Sanderson Farms : Stamps Farm

While working as an insurance agent, Clay Stamps developed an interest in the poultry industry as he traveled to farms and wrote insurance policies on chicken houses. As his interest in the business grew, he decided to move his family out to the country, where he purchased a poultry farm of his own in 2014.

Today, Stamps operates a four-house pullet farm in Prentiss, Mississippi. He has an employee, Mike Tatum, who helps manage the daily operations of the farm. Stamps has been married to his wife, Kaysey, for 13 years, and they have three sons and one daughter.

Though Stamps' children are still young, he believes that raising them on the farm has already begun to teach them about responsibility and hard work. The family enjoys the slower-paced lifestyle of living in the country, and Stamps appreciates that he is able to spend more time with his family by working from home. The family attends White Sands Baptist Church and, in their spare time, they enjoy hunting, fishing and riding four-wheelers.

One of the aspects of pullet farming that Stamps enjoys most is being able to watch the chickens grow from freshly-hatched birds until they are mature enough to lay eggs. He and his family enjoy knowing their daily work contributes to a larger goal of feeding a growing world. "I think any kind of farming is the backbone of our country," said Stamps, "we're raising something that people eat every day, and my family eats chicken just about every day."

As farming technology continues to progress and associated costs to operate rise, Stamps encourages other farmers to be meticulous in the management of their farms. "Be very frugal with your spending," he states, "listen to those that have been in farming a lot longer. Take advice."

Farming can certainly be challenging, but it also affords Stamps the opportunity to have more free time while providing a good life for his family. "Farming is not an easy way of life," said Stamps, "we have to love what we do to produce good chickens."