Dakota Provisions has promoted Jordan Woodbury to president and CEO, the turkey processing company announced on February 4. Woodbury will be replacing Ken Rutledge, who is retiring after 47 years in the industry.
Woodbury has more than 24 years of experience in the meat and poultry industry, and has been employed with Dakota Provisions since 2005. He has first-hand experience working in the operational, food safety, quality, research and development, sales, and marketing areas of the company.
Woodbury will oversee all aspects of Dakota Provisions LLC, which includes two processing facilities, one cold storage facility, two warehouses, a lab and two employee markets in South Dakota.
He holds a master’s degree in public health with a focus on environmental health and food safety, as well as a bachelor of science degree in animal science and agricultural systems management with a minor in agricultural economics. He currently serves as secretary/treasurer of the board of directors of the South Dakota Poultry Industries Association, and he is a member of the National Turkey Federation (NTF).
Woodbury, along with his wife and three children, is active in the community of Huron, South Dakota, where Dakota Provisions is headquartered.
Dakota Provisions, according to the WATT Poultry Top Companies Database, was formed in 2004 by members of the Dakota Turkey Growers and is devoted to the survival and heritage of its primarily Hutterite farmers. Ownership is divided among the 43 growers. It employs 1,064. Dakota Provisions slaughtered 221 million pounds of live turkeys in 2019, an increase of 11 million pounds – or about 5.2% – from 2018.
In 2019, the company introduced its first consumer turkey products brand, Dakota 44, which according to the company, offers a variety of creatively crafted fresh turkey products, delivering a wide range of on-trend flavor profiles that come in several easy-meal and snacking forms.
