OAKWOOD, OHIO – Officials with Cooper Farms’ turkey business are executing plans to add 500,000 birds to its annual capacity with plans to build 39 production barns to its operations. The construction of the new barns is scheduled to be completed in the next six months. The growth is part of the company’s expansion plan that includes adding barns at seven current Cooper Farms producers’ facilities, supplementing the barns they now maintain in addition to the company’s efforts to bring on new growers, which it said was not a given with the current state of the economy.   

“We were concerned that it would be hard to recruit growers with the high interest rates that exist right now,” said Bill Staugler, Cooper Farms’ live turkey production manager. “We were pleasantly surprised by the responses we received from current growers and prospective ones.”

“We are always strategically thinking about where our company can grow and how we can be a better supplier for our customers,” said Gary Cooper, Cooper Farms’ chief operating officer.  “With a huge expansion like this, it is important to recruit the right people to join the team.”

“It makes us feel good that a lot of our current growers want to expand,” said Staugler. “It tells us that they enjoy what they do and want to continue growing with us. We are excited to continue working with our family growers and look forward to working alongside the families that are joining our team.”