March 17, 2001
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Perdue Chicken
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MaryLand
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| The IALF Class of 2002 had the opportunity to
tour the poultry operation of Perdue Farms Inc. Perdue Farms Inc.
is a major producer of an array of foods and agriculture products
which are known for worldwide quality poultry. |
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Currently Perdue Farms Inc. is among the "big four" in
United States poultry production with competitors such as Tyson
Foods. The corporation employs 19,000 plus associates. The
development of the family business is credited to the business savvy
of Frank Perdue whom joined his father Arthur’s operation in 1933.
The operation is currently chaired by Frank’s son Jim Perdue.
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Brian Puetz thanks Mr. Frank
Perdue for welcoming the IALP group to visit Perdue Farms. |
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The day began with a tour of Keith Gardner’s farm in Delaware
consisting of four 40’x 500’ growing facilities for
roasters.
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The buildings have the capacity to hold up to 27,000 chickens per
building. The chickens were brought into the buildings
directly from the hatchery and fed in the facilities until a
marketable weight is achieved. The goal of the operation is to achieve complete uniformity and efficiency
for the marketplace.
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| The entire group donned hairnets, white jackets
and plastic boots before stepping inside the production barns. |
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After visiting the farm, the class toured the grain and oilseed
division of Perdue Farms Inc. Dick Willey, the president and
general manager of the grain and oilseed division led the tour..
This grain processing plant was established in 1962 and the first
poultry processing plant was started in 1968. Currently, the
processing plant takes in corn, soybeans, barley, and wheat. The
plant specializes in bean meal and oil processing to the tune of
3.7 million tons of poultry feed annually. Future development of
the plant includes the pelletization of poultry manure to be
shipped to the Midwestern states.
Following lunch Steve Evans, Senior VP of Retail Sales and
Marketing, and John Chlada, Director of Environmental Services,
gave presentations. Mr. Evans provided the class with information
on the focus of Perdue Farms Inc. for its future markets. The
primary focus of the corporation was placing emphasis on
exceedingly higher quality poultry for the market place. Next,
John Chlada provided the class with information on environmental
awareness issues in animal feeding operations. To learn more about
Perdue Farms Inc. you can visit their web site at www.Perdue.com.
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Gary Baise, IALF board member & Washington D.C.
attorney, summarized our Maryland seminar by reminding us of the
strengths of the environmental lobby in waging lawsuits against
agriculture. Baise encouraged us to keep our media
contacts, legislators, and their aides aware of agriculture’s
positive role in feeding the world.
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