Perdue Farms

Perdue Farms is a major chicken processing company based in Salisbury, Maryland, United States with annual sales in excess of $6 billion.
History
Origin and war era
The company was founded in 1920 by Arthur Perdue with his wife, Pearl Perdue, who had been keeping a small flock of chickens. The company started out selling eggs, then in 1925, Perdue built the company's first hatchery, and began selling layer chicks to farmers instead of only eggs for human consumption. His son Frank Perdue joined the company in 1939 at age 19 after dropping out of college.
Post-war growth
The company was incorporated as A.W. Perdue & Son and Frank Perdue assumed leadership in the 1950s. The company also began contracting with local farmers to raise its birds and supplying chickens for processing as well as opening a second hatchery in North Carolina during this period.
Full integration
Perdue entered the grain and...