Perdue Farms is the parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, based in Salisbury, Maryland. Perdue Foods is a major chicken, turkey, and pork processing company in the United States. Perdue AgriBusiness ranks among the top United States grain companies. Perdue Farms has 2021 annual sales of $8 billion.
The company was founded in 1920 by Arthur Perdue[1] with his wife, Pearl Perdue, who had been keeping a small flock of chickens.[4] The company started out selling table eggs, then in 1925, Perdue built the company's first hatchery, and switched to selling layer chicks to farmers instead of eggs.[4] His son Frank Perdue joined the company in 1939 at age 19 after dropping out of college.[4]
Post-war growth
The company was incorporated as A.W. Perdue & Son and Frank Perdue assumed leadership in the 1950s.[1][4] The company also began contracting with local farmers to raise its birds and supplying chickens for processing as well as opening a second hatchery in North Carolina during this period.[4]
Full integration
Perdue entered the grain and oilseed business by building grain receiving and storage facilities and Maryland's first soybean processing plant.[4]
In 1968, the company began operating its first poultry processing plant in Salisbury.[4] This move had two effects: it gave Perdue Farms full vertical integration and quality control over every step from egg and feed to market,[4] as well as increasing profits which were being squeezed by processors.[1] This move enabled the company to differentiate its product, rather than selling a commodity.[1]
In 1991, Frank's son Jim Perdue was named Chairman, becoming the third generation of leaders from the Perdue family.[4]
Perdue today
In 2013, Perdue was reportedly the third-largest American producer of broilers (chickens for eating) and was estimated as having 7% of the US chicken production market, behind Pilgrim's Pride and Tyson Foods.[5]
In 2010, the corporate structure of Perdue Farms changed.[6] A holding company, FPP Family Investments, Inc., owned by the Perdue family, became the controlling entity for Perdue Farms. The holding company also owns Perdue AgriBusiness, a grain operation; FPP Business Services, a shared business services company; and Coleman Natural Foods.[7]
Other subsidiaries include Heritage Breeders, LLC, which is responsible for developing the breed used by Perdue, and developing other lines of stock for sale to other poultry companies; Venture Milling, which creates proteins for livestock; Perdue Fats and Proteins, LLC, which sells pet and animal feed ingredients; Perdue BioEnergy, LLC, which works in the field of renewable energies; and Perdue AgriRecycle, which converts poultry litter into organic fertilizer products.[8]
In 2007, Perdue removed all human antibiotics from its feed and launched the Harvestland brand, under which it sold products that met the requirements for an “antibiotic-free” label. By 2014, Harvestland had grown to a $200 million business. In 2014, Perdue removed all antibiotics (including ionophores, which are antibiotics used in animals to promote growth, prevent disease and lower production costs) from its hatchery, and began using the “antibiotic free” labels on its Harvestland, Simply Smart and Perfect Portions products.[9]
In March 2017, Jim Perdue, chairman of Perdue Farms, announced Randy Day would be promoted from COO to CEO.[10] Day would be the fourth CEO in the company's history. Perdue would remain as the chairman of the board of directors.
