Perdue Hosts Community Appreciation Event

Perdue Farms held it’s annual community luncheon Thursday at the Parksley Fire Social Hall. Representives from the company including Jim Perdue talked about the ongoing efforts of the company to provide quality products produced in a safe enviroment for employees.  The Accomack plant was recognized for obtaining world class safety standards for  2025 and 2026 and is being viewed as the standard for all company facilities.

Perdue Farms remains the largest private employer on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, with approximately 1,850 employees at full capacity working at its poultry processing complex in Accomac.

The company is the backbone of the Shore’s poultry industry, supporting not only jobs inside the plant, but also hundreds of additional positions with contract chicken growers, trucking companies, feed suppliers, equipment dealers, veterinarians, refrigeration services, and other agricultural businesses throughout the region.

Although Perdue does not release production figures for individual plants, public records and company statements indicate the Accomac facility has the capacity to process up to 400,000 chickens a day. Based on typical industry operating schedules, that means the plant is estimated to process around 90 million chickens each year, with annual production likely ranging from 75 to 100 million birds.

The facility has grown steadily over the years. In the early 1980s, the plant processed about 250,000 chickens a day. By the late 1990s, that number had climbed to more than 300,000. Today, the Accomac operation is among the largest poultry processing plants on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Perdue’s operation serves as the center of an integrated poultry network stretching across Virginia’s Eastern Shore and neighboring Maryland and Delaware. Chickens raised by local contract growers are processed in Accomac before being shipped to grocery stores and restaurants across the eastern United States.

County planning documents identify Perdue as the Shore’s largest private employer. Combined with Tyson Foods’ processing plant in Temperanceville, the two companies provide more than 3,000 direct manufacturing jobs, making poultry processing the region’s largest private-sector industry.

For thousands of Eastern Shore residents, the poultry industry remains more than just a business. It is one of the region’s strongest economic engines, supporting families, local farms, and businesses while contributing millions of dollars each year to the local economy.

HR director Bel Holden along with other company officials said the Accomac plant offers steady employment starting at $17.50 per hour wages along with multiple benefits.  Officials stated that there are  multiple paths that lead to higher positions in the company. The event included many employees who had 30+ years experience at Perdue.

Perdue Chairman Jim Perdue commented that the decision build in Accomac in 1971 was one of the best from his father Frank Perdue.

Photo:  Jim Perdue addresses Community Appreciation Luncheon.