Our story starts around the turn of the century. Not the one that started with the year 2000, but a hundred years before that. Here are some of the highlights in the life of House of Raeford Farms and the family behind it—a family that goes back several generations and already has another generation or two waiting in the wings.
Nash Johnson, the youngest of 15 farm family children, was born into a family of entrepreneurs, many of whom raised and sold tobacco and strawberries. Nash went on to marry—no surprise—a woman with similar drive: Mary Sue Cowan.
In order to make ends meet during the Depression, Mary Sue Johnson began raising turkeys in her backyard in Rose Hill, NC; her husband Nash soon joined her.
As Nash and Mary Sue’s family grew, so did their turkey business. In the first step toward vertical integration (though it wasn’t called that then), Nash built a hatchery in Rose Hill.
Two sons, Marvin and Bizzell Johnson, exhibited their entrepreneurial spirit early by selling their parents’ homegrown turkeys on the streets of Rose Hill, operating as Johnson Brothers.
With WWII well underway, Marvin completed his education at Rose Hill High School. He joined the Merchant Marines in 1944, serving during the war in the Pacific Theater and on board a ship when the atomic bomb was dropped.
Upon his return to Rose Hill, Marvin joined Bizzell in an expansion of the poultry venture when the two went to the local Sears store and bought an incubator and some turkey eggs. They reinvested their profits from raising and selling the birds into the business.
Once the war ended, the Johnson family turned their efforts into a true commercial undertaking and pioneered the poultry industry in the eastern part of North Carolina.
Family patriarch and matriarch, Marvin and Grace Johnson, and two little attendants, on their wedding day.
The company that later became House of Raeford Farms was founded, born from a partnership of three growers and the town of Rose Hill in an effort to bring jobs to local citizens. Nash Johnson and sons, Marvin and Bizzell, built their first feed mill.
The family business expanded into chicken production with construction of a chicken hatchery and a grow-out operation.
The company proudly participates annually in many local events. Bob Johnson, now our CEO, and his brother, Ed Johnson, and their cousins can be seen at the Wallace, NC Christmas parade in the back of the truck.
The Johnson family purchased the Raeford, NC turkey plant to which they had been selling turkeys and became the first in the industry to introduce fully cooked turkeys and 4-7 lb. deli turkey breasts to consumers. Production continued to increase to meet rising demand for the company’s poultry.
All divisions and sectors of the company were consolidated as House of Raeford Farms, Inc. under Marvin Johnson’s sole leadership. House of Raeford was a name chosen through a contest of submissions by employees and local citizens.
On April 1, 1975, the corporation was registered with the state of North Carolina.
The first of many large expenditures on wastewater equipment was made at the Rose Hill plant in order to help protect the environment.
House of Raeford’s first breaded product plant opened in Hemingway, South Carolina.
The 27th annual North Carolina Poultry Jubilee was held in the town square of Rose Hill. Organizers describe the festival as, “a celebration of an industry, a people, and a way of life that helps keep North Carolina economically strong and a wonderful place to live, work, and play.” Then, as now, House of Raeford supported the festival. In fact, CEO Bob Johnson and manager Dave Wells are the ones wearing the chicken and turkey suits.
A new feed mill, the largest in the country, was built and named Big Ed in remembrance of Marvin and Grace’s oldest son, Ed Johnson.
House of Raeford’s specialty products plant opened in Athens, Michigan.
Now all grown up and working in live production, Bob Johnson’s youngest son, Nash Julian, was no stranger to the operation even back then.
Many proud family members shared in the excitement and satisfaction of one of the company’s numerous investments in the community.
Marvin Johnson, surrounded by members of the family, was inducted into the NC Poultry Hall of Fame.
Bob Johnson, Marvin’s son, became CEO of House of Raeford after working his way up through the company with jobs in the processing plants and on the farms. In fact, he once owned several poultry farms himself.
The purchase of Columbia Farms, Inc. and Columbia Farms of Georgia, Inc. added two chicken processing plants, two feed mills, and two live grow-out operations in the South Carolina/Georgia area.
The company expanded again with the acquisition of a chicken plant, feed mill, and live grow-out area in Arcadia, Louisiana.
Company ownership was formalized with Bob Johnson, his sister Diane Beasley, and their children as sole owners.
Marvin Johnson, former CEO, was presented with a Lifetime Award from the NC Council of Boy Scouts.
House of Raeford acquired the Butterball turkey processing facility in Wallace, NC and converted it into a state-of-the-art chicken processing plant.
In order to concentrate on its core competency—vertically integrated chicken production—House of Raeford exited the turkey business.
House of Raeford purchased a chicken processing plant in Mocksville, NC and acquired Atlanta-based Filet of Chicken.
Four of our five generations of Johnsons. Left to right: Bob Johnson, Marvin Johnson, Nash Julian Johnson, Cowan Johnson, and little Robert Johnson.