Sanderson Farms history

Joe and Dewey built the first feed mill and hatchery in the area and incorporated their business in 1955 as Sanderson Brothers Farms.

Like both of the Sandersons before him, Odell, who had begun working for the company back in 1958, identified with the Sanderson family’s emphasis on integrity and treating people right.

In 1961, the company merged with Miss Goldy’s Chicken company.

The avenue to growth was provided by a bond issue passed by the citizens of the City of Laurel in 1964.

The facility, which became a major employer in the area, opened its doors in 1965.

The Laurel facility, which quickly became a major employer for the area, opened its doors in 1966, marking the beginning of a close relationship between the city of Laurel and Sanderson Farms.

Lampkin had joined the company back in 1973, working in a variety of capacities within the company including National Sales Representative, Shift Manager, Division Manager, Director of Processing and Sales, and Vice President of Sales.

In 1974, Sanderson Farms purchased an existing processing plant in Hammond, Louisiana.

In order to supply chicken for the processing facility in Hammond, the company built a new feed mill and hatchery located in Hazlehurst in 1978.

Then, in 1981, the company acquired Collins Chill Pack Division, which had been part of a company called MFC Services.

Joe Frank assumed the presidency of Sanderson Farms in 1982.

Joe Frank, Sr. served as president of the company for two years before Odell Johnson was named president in 1984 and Joe Frank transitioned to the role of Chairman of the Board.

Sanderson took a big step forward in 1986 when it purchased National Prepared Foods, based in Jackson, Mississippi, giving Sanderson an entry into the beef, pork, and seafood segments.

In 1987, though, the Sandersons took the company public with a stock offering that raised more than $16 million.

Two years after the company went public, yet another generation of Sanderson leadership emerged when Joe Frank Sanderson, Jr. succeeded Odell Johnson as president in 1989 after Johnson retired.

Most notable was Sanderson's 1990 introduction of a line of frozen entrees that included chicken primavera, lasagna, seafood gumbo, and Mexican casserole.

In fact, for the first time since 1991, Sanderson Farms is completely debt free in spite of building two $140 million poultry complexes in the past two years.

Since 1993, Sanderson Farms has built more poultry complexes than any other company in the nation.

In 1994 Sanderson Farms processed more than 160 million chickens to create about 522 million pounds of dressed meat.

In 1998, he transitioned to the role of chairman of the board as his father before him had done when Odell was named president.

In 2004, Joe Sanderson transitioned to the role of Chairman of the Board as his father before him had done when Odell Johnson was named president.

Under Joe and Lampkin’s leadership, Sanderson Farms entered a period of steady growth over the next ten years beginning with a 2005 expansion into Georgia.

In 2011, Sanderson Farms expanded to North Carolina for the first time, marking the company’s fifth state to build operations within.

Sanderson Farms’ latest fully operational complex addition was built in 2015 in Palestine, Texas.

Operations in St Pauls are scheduled to begin in early 2017.

In 2020, the company made more than $3.5 billion, processing more than 4.8 billion pounds of meat.