Poultry farmers pinched

Poultry is Louisiana's top agricultural commodity other than timber, and farmers are feeling the economic pinch as much as anyone.

Scott and Angie Tyler of Hico operate a broiler farm contracted to Raeford Farms of Louisiana and say the cost of farming has made farmers start looking for creative methods to survive.

"We have to learn to think differently in this day and age," Angie Tyler said. "Prices have told us you have to change your ways or get them changed for you."

Most poultry farmers are contracted with larger companies like Raeford or Pilgrim's Pride, which provide the broiler chickens for farmers and the feed to raise those chickens. But the other costs of poultry farming — especially things like butane to ensure warm chicken houses during the winter months — have left those in the business pinching their pennies and looking for changes.

The Tylers realized a few years ago the direction the nation's economy was headed and started making changes to try to better their future. They started baling hay in addition to chicken farming to help bring in more money and began using biodiesel fuel in their two tractors and 4-wheeler they use in their farming operation.

"Scott had been researching biodiesel for a couple of years," Angie Tyler said. "He saw what was coming and decided if he was going to do it, the time to do it was now, because fuel and energy prices are only going up."