Latest news with #Wayne-SandersonFarms
USA Today
24-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jenny Bae, daughter of chicken farmers, grows lead to 2 shots at LPGA's Mexico Riviera Maya
Jenny Bae, daughter of chicken farmers, grows lead to 2 shots at LPGA's Mexico Riviera Maya "LPGA rookie, daughter of chicken farmers, wins first event." There are 18 holes to go, but that would be one heck of a headline. Jenny Bae can make that a reality Sunday at the 2025 Mexico Riviera Maya Open Mayakoba, the LPGA's return to Mexico after being away for eight years. Bae shot a 2-under 70 on Saturday to get to 8 under, two shots clear of the field. Chisato Iwai, who posted 4-under 68, is tied at 6 under alongside Yahui Zhang, who also shot a 68. Gabi Ruffels shot a 1-under 71 and sits solo fourth after 54 holes. Somi Lee also shot 68 at El Camaleon Golf Course and is tied for fifth along with Haeji Kang, Lindy Duncan, Aline Krauter, Hye-Jin Choi, Miranda Wang and Brianna Do. Bae's family owns a chicken farm in Maysville, Georgia, where for the last 10 years Peter and Hannah Bae have been growing for Wayne-Sanderson Farms. They raise more than 450,000 chickens a year. Last year, as Jenny embarked on her second year on the Epson Tour and money ran tight, Wayne-Sanderson offered to partner in a different way – as her sponsor. Bae has made three cuts in six outings in 2025, including the last two events. Her best outing was a tie for 11th at the JM Eagle LA Championship five weeks ago. Golfweek's Beth Ann Nichols contributed to this article.
USA Today
26-03-2025
- Business
- USA Today
How a chicken farm in Georgia shaped this LPGA rookie's big-hitting career
How a chicken farm in Georgia shaped this LPGA rookie's big-hitting career It's 190 yards from the back of the house to the front of the Bae family chicken farm. Grown-up Jenny Bae maxes out at a 3-hybrid from that distance. As a kid, Jenny's favorite thing to do on the farm was ride around on the tractor with her father when it was time to mow the grass. Jenny's job was to collect the golf balls. When the pandemic hit 0while Jenny was in college at the University of Georgia, the Bae's private range proved a godsend. The family chicken farm in tiny Maysville, Georgia, has provided for the Bae family for decades. Now, the chickens are impacting Bae's golf career in ways the family never imagined. For over 10 years, Peter and Hannah Bae have been growing for Wayne-Sanderson Farms, raising more than 450,000 chickens a year on their midsize farm. Last year, as Jenny embarked on her second year on the Epson Tour and money ran tight, Wayne-Sanderson offered to partner in a different way – as Jenny's sponsor. The relationship began in the summer of 2024, and Jenny won the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout soon after, helping secure her LPGA card for the 2025 season. As the 23-year-old LPGA rookie makes her second start of the season at this week's Ford Championship in Chandler, Arizona, paying the bills is one less thing on her mind. 'I don't have to worry about the different prices for fights and car rentals and where I need to go,' said Jenny, who signed with Epoch Sports Group when she turned pro. 'That much money can at least cover my travel expenses for the year. I can go out there and play the best golf that I can without having to worry about how much money I make per week.' Financial security is a luxury on the LPGA, and for Wayne-Sanderson, the nation's third-largest poultry producer, this is a unique and personal partnership. There are no plans to expand the athlete roster either, said Jeremy Kilburn, Wayne-Sanderson Farms' chief legal and compliance officer, who played a key role in the process. 'I know she was feeling the weight of her parents' dreams and hers too,' said Kilburn. 'For us, it just made so much sense to partner with them on this.' Jenny wears the Wayne-Sanderson Farms logo on her shirt and bag and has always been amazed by the number of people who ask if she gets free eggs or knows anything about the rising price of eggs. The chickens actually leave the farm when they're 58 days old. The Baes produce around 5 million pounds of chicken a year for Wayne-Sanderson. There was a time, when Jenny was 5 or 6 years old, that she convinced her parents to let her keep a chick in the house for a few days. 