Perdue Farms confirmed this week that it is selling intellectual property and certain other assets of Heritage Breeders, its genetics and primary breeder program, to Cobb-Vantress. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Perdue Farms begin its breeding program in the 1970s, which then evolved into Heritage Breeders.
Assets include company-owned primary breeder farms that directly support the company’s primary breeder operations. Employees at the Heritage Breeders facilities will become employees of Cobb-Vantress, according to Perdue Farms. “Our business and customer and consumer needs have changed dramatically since we started our own genetics program four decades ago,” said Julie DeYoung, Perdue spokeswoman. “There are no longer significant advantages to having our own breed. Also, no single breed is ideal for all situations, so it is important that we have the flexibility to select the breed or breed combination that works best for each specific customer or production requirement,” DeYoung said.
