Ron Prestage, one of five owners of Prestage Farms, believes that a business has a responsibility to support and enhance the community in which it operates. By purchasing supplies and services from local sources whenever possible, Clinton, NC-based Prestage Farms is a huge contributor to the local economy.

“We make sure we buy everything locally first, such as trucks, fuel, and other services,” Prestage said. “But in some instances, that isn’t possible.” The Southeast is a grain-deficient area, and there isn’t enough corn grown there to supply all the poultry and livestock operations in the region. Prestage Farms relies heavily on corn and soybeans from the Midwest.

Prestage Farms also makes contributions to civic groups, fire departments, and school systems. “We want our community to thrive and have the resources necessary to provide the traditional aspects of rural America as well as the modern conveniences and technologies of the new millennium.”

Family advantage
Prestage Farms is one of America’s leading producers of pork and poultry, producing over 675 million pounds of pork and 430 million pounds of turkey per year for a total of 1.1 billion pounds of meat annually. The company does business with industry leaders such as Sarah Lee, Smithfield Foods, and Kraft.

The farm draws most of its strength from being a family-owned business with a diverse background. Prestage’s parents founded the business in 1983, his father having experience with a feed company as a regional sales manager. He has been in the business of producing pork, turkeys, and broiler chickens for more than 40 years.

Prestage is a former equine veterinarian, and his two younger brothers bring their talents in nutrition and accounting to the company. “We all play an active role in the business to make sure we’re in tune with what’s going on,” he said.

The family has no interest in taking the company public, which gives it advantages such as a strong balance sheet. “We’re concerned about keeping the company in good financial status for our children in case they want to stay in the business,” said the owner. “There’s no turnover at the top. We don’t change CEOs or presidents like most companies. That’s an advantage for us in the long run.”

Under control
Avian influenza, also known as the bird flu, has been at the heart of the media’s attention and is a major concern for those involved in the poultry industry. But according to Prestage, the poultry industry hasn’t done a good job explaining to the public that the US model of production is the most effective in controlling diseases such as the bird flu.

“Attempts to stop the disease from spreading in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe have been unsuccessful,” said Prestage. “Part of the reason is most of the poultry production in those areas of the world aren’t in confinement, and the virus gets spread by migratory water fowl.”

In the US, the majority of poultry production is in total confinement, which would prevent flocks from exposure. “For those in the industry, this is common knowledge, but the general public fears that if the bird flu spreads to the US, it will be like it has been in the rest of the world—uncontrollable,” he said. “I don’t believe that’s the case at all. If we get an outbreak in the US, it will most likely be quickly diagnosed, controlled, and eradicated.”

But to reassure the consumer, Prestage Farms is taking preventative measures in case of an outbreak. The company has worked closely with state veterinarians and the USDA on a course of action and frequently does its own testing to be confident it doesn’t have the virus in its flocks. “All of our employees—from growers to truck drivers—have been educated on strict security measures to make sure we don’t inadvertently track any diseases into our farms,” Prestage said.

“The worst position I can find myself in is not knowing the status of our flocks at all times. It’s very easy to diagnose Avian influenza because the birds get sick very quickly, so I don’t want to have any delay from the time a flock gets infected to the time I pull out all the stops to eradicate it,” said Prestage. “We’ve seen how much trouble the outbreak caused in other parts of the world, and we don’t want to repeat their mistakes.”