circle s ranch

What circle s ranch does

Circle S Ranch is a fourth-generation, family-owned vertically integrated turkey producer headquartered in Monroe, North Carolina, operating since its 1972 incorporation with roots extending back to 1947. The company grows approximately 9 million live turkeys per year across company-owned and contract grower farms, supplying turkey processors and meat producers across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Its live production division runs a mix of conventional open-sided and tunnel-ventilated poultry houses equipped with computerized monitoring and control systems that track ventilation, temperature, and welfare parameters.

The company's defining operational characteristic is end-to-end vertical integration spanning five interconnected divisions: Live Production (brood and grow-out turkey farms); Feed Mill (Richburg, SC, producing over 400,000 tons of finished feed annually with precision batching by nutritionist-formulated recipes); Shavings Mill (Pageland, SC, producing pine shavings for turkey bedding and bagged shavings for horses and livestock); Row Crop Division (corn, wheat, and soybeans across Union and Anson Counties in NC and Chesterfield and Lancaster Counties in SC, using 100% no-till farming with cover cropping); and Transportation (a private fleet of 70+ tractor-trailer rigs handling 350-400 weekly feed loads, 200,000+ weekly poult movements, and 40 nightly turkey loads to market). Animal waste is recycled into fertilizer that feeds the row crop operation, creating a closed-loop agricultural system.

Circle S Ranch generates revenue through transaction-based B2B sales across multiple streams: live turkey production (primary), feed sales to outside producers, pine shavings and bagged bedding sales, row crop grain sales, and internal transportation services. The company sells directly to commercial buyers under negotiated, quote-based pricing. Distribution is fully internalized via the private fleet. The Starnes family retains ownership and executive control — Sam Starnes as Chairman, Chad Starnes as President, Travis Starnes as Vice President, with fourth-generation Lexie Starnes Decker in administration — supplemented by non-family senior leaders including General Manager/General Counsel James Allen Lee (joined 2022), Controller Jeremy Helms, and a specialized management team across feed mill, transportation, and live production. The company is privately held with no external investors and no public revenue disclosures.

Name

circle s ranch

Legal name

Circle S Ranch, Inc.

Website

https://circle-s-ranch.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Circle S Ranch is a fourth-generation, family-owned vertically integrated turkey producer in Monroe, NC, growing approximately 9 million live turkeys annually and supplying turkey processors across the Carolinas and Virginia through its in-house feed mill, shavings mill, row crop, and 70-truck private fleet operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Turkey Production

NAICS

Turkey Production (11233)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200), Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150)

akta.pro primary industry

Turkey Production (AFAEADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grower Feed (Poultry Grow-out) (AFADACAI), Poultry Wholesale (Whole Birds, Parts) (AFAIADAC), Grain Processing for Feed (Cracking, Rolling, Grinding) (AFADAIAF)

Keywords

• Live turkey production
• Turkey farming operations
• Poultry feed milling
• Pine shavings bedding
• Agricultural transportation fleet

Headquarters

HQ city

Monroe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Live Turkey Production: Primary revenue stream from growing approximately 9 million turkeys annually on company-owned and contract grower farms. Turkeys are sold as live birds to turkey processors and meat producers.
2. Feed Sales: The Feed Mill in Richburg, SC produces over 400,000 tons of finished feed per year, supplying internal turkey operations and selling feed to outside producers. Between 350-400 truckloads of feed delivered weekly.
3. Pine Shavings Sales: Circle S Shavings produces pine shavings for turkey house bedding and manufactures compressed bagged shavings sold for horses and other livestock.
4. Row Crop Sales: Row Crop Division grows corn, wheat, and soybeans across Union and Anson Counties in NC and Chesterfield and Lancaster Counties in SC. Crops are sold commercially and a portion is used internally for turkey feed.
5. Transportation Services: Fleet of over 70 tractor trailer rigs provides transportation for poults, turkeys, feed, and supplies. Weekly operations include 350-400 loads of feed, 200,000+ poults moved, and approximately 40 loads of turkey to market.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Circle S Ranch produces approximately 9 million live turkeys per year on company-owned and contract grower farms and sells them as live birds to commercial turkey processors and meat producers. The operation is vertically integrated, encompassing a feed mill producing 400,000+ tons of finished feed annually, a pine shavings mill for turkey house bedding, a row crop division growing corn, wheat, and soybeans, and a transportation fleet of more than 70 tractor trailer rigs handling feed, poult, and turkey delivery.

