Lots of Peeps to East Texas

​​​​EAST TEXAS – Sanderson Farms Inc. tentatively selected two sites in Smith and Wood counties for
construction of a new feed mill, hatchery, poultry processing plant and waste water
treatment facility.

These facilities will comprise a state-of-the-art poultry
complex with the capacity to process 1.25 million birds per week for retail
chill pack customers.

At full capacity, the complex will:

• employ approximately
  1,700 people;
• require 80 contract growers; and 
• be equipped to process
  and sell approximately 375 million pounds of dressed poultry meat annually at
  full production.

Sanderson Farms expects to invest approximately $200 million
and anticipates that associated contract growers will invest an additional $135
million in poultry production facilities.

The company expects to begin construction of the facilities
during summer 2017, with initial operations of the new complex to begin during
first fiscal quarter 2019.