'I would love going in (the chicken house) and petting them," she said, "because they are so soft and warm." Her parents run the farm on their own, just the two of them, which means Peter will be tending to the chickens most of the year, and Mom will get to travel some. Mark Thompson, a Wayne-Sanderson Farms field representative who works with the family day-to-day to help manage the operation, said the Baes have a high ranking within the company. 'Not only is she a really good golfer,' said Thompson, 'her parents are a really, really good chicken growers. They perform at a high level as a family.' Jenny took up the game at age 3 with a set of plastic Snoopy clubs like the ones sold at Walmart. It wasn't long before a coach spotted her talent, and her South Korean-born parents – who both played golf – began to offer more opportunities. The first time Jun Yum gave Jenny a lesson, her mother asked if there was a way he could keep her from jumping when she hit the ball. Yum told her she'd need to find a different coach for that. That's exactly what he wanted her to do – use the ground. At 5-foot-3, Jenny's super-sized length is bound to turn some heads this season. She averages around 280 yards off the tee, carrying it more than 250 yards. It was in college that the hard-swinging Jenny really started to put on distance as the weight room became part of her routine. For context, consider that only four players on tour last year averaged over 280 yards. Growing up, Jenny never really cared too much about the technical side of the game. She only cared about one thing – where the ball was going. 'She was one of those that you knew she was a player,' said Yum. 'She wasn't a swinger, and you know that's a coach's dream, where they care more about performing than they care about what it looks like.' While at Georgia, she made frequent trips to the Country Club of the South in Johns Creek to see Yum in between tournaments. Those tuneups helped keep her sharp as she shattered Georgia's single-season scoring average her senior year, compiling a 70.75 mark and earning the Juli Inkster Award as the nation's top golfer in her final season of eligibility. The Inkster Award came with an exemption to compete in the LPGA Portland Classic and a sizable $50,000 prize, used to fund her travel and a mentorship retreat with the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Famer. She spent time in the California desert with Inkster, playing golf with major champions Pat Hurst, Danielle Kang and In Gee Chun. And notably, the Inkster helpline has remained open ever since, for important conversations about hard times and self-doubt. Jenny first stepped into the national spotlight in 2023, when she squared off against Rose Zhang in the final round of the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Former Georgia coach Josh Brewer, who was on the bag that week, still thinks about what he might have done differently during that playoff on a regular basis. 'It's easy to second-guess,' said Brewer. 'I also believe that Augusta National picks its winners.' On that Saturday, the Georgia native lost to one of the best amateur players in the history of the game. But the back-nine roars Brewer heard that afternoon made the hair on his arms stand up straight. For Jenny, the loss still stings, said Yum, who is constantly preaching to her that she's not learning enough from her experiences. Each time she takes a step up, he said, there's a period of significant stress as she worries too much about how she'll stack up. Once the wow factor subsides a bit this year, Yum believes his player has enough talent to go toe-to-toe with anyone. The key, he said, is to get her swing more fundamentally sound so that she doesn't have to rely so much on timing and his presence. They've been working at it since the Epson Tour season ended last fall and have made substantial progress. 'I'm hoping it's at least 75 to 80 percent in by the Chevron in another month,' said Yum. A three-time winner on the Epson Tour, Brewer described his former star as reserved and stoic, from an outsider's perspective. She typically has one earbud in during practice, listening to everything from country music to K-pop. Those who get inside the bubble see a more fun and talkative side. The immediate goal for Jenny is to make her first cut as an LPGA member and earn a paycheck. That would go a long way toward earning a berth in the season's first major. She reminds herself daily, however, of the bigger goal for 2025 – to take it slow and enjoy as much as possible. A mission that's no doubt made easier with her farm family by her side.
