Turkey growers are restocking their farms with young birds as the Moroni cooperative gears up to open its main processing plant by March, ending a three-month shutdown that has laid off 400 workers.

Baby turkeys, called poults, have been placed in about half of the cooperative's 55 farms in Sanpete County and all operations should be restocked by the end of January, said Kent Barton, acting CEO of Moroni Feed Co., owner of the Norbest turkey brand.

"On the grower side, we'll be back in full production within the next 30 days," said Barton. "By mid-March, we expect to have the processing plant in full production as well."

Three years ago, the plant began a year-round schedule, whereas previously it had operated for just nine months. But last fall, high corn prices and transportation costs forced the cooperative to idle 400 of its 675-member work force for three months. The shutdown resulted in a drop in production of 25 percent. Future work schedules will depend on feed costs, namely corn and soy meal, that seem to rise or fall with the price of crude oil, said Barton.

The processing plant in Moroni, located about 120 miles south of Salt Lake City, processes 5 million pounds of turkeys each year.

"There had been some concern that the plant wouldn't reopen, so of course we're elated that they will," said Claudia Jarrett, chairwoman of the Sanpete County Commission. "There's some good leadership in the cooperative. They've been doing everything they can to move ahead with their strategic plan."

There'll be some downsizing, at least in the short term, said plant officials.

The cooperative's hatchery in Moroni, which was shut down last August, will not reopen this year. Instead, eggs will be outsourced to a hatchery in Visalia, Calif., and shipped back to Utah farmers.

In addition, breeder farms in Washington County and Orosi, Calif., which have been out of production for the past three years, have both been sold. The cooperative continues to maintain breeder farms in Sanpete, Juab and Sevier counties.

The shutdown in Utah reflects a drop in turkey production nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Lower consumer demand and high animal feed costs factored into the drop in production. Nationwide, turkey eggs in incubators last November totalled 27.5 million, down 12 percent from the previous year. The West and South Central regions recorded the largest drop in numbers, which were down by 35 percent.

The number of hatched poults also was down across the nation. The number of poults totaled 23.3 million in October, down 10 percent from the previous year.

In December, Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the nation's largest chicken producer, received final approval for up to $450 million in financing to keep operating while it is under bankruptcy protection, according to Business Week .