Many businesses in western Kentucky were hit by the storms on December 10th, 2021. That includes Pilgrim’s Pride which has a huge presence in Mayfield.
There’s pride in the fact that the lines are still running at Pilgrim’s Pride in Mayfield. The location processes roughly 1.9 million birds a week.
“Every day is different but we stay busy,” says Kent Massey the complex manager in Mayfield. “There’s no consistency in the chicken business other than it’s very busy.”
The county’s largest employer, with some 1350 hands on deck supporting more than 250 family farmers, did not escape last year’s tornado unscathed.
“When I first saw it, I was like, oh my God,” remembers Massey. “Mayfield was just severely damaged. It was something you see on the news and not something you see in your hometown.”
Two hatcheries and their feed mill were damaged. Plus several trucks were destroyed which made continued operation a significant challenge.
Massey remembers asking the questions: How are we going to make this work? How are we going to feed our chickens? How are we going to hatch your birds.
“I mean, when you don’t have a hatchery and you don’t have a feed mill, it’s just kind of hard to do those things,” he says.
That’s when neighbors, fellow farmers and even other companies stepped in to help.
“It was a huge piece just to coordinate everything,” says Massey. “I had some guys just scheduling the feed, some guys scheduling the hatching, some guys scheduling the birds going out. It was different.”
While the company found its footing and eventually got one of the hatcheries up and running, the people that make up the workforce were also still dealing with the fallout from the storm.
“We had four families, I think, that actually lost their homes,” says Massey. “We had 14 other families that had damage.”
While other companies donated trailers full of food, dry goods, water, diapers and blankets, corporately, Pilgrim’s Pride also gave back in time, resources and monetarily. In May, the company donated $1 million to help rebuild 10 homes through the Hope Initiative and another $250,000 to rebuild the park.
“At the end of the day this whole community came together and I do believe Mayfield will be stronger from this,” says Massey.
A moment of pride for a company and a community as they continue their race toward recovery.