Product overview

Circle S Ranch operates as an integrated turkey farming enterprise with six interconnected divisions: Live Production (turkey farming across company-owned and contract grower farms), Feed Mill (feed manufacturing for company turkeys and outside producers), Shavings Mill (pine shavings for turkey bedding and livestock sales), Row Crop Division (grain production utilizing turkey litter fertilizer), Transportation (fleet of 70+ trucks for feed, poults, and market delivery), and Administration (accounting, HR, and compliance). The company grows approximately 9 million turkeys annually in a self-sustaining operation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Production (Turkey Farming) Turkey farming operations including brood farms for day-old poults and finishing farms for growing turkeys to market weight, using conventional open-sided and tunnel-ventilated poultry houses with computer controllers monitoring environmental conditions. Turkeys are sold as live birds to commercial turkey processors and meat producers.
• Feed Mill Feed manufacturing facility producing over 400,000 tons of finished feed per year, formulating precise nutrition recipes for each stage of turkey life using a computerized batching system. Feeds company turkeys and is sold to outside poultry and livestock producers, with 350-400 truckloads delivered weekly.
• Shavings Mill (Circle S Shavings) Pine shavings production facility in Pageland, SC that buys pine trees and manufactures bedding for turkey houses, utilizing over 50 tractor trailer loads weekly. Also produces compressed bagged shavings sold for horses and other livestock.
• Row Crop Division Agricultural operation growing corn, wheat, and soybeans across Union and Anson Counties in NC and Chesterfield and Lancaster Counties in SC, using 100% no-till farming with cover-cropping and turkey litter as fertilizer. Crops are sold commercially and a portion is used internally for turkey feed, with grain storage facilities in Pageland, SC and Monroe, NC.
• Transportation Services Fleet of over 70 tractor trailer rigs providing transportation services, delivering 350-400 loads of feed weekly, moving 200,000+ poults weekly between farms, and delivering approximately 40 loads of turkey to market nightly. Includes a full-service truck shop with certified mechanics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 9 million turkeys grown annually on company-owned and contract grower farms
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Butterball LLC: Butterball is the largest turkey producer in the US, raising and processing turkeys at massive scale. Directly comparable as a vertically integrated live turkey producer with similar customer base (processors, foodservice, retail).
• Farbest Foods: Farbest is a major live turkey producer and processor headquartered in the Midwest, supplying turkey to further processors and foodservice customers. Comparable live turkey production scale and B2B processor buyer relationships.
• Jennie-O Turkey Store (Hormel Foods): Jennie-O is one of the top US turkey brands and a major live turkey producer, owned by Hormel Foods. Comparable vertically integrated turkey operation supplying both live birds and processed turkey products.
• Prestage Farms: Prestage is a family-owned, vertically integrated turkey and pork producer operating in the Carolinas and Midwest. Directly comparable family-run live turkey operation with feed milling and contract grower network in overlapping geographies.
• Cargill Turkey Products: Cargill operates one of the largest turkey production and processing operations in the US, including the Honeysuckle White and Shady Brook Farms brands. Comparable vertically integrated live turkey and processing footprint with similar processor buyer model.

Broad incumbents

• Perdue Farms: Perdue is a large vertically integrated poultry producer with operations in chicken, turkey (via Coleman Natural), and prepared foods. Comparable integrated agricultural supply chain model though primarily chicken-focused.
• Hormel Foods: Hormel owns Jennie-O Turkey Store and is a diversified protein and foods company. Comparable as parent/operator of one of the largest US turkey producers and serves the same downstream processor and foodservice customers.
• Tyson Foods: Tyson is the largest US poultry producer across chicken and prepared foods, with broad protein exposure. Overlaps with Circle S on poultry protein supply, scale, and B2B foodservice buyer relationships, though Tyson is heavily focused on chicken and beef.
• Sanderson Farms (now part of Wayne-Sanderson Farms / Cargill): Sanderson was a top US broiler chicken producer with vertically integrated live production, feed milling, and processing — directly parallel to Circle S's vertically integrated model, though focused on broilers rather than turkeys.

Emerging players

• Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative / Turkey Valley Farms: Turkey Valley Farms and similar cooperative/regional live turkey producers serve the same Eastern US processor buyer pool as Circle S. Comparable scale and B2B live-bird supply model with overlapping Mid-Atlantic geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/circlesranchmonroe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/circle-s-ranch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about circle s ranch