Section B
The News-Journal
Thursday, November 28, 1985
Editorials ? Columns ? Features ? Classified ads
House of Raeford
' It's a lot more than turkeys
by Lee Harris Potter
Most Hoke County residents are
aware that the House of Raeford is
one of the state's largdst turkey
processing plants.
However, many may not know
| that the Raeford plant is only a
part of a larger poultry business
owned by the Johnson family,
which has helped North Carolina
lead the nation in turkey produc
tion.
In addition to the House of
Raeford plant, the Johnsons own
turkey and chicken hatcheries,
breeder farms, a turkey breeding
research facility in Garland, two
| grain elevators, and a rendering
plant called Eastern Byproducts in
Rose Hill.
Turkey processing has become
extremely efficient.
Parts considered inedible by
humans are ground up and put
back into the turkey feed or sold to
Purina.
Even the feathers are cooked
and squeezed for their oil which is
I sold to cosmetic manufacturers
because it dissolves at low heat and
is therefore a good lipstick base.
Of the 30 million turkeys grown
in North Carolina annually, 10
million are sent out of state for
processing.
House of Raeford processes
40"7o of the remaining turkeys, and
its competitors. Swift & Co. in
Wallace, Carolina Turkeys in Mt.
. Olive, and Cuddy Foods in
' Monroe take care of the rest.
Marvin Johnson, president and
owner of House of Raeford, got
into the turkey business when his
mother successfully raised a few
birds on their farm in Duplin
County. Like many American
farm families, they bought their
first incubator from Sears
Roebuck Co.
Johnson's father, Nash
I Johnson, and brother, Bizzell
Johnson, gradually switched from
tobacoo and strawberry farming to
raising turkeys.
"House of Raeford started out
as an old freezer-locker in about
1958," said Marvin Johnson.
"Then it was made into a turkey
plant and leased to Priebe & Sons
from Chicago. They went broke in
1961."
) In 1962 the Johnsons, together
with the Stones from Lumberton,
the Murrays from Mt. Olive, and
the Evans from Laurinburg,
bought the turkey plant from
bankruptcy court. '
The plant has grown from 250
employees to over 900.
By 1978 the Johnsons had
bought out their three partners,
I and last year Marvin Johson
bought his brother's interest.
Ed Manning has been with the
company since 1962 and managed
the plant with Leonard Froehm,
who retired in 1974.
When the plant first opened only
5,000 to 6,000 turkeys could be
processed a day because the
freezers would only hold 30,000
pounds.
"By 1974 we were processing 2.5
million pounds a week. Now we're
up to 4 million pounds a week,"
Manning said.
North Carolina is now leading
the country in turkey production
with Minnesota and California
close behind. Within our state
Duplin County has the biggest
turkey population, but Sampson
and Wayne counties are two other
big producers in eastern North
Carolina.
Before 1960 South Carolina pro
duced more turkeys than North
Carolina. During the 1950's
farmers would grow from 2,000 to
5,000 turkeys for one time of year,
the holidays, Manning said.
When farmers like the Johnsons
began year-round production with
more efficient feeding, breeding
and farm management techniques,
the small-time turkey producers
were squeezed out of the market.
Many of the turkeys processed
at the Raeford plant are grown on
the Johnson breeding farms, but
the company also employs contract
growers to whom they supply the
poults (baby turkeys) and the feed.
Geneticists at the Johnson
turkey breeding research facility
have developed a new breed of
turkey which is, not surprisingly,
called the "Johnson Great White
Turkey." The company expects to
develop a substantial market for
this bird among the commercial
poultry growers.
The House of Raeford was the
first company on the East Coast to
market fresh chill-packed turkeys
in addition to frozen birds, thereby
allowing small retailers to compete
with chain food stores.
"Right now at holidays you
rarely find someone in retailing
business who wouldn't lose money
on frozen poultry," said Manning.
House of Raeford is noted for
diversifying turkey products.
Besides regular whole turkeys, the
plant produces turkey ham,
bologna, hot dogs, sausage, nug
gets, ground turkey, and even
turkey cube steak.
Brenda Branch, food service deli
sales manager, said customers are
buying more turkey now because it
is available in so many forms and
is more nutritious and less expen
sive than other meats.
"In the last five years, House of
Raeford really has been recognized
as a big brand name in the in
dustry," she said.
The food-service market, which
includes hospitals, schools and
nursing homes, is larger than the
retail market for cooked turkey
products. Retail buyers for large
food chains also tend to be less
dependable customers because
they will switch to another product
for a small amount of money.
House of Raeford is one of the
few turkey plants in America ap
proved by the Common Market
sanitation inspectors to export pro
cessed meat to Europe.
Common Market inspection of
American factories is more
rigorous than its inspection of
European factories because of pro
tectionists attitudes, Manning said.
Even so, the House of Raeford
has maintained a strong German
franchise for the past 20 years
which has purchased as much as 15
million pounds of processed turkey
a year.
But European sales have declin
ed recently due to the fluctuation
of the dollar on the international
money market.
House of Raeford was recently
rated by Turkey World magazine
the ninth largest turkey plant in the
country with 145 million liveweight
pounds of turkey processed com
pared to the largest turkey plant,
Louis Rich Foods in California
with 335 million liveweight
pounds.
Workers at 'House of Raeford
only kill turkeys on one shift
although they process and pack the
birds on two shifts. The entire
operation is confined to a single
plant, and so the magazine statistic
compares House of Raeford
favorably to large companies with
several plants working three shifts.
The company was aTso>?bgniz
ed by Consumer Reports in 1981
and 1982 as producing the number
one raw turkey breast in the coun
try.
In spite of careful scheduling,
the holiday months are very hectic
at the turkey plant. But during
January and February the pace
slows down to three- and four-day
weeks, Mrs. Branch said.
The slow months pose no pro
blems for the 42 salaried
employees, but it is a difficult time
for the plant workers who are paid
hourly, and many of them must
draw unemployment.
The company is trying to raise
the hourly pay because it is not
much above the minimum wage,
Mrs. Branch said.
Although the House of Raeford
is an expanding business, the
publicity from the North Carolina
Turkey Festival certainly didn't
hurt.
The festival generated some new
turkey customers, Mrs. Branch
said.
House of Rmford owner, Marvin Johnson, (left), jokes with an employ ee during his rounds of the
plant last week.
Plant worker Onedia Pebia cleans gizzards to prepare them for packaging.
From the Raeford storage plant shown here in this
1962 photograph, the Johnson family has built one
of the largest turkey industries in the country. House
of Raeford now employs about 900 workers and is
ranked in the top 10 in production in the nation.
Whole turkeys are processed for
holiday dining.
Production manager, Ed Manning, chats with Roscoe McCoBum , who
heads up the packing and cutting department.