Criticisms
Perdue has been criticized for its factories' lack of adherence to some basic animal-welfare practices.[11][12][13] The guidelines that Perdue follows, created by the National Chicken Council, have drawn criticism for allowing birds to be deprived of light, food, and water for long periods, and also for permitting animals to be hung upside-down by their ankles before slaughter.[12][14] In 2010, the Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit against Perdue for violating a New Jersey consumer fraud law by applying the labels "purely all-natural" and "humanely raised" to its products when reasonable consumers would not consider the conditions Perdue chickens are raised in “humane.”[12][15] The Humane Society filed a similar lawsuit in Florida in April 2013 after an appeal by Perdue to have a similar case rejected was turned down by a federal court.[16] In response, Perdue issued a statement claiming that its practice “exceeds the National Chicken Council guidelines in several areas, including monitoring air quality in the poultry house, video monitoring of live-bird handling areas at the processing plant and USDA audits of producer farms and...hatcheries.”[17]
Perdue has also been criticized for allegedly polluting the Chesapeake Bay.[18] In 2010, the Assateague Coastal Trust sued Perdue for violating the Clean Water Act by allegedly allowing excessive chicken manure to run into the bay.[18] The suit was later won by Perdue in October 2012, after the environmental group failed to establish that the waste runoff was from chicken houses.[19]
^Strom, Stephanie (July 31, 2015). "Perdue Sharply Cuts Antibiotic Use in Chickens and Jabs at Its Rivals". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
^"Perdue Farms announces new CEO". Delmarva Daily Times. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
^Warner, Melanie (21 May 2010). "Perdue's "Humanely-Raised" Chicken: The Latest Misleading Food Claim". CBS News. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
^ abcWheeler, Timothy (29 November 2010). "Perdue sued for claiming its chickens raised 'humanely'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
^ (Press release). 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
^"Court Allows Lawsuit Over Perdue's "Humane" Claims to Proceed" (Press release). 1 April 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
^"Second Class Action Lawsuit Filed Challenging Perdue's "Humane" Claims" (Press release). 24 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
^ (Press release). 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
^ abFahrenthold, David (2 March 2010). "Perdue, poultry farm sued for polluting Chesapeake Bay". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
^Wheeler, Timothy (20 December 2012). "Eastern Shore farmers, Perdue win pollution lawsuit". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
External links
Official website (Perdue Farms)
Official website (Perdue)
January 30, 2023
perdue, farms, parent, company, perdue, foods, perdue, agribusiness, based, salisbury, maryland, perdue, foods, major, chicken, turkey, pork, processing, company, united, states, perdue, agribusiness, ranks, among, united, states, grain, companies, 2021, annua. Perdue Farms is the parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness based in Salisbury Maryland Perdue Foods is a major chicken turkey and pork processing company in the United States Perdue AgriBusiness ranks among the top United States grain companies Perdue Farms has 2021 annual sales of 8 billion Perdue FarmsTypePrivateIndustryMeat processingPoultry farmingFounded1920FounderArthur W PerduePearl Perdue 1 HeadquartersSalisbury MarylandKey peopleJim Perdue ChairmanRandy Day CEOProductsPoultry chicken turkey pork grainRevenue 8 billion 2021 2 Number of employees21 000 2019 3 ParentFPP Family Investments Inc WebsitePerdueFarms com Contents 1 History 1 1 Origin and war era 1 2 Post war growth 1 3 Full integration 2 Perdue today 3 Criticisms 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditOrigin and war era Edit The company was founded in 1920 by Arthur Perdue 1 with his wife Pearl Perdue who had been keeping a small flock of chickens 4 The company started out selling table eggs then in 1925 Perdue built the company s first hatchery and switched to selling layer chicks to farmers instead of eggs 4 His son Frank Perdue joined the company in 1939 at age 19 after dropping out of college 4 Post war growth Edit The company was incorporated as A W Perdue amp Son and Frank Perdue assumed leadership in the 1950s 1 4 The company also began contracting with local farmers to raise its birds and supplying chickens for processing as well as opening a second hatchery in North Carolina during this period 4 Full integration Edit Perdue entered the grain and oilseed business by building grain receiving and storage facilities and Maryland s first soybean processing plant 4 In 1968 the company began operating its first poultry processing plant in Salisbury 4 This move had two effects it gave Perdue Farms full vertical integration and quality control over every step from egg and feed to market 4 as well as increasing profits which were being squeezed by processors 1 This move enabled the company to differentiate its product rather than selling a commodity 1 In 1991 Frank s son Jim Perdue was named Chairman becoming the third generation of leaders from the Perdue family 4 Perdue today EditIn 2013 