Fulton Valley Farms, located in Turlock, California,  has announced it will close its doors in mid January next year because of the high price of feed, putting about 185 people out of work. The company has been sold to a Chinese buyer that does not plan to keep it operating at least in the near future, Fulton’s chief executive Andrew Carlson, said Tuesday.

Fulton Valley Farm (also known as Central Coast Farms), which was founded in 1925,  raises poultry at its ranches and contract ranches and its products include organic and free range chicken, game hens and types known as poussin and blue leg.  The company produced about 12 million chickens a year, and the operation includes Heartland Grains & Milling.  Fulton is trying to find outer outlets for its chicken growers, Carlson said.  The new owner might restore jobs in two to five years, he said.

“The use of corn grown for ethanol to meet a government mandated ethanol requirement has increased cost, and as a result, consumers are paying higher prices for food at the grocery store and family farms are being forced to shut down,” Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), who co-sponsored legislation by Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA) that eliminates the Renewable Fuel Standards mandate, said in a statement.  “Ethanol subsidies are raising the cost of feed, stifling job creation, harming business growth, and hurting America’s economic competitiveness,” Denham added.