Cooper Farms is ramping up production in its turkey division, adding 39 new barns to its production lineup.
These barns are expected to accommodate an additional 500,000 birds produced each year, and the construction of the 39 new barns is projected to be completed by January 1, 2024.
“We are always strategically thinking about where our company can grow and how we can be a better supplier for our customers,” Cooper Farms Chief Operating Officer Gary Cooper said in a press release.
In order to make this production expansion possible, Cooper Farms needed to recruit the right people, and the company believes it has done just that.
“We were concerned that it would be hard to recruit growers with the high interest rates that exist right now,” Cooper Farms Live Turkey Production Manager Bill Staugler said. “We were pleasantly surprised by the responses we received from current growers and prospective ones.”
Seven existing family growers have chosen to grow their farms with the expansion, while seven new families have chosen to join Cooper Farms with this endeavor.
“It makes us feel good that a lot of our current growers want to expand. It tells us that they enjoy what they do and want to continue growing with us,” said Staugler. “We are excited to continue working with our family growers and look forward to working alongside the families that are joining our team.”
Cooper Farms is a diversified agrifood company with operations in the turkey, egg and pig industries. It ranks as the seventh largest turkey producer in the United States, having slaughtered 306 million pounds of live turkeys during the past year. As an egg producer, Cooper Farms ranks as the 16th largest in the nation with a flock of 6.18 million laying hens, according to information from the WATTPoultry.com Top Poultry Companies Database.
