Cal-Maine Foods, Country Creek agree to acquire George's shell egg division

Cal-Maine Foods Inc and Country Creek Farms LLC have reached an agreement with poultry producer George's Inc to acquire the assets of its shell egg division near Siloam Springs AR. Benton County Foods LLC, a newly formed company jointly owned by Cal-Maine and Country Creek Farms, will be the owner and operator of the facility with Cal-Maine as majority owner.

Assets to be acquired include about one million laying hens, growing facilities for replacement pullets, and a feed mill in Watts OK. Country Creek Farms has a supply agreement in place for roughly 50 percent of the eggs produced by the new company. Eggs will be sold to retail food markets and foodservice distributors in the south central United States. George's will retain all of its broiler production and operations and continue to market broilers.

Jackson MS-based Cal-Maine Foods produces and distributes fresh shell eggs, selling most of them in approximately 29 states. Country Creek Farms, based in Rogers AR, sells and markets eggs in 45 states. It also markets a line of frozen, refrigerated, and dry grocery brands.