Perdue Farms CEO: Consumers have most powerful voice

Randy Day, CEO of Perdue Farms, told a group of business leaders in Salisbury, Maryland, of the importance of staying on top of consumer concerns.

Perdue Farms CEO Randy Day | Perdue Farms
Perdue Farms CEO Randy Day | Perdue Farms

From WATTAgNet:

Randy Day, CEO of Perdue Farms, told a group of business leaders in Salisbury, Maryland, of the importance of staying on top of consumer concerns.

During a recent speech in Salisbury, Day, who took over as CEO of Perdue Farms in March, talked about the company’s efforts to address consumer concerns and provide the type of products they want.

“The most powerful voice in our society is the consuming public,” Day said.

Day talked about Perdue’s transition to raising its chickens without the use of antibiotics. In October 2016, Perdue Farms announced it had eliminated all use of animal-only antibiotics. Two years prior to that, Perdue stopped routinely giving chickens antibiotics also used in human medicine.

Day also touched on the company’s new broiler welfare initiatives. Perdue’s recent animal welfare improvements, according to a news release it issued in July, include:

  • Giving chickens more space, more light during the day and longer lights-off periods for rest
  • Increasing the number of chicken houses with windows
  • Continuing to study the role of enrichments in encouraging active behavior
  • Raising and studying slower-growing chickens
  • Moving to controlled-atmosphere stunning (CAS)
  • Strengthening relationships with farmers

According to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, Perdue produced 62.4 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis in 2016, making it the fourth largest broiler company in the United States. It also ranks as the sixth largest turkey producer in the United States, having slaughtered 283 million pounds of live turkeys in 2016.


Perdue CEO to business group: Public has the power

It's a ubiquitous sight on the Delmarva Peninsula, the bumper stickers declaring 'No Farmers, No Food.' Perdue Farms CEO Randy Day suggests a variation on that theme: 'No Consumers, No Food.'

Read More at Delmarva Now

Page 1 of 33
Next Page