LAUREL, Miss. —Sanderson Farms, Inc. has been named one of America’s Best Large Employers for 2022 by Forbes magazine. The 2022 list ranks the top 1,000 employers in the U.S. across 25 different industry sectors in two categories, large employers and mid-size employers.  

“This honor would not be possible without the overwhelming support of our employees,” said Joe F. Sanderson Jr., chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Sanderson Farms. “For over 75 years, generations of employees and growers have supported this company and built it to the heights of success we enjoy today, and I only wish the generations of my family that preceded me in leadership could witness all that our employees have accomplished over the last seven and a half decades.”

 Founded in 1947 by D.R. Sanderson, Sanderson Farms began its rich history as a small feed and seed store in Laurel, Mississippi. 

“Despite over 75 years of growth and innovation, the nation’s third largest poultry producer has never outgrown its roots as a family-oriented business with a long history of treating its employees exactly as what they are considered, like family,” the company said in a press release. 

 Led by a third-generation member of the Sanderson family for over three decades now, Sanderson Farms has built more poultry complexes than any other company in the nation. It has over 17,000 employees and operations spanning five states and 17 different communities.