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Pilgrim’s Pride adds to MSU feed mill’s construction nest egg
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Tuesday, 03 June, 2025, 15 : 00 PM [IST]
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Mississippi, USA
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Pilgrim’s Pride, a global leader in poultry production, has donated a major gift toward constructing a new poultry feed mill facility at Mississippi State. The company’s $100,000 gift marks another chapter in demonstrating its longstanding relationship with the university’s poultry science department.
The company partners with MSU for internship and mentoring programs—produces fresh, frozen and value-added products from its operations across 14 US States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the UK and Europe. The company likewise supports MSU through involvement in courses, advisory boards and primary sponsorship of the poultry science department’s annual crawfish boil and tailgate.
Fabio Sandri, Pilgrim’s CEO, said, “Pilgrim’s is proud of our role in the development of the new Mississippi State University Feed Mill. We have a strong, longstanding partnership with the MSU poultry science department, and we look forward to continued support of the next generation of poultry professionals and the advancement of our industry overall.”
The university’s 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 Station’s H.H. Leveck Animal Research Centre, or South Farm, includes an updated exterior, increased facility footprint and addition of a pelleting line. The project is slated to begin next year.
Kelley Wamsley, associate professor of poultry science, said, “Feed 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. The 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.”
The feed mill also will help support the department’s recent growth in faculty, along with a newly approved curriculum to provide further education in feed manufacturing. This curriculum represents the department’s continued support of the industry, with a 2024 MSU 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.
Will Staggers, director of development for MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said, “By equipping students with practical knowledge and real-world experience in feed manufacturing, we’re training the next generation of industry professionals—many of whom will likely become valued members of the Pilgrim’s Pride team.”
“This is not just an investment in the brick and mortar for another building—it is much more than that. This is investing in the future of poultry science, the future of the industry and feeding the world,” concluded Wamsley.
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