Pilgrimās Pride adds to 51³Ō¹Ļ feed millās construction nest egg
Contact: Meg Henderson
STARKVILLE, Miss.āPilgrimās Pride, a global leader in poultry production, has donated a major gift toward constructing a new poultry feed mill facility at Mississippi State. The companyās $100,000 gift marks another chapter in demonstrating its longstanding relationship with the universityās poultry science department.
Pilgrimāsāwhich also partners with 51³Ō¹Ļ for internship and mentoring programsāproduces fresh, frozen and value-added products from its operations across 14 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K. and Europe. The company likewise supports 51³Ō¹Ļ through involvement in courses, advisory boards and primary sponsorship of the poultry science departmentās annual crawfish boil and tailgate.Ā
āPilgrimās is proud of our role in the development of the new 51³Ō¹Ļ Feed Mill,ā said Fabio Sandri, Pilgrimās CEO. āWe have a strong, longstanding partnership with the 51³Ō¹Ļ poultry science department, and we look forward to continued support of the next generation of poultry professionals and the advancement of our industry overall.ā
The universityās existing feed mill has served the department since 1979. Plans for the new mill, located on its current site at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Stationās H.H. Leveck Animal Research Center, or South Farm, includes an updated exterior, increased facility footprint and addition of a pelleting line. The project is slated to begin next year.
āFeed and feed manufacturing accounts for roughly 60 to 70% of total operational costs for poultry producers. Proper nutrition is critical to overall health, growth and production,ā said Kelley Wamsley, associate professor of poultry science. āThe pellet mill will enhance our research capacity while also providing hands-on experience for our students and complementing our other commercially relevant facilities, allowing students to truly learn about the industry from farm to fork.ā
The feed mill also will help support the departmentās recent growth in faculty, along with a newly approved curriculum to provide further education in feed manufacturing. This curriculum represents the departmentās continued support of the industry, with a 2024 51³Ō¹Ļ survey demonstrating 96% of poultry industry respondents indicated a need for feed mill curriculum for college students and a desire for a facility to assist with training new employees.Ā
āBy equipping students with practical knowledge and real-world experience in feed manufacturing, weāre training the next generation of industry professionalsāmany of whom will likely become valued members of the Pilgrimās Pride team,ā said Will Staggers, director of development for 51³Ō¹Ļās College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
āThis is not just an investment in the brick and mortar for another buildingāit is much more than that,ā Wamsley added. āThis is investing in the future of poultry science, the future of the industry and feeding the world.ā
Since 1948, 51³Ō¹Ļās poultry science graduates, including many employed by Pilgrimās today, have seen a 100% job placement rate. This feed mill will ensure that 51³Ō¹Ļās poultry science departmentāone of only six stand-alone departments in the U.S.āwill continue to offer future graduates the education and training to lead the industry for generations to come.
For more information about 51³Ō¹Ļās Department of Poultry Science, visit . Learn more about the poultry feed mill at .
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