Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Div)

Establishment P247 is a poultry slaughter and processing plant at 28163 Highway 28 East in Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Mississippi. The federal record lists the establishment as Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Div), with associated names including Covington Farms, Sanderson Farms, LLC, Wayne Farms LLC, and Wayne-Sanderson Farms. FSIS lists the activities as poultry slaughter and poultry processing, classifies the plant in its largest size class, and records a grant of inspection date of June 17, 2020. The reported slaughter volume category is 5.0, the highest band in the FSIS scale, and no custom-exempt activity is reported.

The corporate website for Wayne-Sanderson Farms describes a company formed from two poultry companies and identifies itself as the nation's third-largest poultry producer, with 23 processing and prepared-foods plants, more than 26,000 employees, and roughly 2,000 contract family farmers across a footprint from North Carolina to Texas. Retail brands named on the site include Sanderson Farms, Naked Truth, and Covington Farms. Foodservice brands named include Wayne-Sanderson Farms, Wayne Farms, Harrison, Kosmic Krunch, Buffaloos, Fly'n Saucers, Crispy Fliers, Platinum Harvest, and Chef's Craft. The site does not break out which products or brands are produced at the Hazlehurst plant specifically.

This is a high-volume commercial operation serving wholesale retail and foodservice customers rather than a local locker plant. The sources on file describe no retail store, no on-site counter, and no custom or exempt slaughter for individual livestock owners. Details beyond the federal record and the corporate website are not yet on file.

The plant reports no custom-exempt activity to FSIS, so there is no indication in the sources that it processes animals owned by outside individuals or sells cut-and-wrap service to farmers. The company website instead describes a contract grower model: nearly 2,000 family farms raising broilers, breeders, and pullets, with support that the company describes as including a flock advisor, veterinarians, a technical services department, and training. The site states that about one third of its farmers are in Alabama, followed by Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arkansas, that 48 percent have grown for the company for 10 or more years, and that 24 percent are second generation or older. Growers interested in a contract are directed to the company contact page. No fees, house specifications, or contract terms are stated in the sources.

Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Div) 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 describe no retail counter, farm store, halves or quarters, bundles, delivery, or online ordering at this location. Household buyers would encounter the output of this company through packaged chicken sold under brands named on the website, including Sanderson Farms, Naked Truth, and Covington Farms. Whether products from the Hazlehurst plant are sold directly to the public at the site is not stated.

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.