The Halley Family Went from Raising Chickens for Slaughter to Growing Hemp and Rescuing Homeless Animals

Update: Tragically, on April 12, 2021, Bo Halley passed away. Transfarmation is deeply grateful for his work and commitment to transitioning the Halley Farm. In Bo’s honor, we have created the Bo Halley Research and Innovation Grant, which provides funding to farmers transitioning from industrial animal agriculture to growing plants. We’ve also added mental health resources for farmers to our Farmer Toolkit. Bo Halley leaves a legacy of change and hope to build on, not only for his family but for other farmers seeking a better, more sustainable way to support their families and communities.

At age 14, Texan Bo Halley began his career in chicken farming alongside his twin brother, Sam—they learned the ropes from their father. As contract growers, the Halleys raised six batches of chickens per year—192,000 birds per batch—for 30 years in 12 factory-style houses on their family farm in Cookville, Texas. But when faced with mounting financial and health troubles from chicken farming, Bo and Sam decided to give up raising birds for good.
They teamed up with their sister, Devvie Deany, and her partner, Evan Penhasi, to switch to growing hemp. With the support of Transfarmation, they successfully completed their first hemp harvest.
We knew we couldn’t keep contract farming animals but didn’t know where to turn for help—what could we do with 12 empty chicken houses? Although we had stopped raising chickens and were extremely thankful to finally be out of the business, we still had bills to pay and a leftover loan. … I’d farmed crops before, but I’d never grown hemp, so I was just expecting new challenges and new things. We just decided to get into it and start with an acre.
—Bo Halley

Halley Farm

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.

Having decided to stop chicken farming, Bo, Sam, Devvie, and Evan began researching and exploring other uses for the chicken houses. They soon learned about Transfarmation and the opportunity to grow hemp plants.
When it became obvious that the business was not something that made financial sense, we decided to ... eat the debt and shut down the chicken houses and look for a different option in order for the farm to make money, and, most importantly, to find some sort of a long-term, viable business that doesn’t include animal suffering.
—Evan Penhasi

The family worked to start their first acre of plants in July 2020, just weeks after getting in touch with Transfarmation. The crop thrived in the northeastern Texas climate, and in early October 2020, they harvested their first crop—having repurposed the chicken houses as space for storing and drying the hemp.

We were so happy to have support from an organization dedicated to helping us transition. … Since our first phone call with them, we’ve known that they care and are invested in seeing us succeed. At every turn, people with expertise have been there to consult with, and someone from Transfarmation has checked in with us to make sure we have everything we need to succeed.
—Bo Halley

Bo and Sam are thrilled to have found a type of farming that not only makes the ranch a viable source of income but in Bo’s words “feeds people’s souls … and gives us dignity when we look at those plants and realize that we’ve created something and grown something.” New feelings of motivation and pride from growing and harvesting the hemp plants have replaced the burden and frustration that Bo and Sam felt as contract chicken farmers.

It’s been really great to see Bo and Sam go from very troubled, angry, and broken people while the chicken houses were here to just flourishing with joy working with the plants. It just melts your heart. There’s no other way to say it. How can you not love that? How can you not want to see that? How can you not want to see other people succeed or get out from underneath crushing circumstances and flourish and thrive? So really, it’s about helping them to do something different that they’ll carry on, that they’ll take on so that this 1,000-acre farm can be here for their children.
—Evan Penhasi
The Halleys would recommend transitioning to growing plants to any poultry farmer, not simply for the better financial investment and payoff but for the heightened quality of life on the farm.
Number one, don’t be afraid. I think fear holds us back from change, and we wind up getting stuck in something for months, for years, maybe for our entire lives, and we go through so much hardship and suffering that’s needless. If we just kick that fear to the side and be open to learning something new, and with the help of other farmers who’ve been through this before them, I would hope that other farmers would be open to change and open to growth and know that they’re not alone. They’re not alone. There are others who have felt that way before them, and we can all get through this together.
—Devvie Deany
Devvie and Evan are also dedicated to providing sanctuary to animals in need. They have saved over 2,700 dogs  in just three years through their rescue organization Let Love Live. With a grant from Transfarmation, Let Love Live is expanding its animal rescue operation by setting up rehabilitation housing for donkeys on land formerly used as cattle pasture. Partnering with Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, Let Love Live will house up to 150 donkeys while they are rehabilitated and socialized before Peaceful Valley permanently adopts them out.

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