DeCoster bows out of egg business
Amid legal troubles with a former associate and a salmonella outbreak at one of his farms, Austin "Jack" DeCoster is giving up control of all his egg farms in Maine and elsewhere.
DeCoster and his son, Peter, announced they are relinquishing control of their operations in Iowa, Maine and Ohio, including the farms traced as the source of last year's nationwide salmonella outbreak that sickened 1,900 people, The Associated Press reported. Earlier this month, Moark, a Land O' Lakes subsidiary, agreed to a 10-year lease to operate DeCoster's three Maine farms in Turner, Leeds and Winthrop. Centrum Valley Farms in Iowa has signed a lease with an option to purchase six DeCoster farms in that state, including the one responsible for the outbreak. Another deal to hand over operations of Ohio farms to a group of Iowa investors could be announced this week, The AP reported.
DeCoster and former business partner John Glessner have each sued the other over allegations of mismanagement and stealing. A Mexican-born Lewiston man who worked for DeCoster has also sued him, alleging race discrimination. And last year, Maine Contract Farming, which had been operating the Turner farm, agreed to pay a $125,000 fine in an animal cruelty case.
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