“Wilcox Family Farms scrambled to save 800,000 chickens from starving to death after the collapse of their feed mill in Roy, Wash., on December 2. Steve Green, 44, died after being trapped underneath 500 tons of corn. The mill remains closed while Labor & Industries investigates.”
Photo credit: KIRO Radio/Brandi Kruse

I heard this report while listening to Brandi Kruse on Seattle’s KIRO 97.3 FM radio yesterday:
When the silo collapsed, the farm’s feed supply was abruptly cut off.

“The loss of life is your number one concern, but the next priority is, ‘How do we feed our chickens?'” said Brent Wilcox, who knew that without feed, the chickens could fall ill and starve to death in a matter of days.

The Wilcox brothers started making phones calls.

“Immediately, we had 800,000 hens that need food. A third of those need food within a day,” Andy Wilcox said. “We called up what is typically our competitors and said, ‘Hey, we’re in a terrible situation here.'”

Within 24 hours of the collapse, competitors were shipping truckloads of feed to Roy. National in Everett, Steibrs in Yelm, and Briarwood in Rochester were among those who pitched in to help.
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