they wanted to keep their contract, the Halleys would have to make upgrades to their chicken houses—which would require them to take out additional hundreds of thousands in loans. The family was stuck in the “debt treadmill” of poultry farming, where farmers’ contracts with corporations can create a vicious cycle of debt that leads to financial insecurity and bankruptcy.
In addition to financial peril, Bo and Sam suffered injuries and health complications from working with chickens in the crowded houses. Even with masks, they felt unprotected from ammonia. On one occasion, Bo developed an infection from a chicken through a cut on his finger that landed him in the hospital for over nine days. The infection resulted in partial amputation of his finger.
These health and financial struggles terribly burdened the Halleys, who all felt trapped in the contract poultry system. They wanted to be free from the cycle of debt and the hazardous working conditions. After years of struggle and stress, the family decided that the farm was not a sustainable business and they had to give it up. Chicken farming was not worth all their hardship and suffering, which they had endured for long enough.