CBS News
10-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
In bird flu fight, Agriculture Department almost doubling the $1.1 billion already spent
Despite a major federal investment to help egg and poultry producers bounce back from bird flu losses, finding eggs at a reasonable price — or any eggs at all — remains a tough task for shoppers across the U.S. In January, egg prices rose 15.2%, and economists say they expect prices to continue to rise this year. The increase is due to the limited number of hens laying eggs right now. There are fewer hens because of federal bird flu control measures. They require farmers to kill their chickens if they discover a bird flu case in a flock — a process known as "culling" — to try to prevent the viral disease from spreading. When farmers cull their flocks to prevent the spread of a disease like the bird flu, they are eligible for public money to help them replace the flocks. Since 2020, the Department of Agriculture has paid $1.1 billion to hundreds of egg producers who had to cull their flocks to stop bird flu from spreading, according to a CBS News analysis of federal data. Now, the USDA says it will send $400 million more to farmers who need new chickens. The agency also says it will pay $500 million for biosecurity measures and $100 million "for vaccine research, action to reduce regulatory burdens, and exploring temporary import options." Frank Singleton, a spokesperson for Wayne-Sanderson Farms — the third largest poultry producer in the nation — is glad the USDA is helping. He says his company has 23 plants and 2,000 partner farms in seven states, employing 26,000 people across the Southeast and processing 21 million broiler chickens a week for sale of their meat into the consumer market. Wayne-Sanderson Farms received more than $600,000 from the USDA's bird flu assistance program to replace three flocks the company culled after discovering bird flu cases in 2023 and 2024. Singleton says the checks are an important investment to help the farms his company sponsors get back on track. "It's a partnership with the farmers, and the consumer, and our company, to make sure we can continue to feed America," he says. "It would be very difficult to get a farmer to take a risk like that without a farm partner like Wayne-Sanderson Farms. So that's where we step in. We make sure that we do our part, our due diligence, help them get back up to speed, and work to make sure those funds are available to them." Culling flocks and shielding them from bird flu The process of culling is arduous. Singleton says his company sprays a foam agent over the affected chickens to kill them quickly. "Different farms and different companies have different methods," he said. "We use a humane method to euthanize all the birds. It's all supervised by regulatory folks and our teams." "Ours is an approved, USDA-approved method where a foaming agent used, and it's very quick," Singleton continued. "So, those birds have to be disposed of. The house itself has to be cleaned up and sanitized. So it's a long process, and it takes awhile for the farmer to get back up and running. So we work with them directly to make sure that happens." Singleton says there are several proactive measures his company is taking to protect farms from exposure in the first place. Biosecurity measures are so tight for Wayne-Sanderson Farms, our CBS News cameras were not allowed inside a farm or facility. "It just takes one vector to infect a flock so, from the time people come to the farm, using disinfectant sprays, wearing coveralls, wearing personal protective gear, goggles, those kinds of things — limiting the type of people, the number of people," Singleton explained. "We make sure our people have the equipment, they have the chemicals, the disinfectants, and they have the knowledge. ... It's very critical. Every individual has to do their part to make sure that this doesn't happen." His company supports a recent proposal from other egg and poultry industry leaders to allow broiler eggs — eggs typically used to hatch chicks — to be used in consumer products amid the national shortage of traditional eggs. After a law change in 2009 that stipulated that eggs must be refrigerated sooner if sold into the consumer market, broiler egg producers were no longer able to send excess broiler eggs to consumer companies needing them for things like cakes and pies, because broiler eggs are typically stored at a higher temperature during the first 48 hours prior to shipment. Singleton says his company throws out 560,000 broiler eggs a week — about 2% of the total 26 million broiler eggs Wayne-Sanderson Farms produces. If the Food and Drug Administration were to allow the broiler eggs to be used in consumer products, Singleton says, it would be a win-win. "We certainly want to do our part to help feed the country and (solve) a need where a need is there; certainly (that) would help us from a waste standpoint and just from employees having to work on that particular aspect of it," Singleton said. "So, it's really just a cost savings and an efficiency savings and putting food back into the marketplace for consumers." In a statement to CBS News, the Food and Drug Administration says it is still considering the proposal. A smaller farm's approach in the bird flu saga Another company currently able to fill the need is a small independent farm in the northern Alabama city of Madison called Southard Farms. It has been in co-owner Keith Southard's family for five generations. Southard turned the farm into a pasture-raised poultry, egg and pork production operation in 2019 and never dreamed his business would be booming so soon. He says over the last month, his phone has been ringing off the hook with restaurants seeking eggs. "It's been it's been crazy. It's been busy. My phone rings constantly," Southard said. "Huge, huge opportunity for growth, and people are searching now ... not just to find eggs but something different — to find good eggs, fresh, local, that they don't just depend on a store to provide them; they know where it's coming from." Southard's father grows grows crops on the farm and they in turn use the crops as feed for his chickens. He has 900 laying hens for eggs and 700 broiler chickens — or chickens used for meat. Right now, Southard's hens lay about 400 eggs a week. A few weeks ago, Southard signed a contract with a restaurant in Birmingham to sell it 500 dozen eggs a week. Southard says he expects his total egg production in the next few months will be just under 1,000 dozen a week to meet the demand. Unlike in traditional egg farms, where laying hens are kept in an indoor warehouse, Southard's chickens live an outdoor lifestyle, rotating regularly onto fresh grass to graze. He says the pasture-raised format keeps his chickens' immune systems stronger. "No medicines needed to keep them going. So, we just use nature's benefits," Southard says. However, the outdoor living could make them more susceptible to coming into contact with wild birds that could be carrying the avian (bird) flu. "There's always that risk," Southard says. "We just hope that it doesn't affect us." Last year, Southard had to cull his flock after chickens got hit with a bacterial infection, different than bird flu, called mycoplasma. He says the experience was devastating. "I noticed a few symptoms, and then within three days, we went from a normal amount of eggs per day to almost zero, and it was very similar symptoms to the avian flu, so (we) immediately took the hens to the state lab for testing ... and once we got the results in, there really wasn't any answer but to just cull the flock and start over," Southard recalled. He said he and his farmhand had to personally kill each chicken by cutting their throats to make it as quick and painless for the birds as possible. "Nothing I want to see again, that's for sure," Southard said. Because mycoplasma is not considered a "highly-pathogenic" disease, he did not qualify for the USDA's program to receive a check to help him finance the replacement of his chickens. "We just bared through it and kept going," Southard says. And kept going he did. Southard took us to Farm Burger in Huntsville, Alabama, one of the restaurants that uses his chicken meat and eggs. The staff affectionately calls out, "The Chicken Man's here!" upon his arrival to deliver his product in person each week. The restaurant's co-owner and manager says Southard has been a blessing to his business because Southard has kept his prices low at a time when other restaurants in neighboring states have seen egg prices more than double in the last few months. Low prices for the restaurant also mean costs don't have to be passed on to customers. A CBS News analysis of federal data found some farms received large checks from the USDA indemnity and reimbursement program after culling their flocks last year — one egg producer received $10 million. Asked his thoughts about the taxpayer expense, Southard said, "I think there's probably, there's definitely a question there about when USDA should get involved or not. So, I think that should be looked into to some more, because obviously we see still these big supply problems. So, I don't think we have the right answer yet, but it should be looked into some more." With supply issues and high egg costs expected at least another year, Southard says it's important to protect small farms. "Small farmers like us, family farms, play a key role, because it takes away the big consolidation that's happened and spreads out the risk where you have more farms across the state or country and more farmers," Southard says. "So, if one gets hit, it's not as big of an effect on the whole supply chain."
