Cooper Farms

What Cooper Farms does

Cooper Farms is a fourth-generation, family-owned, vertically integrated farm and food company headquartered in Oakwood, Ohio. Founded in 1938 by Virgil Cooper with approximately 300 turkeys, the company has grown into the 7th largest turkey producer in the United States, operating an integrated production chain spanning feed mills, hatcheries, growout farms, biosecurity infrastructure, harvesting, cooked meats processing, and egg grading/packaging. Cooper Farms operates across three core protein verticals: turkey (16 million poults hatched annually, ~7 million toms harvested, 100 million pounds cooked annually), hogs (34,300 sows, 825,000+ piglets weaned annually, 210 million pounds live weight), and eggs (130 million dozen table eggs, 5.5 million laying hens, liquid egg processing). Key facilities include the St. Henry Turkey Harvesting Plant, Van Wert Cooked Meats Plant (90M lbs/year), Coldwater Central Egg Processing, Fort Recovery Liquid Egg Products, and a 90,000 sq ft cold storage distribution center in St. Henry.

The company's business model is predominantly B2B, producing private-label meat and egg products for retail grocery chains and cooked/value-added products for foodservice operators. Its customer segments include private-label retail, foodservice, food banks/charities, and - more recently - pet food manufacturers supplying human-grade turkey ingredients. Direct-to-consumer activity is limited to the Cooper Country Turkey Store retail outlet in Oakwood, Ohio. The company employs approximately 2,400 team members plus a network of 375 contract family farmers, with regional concentration across western Ohio and adjacent Indiana.

Revenue is generated through product sales across multiple private-label SKUs (deli meats, sliced meats, turkey burgers, commodity meats, shell and liquid eggs, and pet food ingredients). Pricing is not publicly disclosed, reflecting the company's privately held structure with no outside investors and no equity ticker. Strategic growth has been driven by acquisitions (Hemmelgarn & Sons 2019, full ownership of CW Egg 2021, Celina JES plant 2026), capacity expansions (Cooked Meats +20% in 2017), and incremental entry into adjacent verticals like pet food ingredients, all funded internally without disclosed funding rounds or external capital.

Name

Cooper Farms

Legal name

Cooper Farms Inc.

Website

https://cooperfarms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Cooper Farms is a fourth-generation, family-owned, vertically integrated protein producer in Ohio producing private-label turkey, pork, and egg products for retail, foodservice, and pet food customers, with harvesting, cooking, and distribution facilities across the Midwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Poultry and Meat Production

NAICS

Poultry Processing (311615), Poultry and Egg Production (1123), Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering (311611)

SIC

Poultry Slaughtering And Processing (2015), Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Turkey Production (AFAEADAF)

Keywords

• Private label meat production
• Vertically integrated poultry
• Turkey and egg processing
• Foodservice meat supply
• Cooked deli meats

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakwood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Private Label Turkey Products: Cooper Farms produces private-label turkey products for retail customers, including deli meats, sliced meats, turkey burgers, and commodity meats. This is their primary revenue stream as a vertically integrated turkey, hog, and egg company.
2. Foodservice Products: The company supplies cooked and value-added products to foodservice companies, including restaurants and institutions. Products include cooked deli products and frozen value-added products.
3. Egg Products: Cooper Farms produces table eggs and liquid egg products through their egg division. They offer conventionally housed, cage-free, and organically raised chicken eggs.
4. Hog/Pork Products: The company raises hogs and sells pork products, with operations including sow farms, gilt development farms, and partnerships with contract farmers.
5. Pet Food Ingredients: Cooper Farms supplies human-grade turkey ingredients to pet food manufacturers, including giblets, MST, thigh trim, and various meat cuts.
6. Retail Country Store Sales: Direct consumer sales through the Cooper Country Turkey Store in Oakwood, Ohio, offering boneless turkey roasts, lunch specials, and party trays.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cooper Farms is a vertically integrated farm and food company that produces private-label turkey, pork, and egg products for retail grocery chains and foodservice operators across the Midwest. Operations span hatcheries, feed mills, breeding and growout farms, turkey harvesting, cooked meats processing, liquid egg pasteurization, and cold storage distribution, with limited direct-to-consumer sales through its Country Store in Oakwood, Ohio.

