As part of our journey to continually live our purpose, we’re launching several initiatives aimed at enhancing communications and transparency with the thousands of independent farmers who grow chickens for our company.

Yesterday we mailed every farmer a copy of the CONTRACT POULTRY FARMERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS along with a note explaining that we’re developing an advisory council made up of farmers and we’ll be investing in new communications technology with our growers in mind.

Two-way communication is key to any productive relationship and the goal of the advisory council is to provide a platform where contract poultry farmers can share their views of the business environment for raising chickens, allowing us to gather insights that might help us improve how we operate.

We’re still working on the details, including a process to allow for those farmers who are interested to potentially participate as members of the council, but we’ve decided on a direction.  

In the coming months, we plan to rollout a functional smartphone application designed for our contract poultry farmers, and we’ll be looking for ways to better show our appreciation for the work they do for our company.  

We value our relationship with each and every farmer we contract with. Farmers are the backbone of agriculture and are critical to our business. They go to work early and often work late into the evening, always with the welfare of the flock in mind. Because of their dedication, we’re able to help feed the world and daily live our purpose of raising the world’s expectations for how much good food can do. 

Published May 3, 2018.

Author
Group President, Poultry at

Doug has been a member of Tyson Foods’ poultry business since 1992 and was named president of global McDonald’s business in early 2019. In this role, he is responsible for leading the relationship with one of our key customers.

He is a member of Tyson Foods’ enterprise leadership team and reports to President and CEO Noel White.

Prior to his current role, Doug served as group president of poultry, president of Poultry Operations, and senior vice president of Big Bird and Fowl, Value Added. As group president of poultry, Doug drove earnings growth and poultry market share through integrated planning, business strategy development, operational execution, and innovation. Doug’s background working with the company’s international business, marketing, logistics, and operations, has enabled him to understand how the Tyson Foods’ total business fits together and how to deliver results.

A servant leader, Doug believes in developing others to enrich their lives and to benefit Tyson Foods’ overall culture. Doug is a champion of team member safety and sits on the company’s Executive Safety Council, which is dedicated to fostering safety improvements throughout Tyson Foods.

He earned his degree in Agriculture Business at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Arkansas. Doug is on the Board of Directors for the US Poultry & Egg Association and serves as a member of the USPOULTRY Long Range Planning Committee. He is also on the Board of Directors for the National Chicken Council.

More from this author