Gold Kist was a large
chicken producing company in the southern United States. It was founded in 1933 by
D.W. Brooks
David William Brooks (September 11, 1901 – August 5, 1999) was an American farmer and businessman.
Born in Royston, Georgia, Brooks enrolled at the age of 16 at the University of Georgia (UGA) and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agricul ...
, a
University of Georgia agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
instructor as the Cotton Producers Association, a
cooperative to help farmers in
Carrollton, Georgia, market cotton. It soon grew and diversified into fields such as
fertilizer and retailing farm supplies. It soon entered the poultry business. In 1998 it exited the agronomy business to focus on protein products, primarily chicken but also pork. In 2004, with the approval of its membership, it converted from being a cooperative to a for-profit stock-ownership company, listed on
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
. In 2006, Gold Kist was acquired by
Pilgrim's Pride
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is an American, multi-national food company, currently one of the largest chicken producers in the United States and Puerto Rico and the second-largest chicken producer in Mexico. It exited bankruptcy in December 2009 ...
.
Operations
Gold Kist operated nine fully integrated poultry divisions in
Alabama,
Georgia,
Florida and
North and
South Carolina. Each division operated its own
hatchery, feed mill, and processing plant.
Co-op
Gold Kist contracted with approximately 2,300 family
farmers
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...
to raise the chickens. The farmers provide the
houses, equipment, utilities and labor to grow the birds. Gold Kist provides the chicks, feed and technical assistance. When the chickens reach market weight, Gold Kist processes and markets them. This contractual arrangement gives farmers access to global markets but reduces their exposure to market
volatility.
Farms
Gold Kist operated three types of chicken farms;
pullet,
layer, and
broiler.
Pullet
Operations
The company's pullet farms are where select breeds are raised to about 20
Layers
Operations
On a Gold Kist layer farm pullets were grown for a few weeks along with
roosters (about 1 rooster for every 8-10 hens) where they begin to mate and eventually lay eggs. The eggs that leave a Gold Kist layer farm (usually twice per week) were taken to the local division's hatchery. The birds were kept here for no more than 10 months.
Specifications
A Gold Kist layer house was usually 30–40 feet wide and 400–600 feet long. Each may house about 15,000 birds. A farm may contain a number of these but most contain only two side-by-side houses. Inside the house there are several automated systems including feed chains, water pipes, curtain drops, fans (two for every of length of the house), and a
cool cell system acting like an air conditioning system during hot days.
Broiler
Operations
The layer hens' hatched chicks were taken to a Gold Kist broiler farm where they were grown from the day they hatch (usually just hours after hatching) for about 6 to 8 weeks.
Specifications
A Gold Kist broiler house was usually 30–40 feet wide and 400–600 feet long. Each may house thousands of chicks. A farm may contain a number of these; most contain about 4-6 houses. Inside the house there are several automated systems including feed chains, water pipes, curtain drops, fans, and a gas heating system to keep chicks warm.
KFC uses Gold Kist Farm Chicken.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Goldkist home page
Former cooperatives of the United States
Companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
Food and drink companies established in 1933
Agriculture companies of the United States
1933 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)