Product overview

Cooper Farms is a vertically integrated farm and food company producing private-label meat and egg products primarily for retail and foodservice customers. The product portfolio includes deli meats, sliced meats, turkey burgers, commodity meats, chicken table eggs, and liquid egg products. The company also supplies human-grade turkey ingredients for the pet food market. Operations span from hatchery to processing, with key facilities including the St. Henry Turkey Harvesting Plant, Van Wert Cooked Meats Plant, egg processing facilities, and feed mills. The company produces products under private label for retail and foodservice, with the only direct-to-consumer outlet being the Cooper Country Turkey Store in Oakwood, Ohio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Deli Meats

Quantifiable outcome

• Prevented 57,432 tons of sediment loss through sustainable farming practices (member of Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• JES PropertiesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Cooper Farms acquired the former JES plant located at 1800 Industrial Drive in Celina, Ohio. The 28,000 square-foot facility on 8.85 acres will serve as a value-added further processing plant. Renovation work has begun with production expected to begin in Spring 2027.
• Weaver EggsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 May 2021CW Egg, LLC was formerly a partnership between the Cooper and Weaver families. Cooper Farms acquired full ownership in 2021, transitioning the name to Cooper Farms Liquid Egg Products as part of the egg division. They continue to do business with Weaver Eggs.
• Hemmelgarn & Sons, Inc.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2019Cooper Farms acquired assets of Hemmelgarn & Sons, Inc. in March 2019. The purchase included an offline egg grading and packaging plant in Philothea, Ohio; a feed mill in Union City, Ohio; 1.6 million hens cared for by 12 contract farmers; as well as a trucking fleet and nearly 300 acres of land. This acquisition helped further grow the egg portion of their business.
• Les Wenning MotorsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2017Cooper Farms purchased the former Les Wenning Motors location in Fort Recovery, Ohio. The facility is utilized as a maintenance and repair shop for Cooper Farms vehicles and houses the hog farm service team.
• Tippman GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 2 February 2017Tippman Group led construction of the 90,000 square foot cold storage distribution center in St. Henry, Ohio. The Fort Wayne, Indiana company has over 40 years of experience specializing in cold storage warehousing and customized distribution solutions.
• Ohio Poultry AssociationminorOthersCooper Farms is a member of the Ohio Poultry Association and displays the OPA logo on their website footer.
• Ohio TurkeyminorOthersCooper Farms is a member of Ohio Turkey and displays their logo on the website footer.

Scale indicators22 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Butterball, LLC: The largest US turkey producer and the most direct comparable to Cooper Farms' turkey operations, with similar private-label and foodservice customer mix and vertically integrated production. Like Cooper Farms, Butterball is privately held (Seaboard Corp / Maxwell Farms ownership) and competes for the same retail and foodservice contracts.
• Jennie-O Turkey Store: Hormel Foods' wholly owned turkey subsidiary and a top US turkey processor, competing with Cooper Farms in private-label deli meats, sliced meats, and turkey burgers. Strong direct overlap in foodservice cooked turkey products and similar commodity turkey exposure.
• Perdue Farms: Privately held US poultry producer with significant NAE (No Antibiotic Ever) and organic positioning. Overlaps with Cooper Farms in private-label cooked poultry, foodservice supply, and NAE turkey production, with comparable premium and conventional product mix.
• Smithfield Foods (WH Group): The largest US pork processor and a major private-label meat supplier. Direct overlap with Cooper Farms' hog production (34,300 sows, 210M lbs live weight) and in pork-based deli and cooked meats for retail and foodservice.
• Seaboard Foods: Vertically integrated pork and poultry producer with a direct interest in Butterball. Comparable to Cooper Farms in hog production scale, integration across live production and processing, and private-label customer mix.
• Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. The largest US shell egg producer, publicly traded and focused on conventional, cage-free, and specialty eggs. Most direct peer for Cooper Farms' 5.5 million laying hens and 130 million dozen annual egg production, competing in commodity and specialty egg markets.
• Rose Acre Farms: Second-largest US egg producer and privately held. Direct competitor in shell eggs and liquid egg products, with comparable cage-free and conventional product positioning serving retail and foodservice channels.
• Michael Foods (Post Holdings): Post Holdings subsidiary producing value-added eggs (liquid, hard-cooked, extended-shelf-life) and refrigerated potato products. Overlaps with Cooper Farms' liquid egg business and competes in foodservice and retail ingredient channels.

Broad incumbents

• Cargill, Inc. Diversified agribusiness giant with a Protein & Animal Health segment that includes turkey and cooked meats production, plus feed manufacturing and egg products. Operates a much broader portfolio than Cooper Farms but competes in the same retail and foodservice protein categories.
• Tyson Foods, Inc. Largest US poultry processor with overlapping presence in value-added cooked meats, deli products, and foodservice. While primarily chicken-focused, Tyson competes with Cooper Farms for private-label and foodservice turkey and cooked meats contracts, and its scale creates pricing pressure across the category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/cooperfarms
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• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cooper-farms

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cooper Farms