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The Davie Community Foundation received a $4,000 donation for scholarships last week.

Thanks to an investment by Wayne Farms, Davie students will receive additional dollars for education.  The donation will add $1,000 to the Davie County Training School – Central Davie High School Reunion Scholarship and $3,000 to the Community Scholarship program, making dollars available for investment in more students for the 2022 – 2023 school year.

“At Wayne Farms, we strive to be the amazing poultry company and the partner of choice with our employees, customers, and the communities in which we operate.  We are honored to participate in a scholarship program that encourages excellence in students, and we are excited to be a part of Mocksville and Davie County,” said Matthew Wooten, complex manager for Wayne Farms who was on hand to deliver the check.

“As foundation program officer, I am especially excited to have additional scholarships available this year,” said Melissa O’Connor. “Our committee has to make difficult decisions every year and they always finish the process wishing they had more money to award.”

Wayne Farms purchased J.P. Green Milling on Depot Street in Mocksville last fall to replace a rental facility they use in Newton. Wayne Farms has operated facilities in the southeast for more than 70 years with facilities in nine cities and towns. Their corporate headquarters are in Oakwood, Ga. and facilities extend as far west as Danville, Ark.

The company plans to transform the JP Green mill into a state-of-the-art feed mill that will meet the highest standards in the industry.

“Feed mills today don’t operate like the mills of old, we have to meet rigorous environmental and feed quality standards,” said Wooten. The company expects to have the operation up and running by October, and plans to provide approximately 20 new jobs. They would like to hire workers in from Davie County to fill those roles.

When fully operational, the mill will process approximately 3,500 tons of poultry feed per week.

J.P. Green Milling operated since 1910, primarily family-owned and operated for more than a century. Products of the mill included Winner Feeds and 24 kinds of animal feed, and the goods were delivered to fish camps, craft beer producers and small country stores within a 450-mile radius.

Wayne Farms uses contract growers made up of local family farms.

Contract farms work like this: Wayne Farms hatches baby chicks and provides them to the local farms. They also provide the feed and check on the growers weekly. The feed produced in Mocksville will be part of the supply chain to the family farms. The chickens are picked up at market age to be processed at the Dobson location. Wayne Farms is the seventh largest US Poultry company with sales in excess of $2 billion. They provide food service for Chick-fil-A and Zaxby’s.

To learn more about the foundation contact Jane Simpson at (336) 753-6903 or jsimpson@daviefoundation.org or visit www.daviefoundation.org.