Perdue was reportedly the third largest American producer of broilers chickens for eating and was estimated as having 7 of the US chicken production market behind Pilgrim s Pride and Tyson Foods 5 In 2010 the corporate structure of Perdue Farms changed 6 A holding company FPP Family Investments Inc owned by the Perdue family became the controlling entity for Perdue Farms The holding company also owns Perdue AgriBusiness a grain operation FPP Business Services a shared business services company and Coleman Natural Foods 7 Other subsidiaries include Heritage Breeders LLC which is responsible for developing the breed used by Perdue and developing other lines of stock for sale to other poultry companies Venture Milling which creates proteins for livestock Perdue Fats and Proteins LLC which sells pet and animal feed ingredients Perdue BioEnergy LLC which works in the field of renewable energies and Perdue AgriRecycle which converts poultry litter into organic fertilizer products 8 In 2007 Perdue removed all human antibiotics from its feed and launched the Harvestland brand under which it sold products that met the requirements for an antibiotic free label By 2014 Harvestland had grown to a 200 million business In 2014 Perdue removed all antibiotics including ionophores which are antibiotics used in animals to promote growth prevent disease and lower production costs from its hatchery and began using the antibiotic free labels on its Harvestland Simply Smart and Perfect Portions products 9 In March 2017 Jim Perdue chairman of Perdue Farms announced Randy Day would be promoted from COO to CEO 10 Day would be the fourth CEO in the company s history Perdue would remain as the chairman of the board of directors Criticisms EditPerdue has been criticized for its factories lack of adherence to some basic animal welfare practices 11 12 13 The guidelines that Perdue follows created by the National Chicken Council have drawn criticism for allowing birds to be deprived of light food and water for long periods and also for permitting animals to be hung upside down by their ankles before slaughter 12 14 In 2010 the Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit against Perdue for violating a New Jersey consumer fraud law by applying the labels purely all natural and humanely raised to its products when reasonable consumers would not consider the conditions Perdue chickens are raised in humane 12 15 The Humane Society filed a similar lawsuit in Florida in April 2013 after an appeal by Perdue to have a similar case rejected was turned down by a federal court 16 In response Perdue issued a statement claiming that its practice exceeds the National Chicken Council guidelines in several areas including monitoring air quality in the poultry house video monitoring of live bird handling areas at the processing plant and USDA audits of producer farms and hatcheries 17 Perdue has also been criticized for allegedly polluting the Chesapeake Bay 18 In 2010 the Assateague Coastal Trust sued Perdue for violating the Clean Water Act by allegedly allowing excessive chicken manure to run into the bay 18 The suit was later won by Perdue in October 2012 after the environmental group failed to establish that the waste runoff was from chicken houses 19 References Edit a b c d e Schmetterer Bob 2003 Leap A Revolution in Creative Business Strategy Hoboken New Jersey John Wiley amp Sons pp 72 76 ISBN 978 0 471 22917 9 Perdue Farms Forbes November 23 2021 Retrieved July 2 2022 Perdue Farms confirms 118 employees laid off The Daily Times Salisbury Maryland April 12 2019 Retrieved April 14 2019 a b c d e f g h i Our Story Perdue Farms Archived from the original on 2014 01 07 Retrieved 2014 01 07 2013 Tyson Fact Book PDF Archived from the original PDF on March 28 2014 Retrieved August 13 2015 The Daily Times Perdue Restructure to Allow for Growth The Daily Times Salisbury Based Poultry Company Purchases Coleman Perdue Farms permanent dead link Our Products and Services Strom Stephanie July 31 2015 Perdue Sharply Cuts Antibiotic Use in Chickens and Jabs at Its Rivals The New York Times Retrieved August 12 2015 Perdue Farms announces new CEO Delmarva Daily Times Retrieved 2017 03 09 Warner Melanie 21 May 2010 Perdue s Humanely Raised Chicken The Latest Misleading Food Claim CBS News Retrieved 9 July 2014 a b c Wheeler Timothy 29 November 2010 Perdue sued for claiming its chickens raised humanely The Baltimore Sun Retrieved 9 July 2014 Abusing Chickens We Eat The New York Times Humanely Raised Challenging Perdue s Claims Press release 29 November 2010 Archived from the original on December 5 2010 Retrieved 9 July 2014 Court Allows Lawsuit Over Perdue s Humane Claims to Proceed Press release 1 April 2013 Retrieved 9 July 2014 Second Class Action Lawsuit Filed Challenging Perdue s Humane Claims Press release 24 October 2013 Retrieved 9 July 2014 Perdue Farms responds to HSUS lawsuit Press release 2 April 2013 Archived from the original on 23 July 2014 Retrieved 9 July 2014 a b Fahrenthold David 2 March 2010 Perdue poultry farm sued for polluting Chesapeake Bay The Washington Post Retrieved 9 July 2014 Wheeler Timothy 20 December 2012 Eastern Shore farmers Perdue win pollution lawsuit The Baltimore Sun Retrieved 10 July 2014 External links EditOfficial website Perdue Farms Official website Perdue Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Perdue Farms amp oldid 1129102480, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
