The South Carolina Poultry Federation (SCPF) selected broiler grower Glenn Poole as its 2007 Grower of the Year at its annual meeting held earlier this summer in Hilton Head, S.C. Poole and his wife Chris have been raising broilers since 1995. The family has six houses on contract with Amick Farms. Glenn has played an active role in trying to prevent over regulation of poultry farming at the local level in Aiken as well as at the state level. South Carolina had a lively political debate over the proper role of local government in regulating the setbacks and zoning for new poultry houses, and this led to stronger state “right to farm” legislation being enacted.
In addition to caring for his flocks of broilers, Glenn Poole also works as a manure broker, sprays fields and spreads litter on other farms, cuts hay, sells poultry house equipment and raises cows on his 205 acre farm.
Also nominated for the SCPF Poultry Grower of the Year award were Mike Corbett, Robert Huggins and Gerald Fowler. Mike Corbett and his family raise broilers for Pilgrim’s Pride in four houses. Corbett is also a part owner and president of Carolina Eastern Chemical which provides fertilizer and seed grain to many local farming operations.
Huggins raises broilers for Perdue Farms and has 12 houses on three separate farms. One of the Dillon, S.C., complex’s first growers, Huggins has been raising broilers since 1994.
Gerald Fowler raises tom turkeys for Circle S Ranch. He has been Circle S Ranch grower of the year two times in the last five years. He has also worked as an electrical supervisor for Tietex International for 34 years.