Sanderson Farms, Inc.

Sanderson Farms, Inc., establishment P320, operates a poultry slaughter and processing plant at 2535 Sanderson Drive in Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi. The FSIS directory lists the establishment under several doing-business-as names, including Covington Farms, Sanderson Farms, LLC, Wayne Farms LLC, and Wayne-Sanderson Farms. FSIS records the activities as poultry processing and poultry slaughter, classify the plant in the large size category, and show a grant of inspection date on file of December 23, 2020. The slaughter volume category is reported as 5.0, the highest tier in the FSIS scale, and no custom-exempt activity is reported.

The plant is part of Wayne-Sanderson Farms, which its website describes as the nation's third-largest poultry producer, formed from two poultry companies with roots in farm supply and feed manufacturing. The company site reports 23 processing and prepared-foods plants, more than 26,000 employees, and about 2,000 contract family farmers, with farms and facilities from North Carolina to Texas. Retail brands named on the site include Sanderson Farms, Naked Truth, and Covington Farms; foodservice brands include Wayne Farms, Platinum Harvest, Chef's Craft, Kosmic Krunch, Buffaloos, Fly'n Saucers, Crispy Fliers, and Harrison.

This is a commercial-scale integrated poultry operation rather than a local locker or custom shop. Nothing in the sources describes a retail counter, on-site sales, hours of operation, or custom slaughter for individual owners at this address. Details beyond the federal record and the company website are not yet on file.

The federal record reports no custom-exempt activity at this establishment, and neither the FSIS listing nor the company website describes custom slaughter, cut-and-wrap service, booking, or fees for animals hauled in by an individual farmer. The company website instead describes a contract growing relationship: Wayne-Sanderson Farms states it partners with nearly 2,000 family farmers across broiler, breeder, and pullet farms, with support that includes a flock advisor, veterinarians, and a technical services department. The site says about one third of its farmers are in Alabama, followed by Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arkansas, that 48 percent have farmed with the company for 10 or more years, and that 24 percent are second generation or older. Farmers interested in growing are directed to the company contact page. Terms, contract details, and any local grower availability at Laurel are not stated.

Sanderson Farms, Inc. operates under a federal grant of inspection, so product from this plant can be sold anywhere in the United States, which matters if you sell online or across a state line. FSIS does not list a custom-exempt activity for this plant.

The sources do not describe a retail store, farm store, halves or bundles, online ordering, delivery, or shipping at this address. Products from the plant reach households through company retail brands sold at grocery, including Sanderson Farms, described on the site as 100 percent natural, fresh, and never frozen, along with Naked Truth and Covington Farms. Household questions about products or recipes are handled through the company contact pages rather than at the plant, as listed.

If you are buying a half or quarter animal, the plant is where the animal is processed; the farm sells you the animal. Read how to buy a half cow for the sequence and the math.