Perdue Farms

Company information

• Date founded: 1920
• Industry: Poultry and livestock farming
• Corporate headquarters: Salisbury, Maryland
• Type: Private

Overview

Perdue Farms is one of the largest poultry providers in the United States. Founded by Arthur W. Perdue, it has remained in the control of the Perdue family since its inception. Though the company was originally founded as an egg farm, it has since grown to encompass every part of the process of raising and slaughtering poultry. This enables Perdue to maintain complete control over its product.

Perdue Farms has engaged in a longstanding rivalry with Tyson Foods and its subsidiary brands. Throughout the twentieth century, this rivalry forced both poultry production companies to continually develop new products, eventually propelling them to become industry giants. Purdue has also secured its position by remaining ahead of consumer trends. It was one of the first major poultry producers to work to reduce animal cruelty and provide organic, antibiotic-free product lines.

History

Arthur W. Perdue, the founder of Perdue Farms, first made his living working in railroad shipping. While doing this, he noticed that many of the wealthiest farmers made their fortune by shipping large quantities of eggs. After marrying in 1917, Perdue decided to begin saving money to enter the poultry business. By 1920, he had officially founded his poultry company, which would later become Perdue Farms.

However, by 1925, Perdue realized that his plan of selling large quantities of eggs was not as profitable as he had hoped. Instead, he began breeding large numbers of chicks, which he could then sell to other poultry farmers. Perdue began breeding his livestock to produce quality chicks instead of eggs and quickly developed a reputation as a quality poultry vendor. When many other businesses failed during the Great Depression (1929–1933), Perdue persisted.

In 1939, Frank Perdue Jr. joined the company, following in the footsteps of his father. In 1952, the younger Perdue took over as the company’s president. The business was already performing extremely well at that point, selling more than 2.6 million birds each year. In 1953, Perdue Farms officially incorporated.

Perdue Farms continued these practices until 1961 when the company borrowed money to finance a soybean mill. The company then began an extensive process of vertical integration, eventually ending in gaining control of some of the largest feed milling operations in the eastern United States. By the end of this process, Purdue Farms had significantly scaled up its operations, now selling more than 35 million animals per year.

In 1968, Perdue transitioned from livestock sales to general meat sales. Instead of selling to other farmers, Perdue sold directly to consumers through retail outlets and became a major company in the meatpacking industry. That same year, Perdue opened its first independent poultry operating plant. Soon, Perdue Farms became a household name in supermarkets across the United States. In 1971, the competing Holly Farms also began selling meat under its own brand in supermarkets. Later, Holly Farms would become a subsidiary of the food giant Tyson Foods.

The two companies remained rivals over the following decade. They routinely introduced new products, each trying to outdo the other. For example, Perdue Farms began offering hot dogs that were stuffed with chicken, which few other meat companies offered. After Holly Farms began offering precut chicken nuggets, Perdue Farms began selling breaded, precooked chicken products. As the rivalry between the two companies pushed them to create more products, both companies continued to grow. By 1985, the companies collectively accounted for 25 percent of the fresh chicken sold in the United States.

By the late 1990s, Perdue Farms had become an industry giant, selling food in more than thirty countries across the world. The company maintained control over every stage of the chicken lifecycle, even owning the factories that made the food used to raise their chickens. Throughout the twenty-first century, Perdue continued to acquire other companies to compete aggressively against Tyson Foods. Though the company has been periodically criticized for its treatment of poultry, Perdue Farms has repeatedly altered its process to reduce animal cruelty.

Impact

Though Perdue has been criticized in the past for its treatment of poultry and its environmental impact, the brand has since worked to improve its perception among consumers. Perdue Farms states that growth hormones are never used to increase the size of its livestock, and it works alongside animal rights organizations to minimize the amount of cruelty that animals experience during the farming process. Additionally, the poultry giant has launched premium organic brands for both chicken and beef, promising that no antibiotics were used in the farming of such animals. By openly making those claims, Perdue Farms has worked to push its competitors toward reducing cruelty and improving sustainability. The company has also ensured that it remains at the forefront of consumers’ continually changing demands for their food.

While in the past, the Perdue brand was responsible solely for farming chickens, in the twenty-first century, the company owns many other products and services. These include Coleman Natural Foods, Niman Ranch, Prairie Grove, Panorama Organic, Petaluma Poultry, and many other retail brands.

While it has a mostly positive reputation, the company has had its share of controversies. Perdue has been criticized for its strict control over the farmers it employs. Critics allege that the giant has worked to remove other options for its farmers, forcing them to submit to Perdue’s strict regulations and difficult profit margins. Though profitable for Perdue, this has caused many farmers to struggle financially. Into the mid-2020s, Perdue Farms was run by Kevin McAdams, who became the Chief Executive Officer in July 2023. The company reported annual sales in excess of $10 billion in 2024.

Bibliography

Abrams, Lindsay. “Chicken Farmer Who Spoke Out About Factory Farm Abuses Immediately Audited by Perdue.” Salon, 5 Dec. 2014, www.salon.com/2014/12/05/chicken‗farmer‗who‗spoke‗out‗about‗factory‗farm‗abuses‗immediately‗audited‗by‗perdue. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.

“Kevin McAdams Succeeds Randy Day as CEO of Perdue Farms.” Purdue Farms, 12 July 2023, corporate.perduefarms.com/news/press-releases/kevin-mcadams-succeeds-randy-day-as-ceo-of-perdue-farms/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.

"Our Legacy." Perdue Farms, corporate.perduefarms.com/company/legacy. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.

“The Perdue Farms Brands.” Perdue Farms, www.perduefarms.com/en-US/brands-page.html. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.

“Perdue Farms History.” Zippia.com, www.zippia.com/perdue-farms-careers-34653/history. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.

“Perdue Farms Revenue.” Zippia, www.zippia.com/perdue-farms-careers-34653/revenue. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.

“Perdue Responds to Abuse Exposé with Groundbreaking Animal Welfare Policy.” Sustainable Brands, sustainablebrands.com/read/behavior-change/perdue-responds-to-abuse-expose-with-groundbreaking-animal-welfare-policy. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.

Sainato, Michael. "'I Can't Get Above Water:' How America’s Chicken Giant Perdue Controls Farmers." The Guardian, 14 Mar. 2020, www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/14/i-cant-get-above-water-how-americas-chicken-giant-perdue-controls-farmers. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.