MILWAUKEE — The recent shutdown of a large chicken processing plant in Iowa continues to have a ripple effect across Midwestern farms, including many across Wisconsin, as farmers here are suddenly forced to cover the cost to feed the chickens on their farms, something the plant had taken care of.

"The poultry grower owns the building and the processor owns the chicks and supplies the feed and pays for electricity," said Joe Bragger, the vice president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. "When they're unable to do so, it really leaves that farmer hanging."

While farmers facing and overcoming challenges is nothing new, Bragger said that for a lot of chicken farmers statewide, this hits differently as there's no road map to a potential solution.

"For us here, this is a very new challenge," Bragger said. "Many have reached out to the Department of Agriculture— statutorily, there's nothing for our Department of Agriculture to do The Wisconsin Farm Bureau, among others, is really leading the charge to help coordinate efforts to support these farmers and then look at what actions can be done in the future."

Watch the full interview above.