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Agriculture 2025: KING, JOHN
PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA POULTRY GROWERS COOPERATIVE, HINTON
Virginia Business //September 2, 2025//
Agriculture 2025: KING, JOHN
PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA POULTRY GROWERS COOPERATIVE, HINTON
Virginia Business //September 2, 2025//
After multinational food company Pilgrim’s Pride announced it was closing a Hinton poultry processing plant in 2004 — constituting a major hit to the local economy — Shenandoah Valley turkey growers formed the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative.
The co-op employs 565 people and has 165 member-growers; 100% of VPGC’s profits go back to its growers. VPGC processes about 7 million turkeys a year.
In May, the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a special use permit for VPGC to expand its feed mill in Linville, which opened in 2008. Since its founding, the VPGC has grown by 40%, King told the board members, making the expansion essential.
King was involved with the planning and creation of the co-op in 2004. He served as vice president of sales for the co-op before being named general manager in 2014 and president in 2017. King earned a degree in business administration and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Radford University. He serves on the National Turkey Federation’s executive committee and the GO Virginia state board.
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