Sanderson Farms’ Kinston, North Carolina production division was recently awarded four Aviagen Flock Awards during the poultry breeder’s third annual awards ceremony. Each year, Aviagen honors leading poultry producers in their production of Aviagen’s parent stock and broiler flocks. Members of Kinston Production’s Breeder Department were honored for their exceptional performance and production of Aviagen’s top selling parent stock, Ross 708.

“It’s no easy feat to reach these impressive ranks of performance,” said Randall Vickery, Regional Technical Manager for Aviagen. “Doing so requires team work, commitment, attention to detail and sound management practices, optimizing the genetic potential of our products.”

During a ceremony led by representatives from Aviagen, Kinston Production received four engraved crystal egg trophies to commemorate their achievements. Kinston Production achieved outstanding results in four different performance areas including Top Egg Producer, Top Hatching Eggs, Top Hatch and Top Chicks. The Kinston, North Carolina Breeder Department excelled in all of the four categories with a total of 175.68 total eggs per hen housed, 173.47 total hatching eggs per hen housed, 87.22 overall hatch and 151.32 total chicks per hen housed.

“We received first place awards for all of the four categories, which is pretty impressive to Aviagen,” said Tommy Robertson, Division Manager for Sanderson Farms’ Kinston Production division. “We have a great team of breeder techs, a pullet tech, a pullet handler and a Breeder-Hatchery Manager that work really well together. They all want Kinston and Sanderson Farms to perform to the best of their ability.”

Since the facility was built in 2011, Kinston Production has strived to do their best and produce results that help the company to maintain a position within the top ten percent of the industry. Robertson spoke highly of his team’s performance, stating that they were some of the
most dedicated and detail-oriented employees he had ever worked with.

“Because we’re a new division, we’re pretty open-minded and we don’t have the mentality of ‘we’ve always done it this way.’ We are open to new ideas and new ways of doing things,” said Harry Parker, Breeder Flock Supervisor for Kinston Production. “We don’t have any secrets or magic, it’s just the basics.”

Members of the Kinston Production Breeder Department that earned Aviagen industry honors include Tommy Robertson, Division Manager; William “David” Lee, Jr., Production Manager; Beverly McLendon, Breeder-Hatchery Manager; Matthew Godwin, Breeder Flock Supervisor; William “Junior” Johnson, Jr., Breeder Flock Supervisor; Harry Parker, Breeder Flock Supervisor; Justin Sinclair, Breeder Flock Supervisor; Willie Kimble, Pullet Flock Supervisor; Brian Hester, Pullet Handling Coordinator; Mike Peoples, Advanced Trainee II; Eric “Josh” Thigpen, Production Supervisor Trainee; and Mark Paylor, Beginning Trainee.

“On behalf of Sanderson Farms, I would like to thank the entire team at Kinston Production for their commitment to excellence and their devotion to helping Sanderson Farms excel within the industry,” said Randy Pettus, Director of Production for Sanderson Farms. “Achieving top honors in not just one, but four different categories within Aviagen’s Flock Awards is quite exceptional and something this team should truly be proud of.”

As the worldwide market leader in poultry breeding, Aviagen uses advanced genetic selection techniques as part of its global pedigree breeding operations to consistently deliver genetic improvement to the broiler industry. The company focuses on producing healthy birds through established and sustainable selection and breeding programs, as well as strong educational, technological and welfare innovations.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Kinston Production Breeder Department that earned Aviagen industry honors include, from left, Justin Sinclair, Breeder Flock Supervisor; William “Junior” Johnson, Jr., Breeder Flock Supervisor; Mark Paylor, Beginning Trainee; Tommy Robertson, Division Manager; Harry Parker, Breeder Flock Supervisor; Brian Hester, Pullet Handling Coordinator; William “David” Lee, Jr., Production Manager; Eric “Josh” Thigpen, Production Supervisor Trainee; and Willie Kimble, Pullet Flock Supervisor. Not pictured are Matthew Godwin, Breeder Flock Supervisor; Mike Peoples, Advanced Trainee II; and Beverly McLendon, Breeder-Hatchery Manager.