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Our History

The success of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. starts with its founder, Fred Adams, Jr.

Raised on a Mississippi farm, Adams purchased a used truck in 1957 and started delivering feed in rural areas surrounding Mississippi’s capitol city, Jackson. Later that year, he started his first chicken farm on leased property and began his first commercial layer operation in Mendenhall, Mississippi, in 1958.


In 1963, the enterprise expanded to build the world’s largest egg farm in Edwards, Mississippi. In 1969 Adams Foods, Incorporated merged with Dairy Fresh Products Company of California and Maine Egg Farms of Lewiston, Maine, creating Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., supplying eggs from California to Maine.


In 1996, Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. became a public company trading on NASDAQ under ticker “CALM”. The Company has demonstrated a long history of impressive profitable growth and operational excellence, reaching a milestone of selling over one billion dozen eggs for the first time in 2014. In addition to organic growth, we have expanded our operations and production capacity through a disciplined acquisition strategy, successfully integrating 24 companies since 1989. We achieved record sales of $3.15 billion with over 1.15 billion dozens sold in fiscal 2023.


History Timeline

A vintage red farm truck parked on grass, captured from a low-angle perspective under an overcast sky.

1957

Founded by Fred R. Adams, Jr. in Jackson, Mississippi.

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Historic white wooden house with green shutters, elevated on pillars, surrounded by lush trees and an open grassy field.

1963

Expanded to build world’s largest egg farm in Edwards, Mississippi.

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Close-up of children's hands holding brown and white eggs outdoors.

1969

Adams Foods merged with Dairy Fresh Products and Maine Egg Farms to form Cal-Maine Foods

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Aerial view of modern long, white agricultural barns on farmland, with nearby water retention ponds and a processing facility.

1972

Acquired egg operations of Ralston-Purina

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An aerial illustration of a large rural farm complex with multiple rows of white structures, surrounded by trees and small ponds.
A scenic rural landscape at sunset with large industrial barns, a tractor, and a tree with sun shining through the branches.
White eggs rolling on a green conveyor belt in an egg processing facility.
Automated machinery lifting brown eggs in a processing facility, with rows of egg trays visible in the background.
Warehouse interior filled with neatly stacked crates and cartons of eggs, organized in rows for storage and distribution.
Close-up of an agricultural facility with large ventilation fans on the exterior wall, alongside a forklift and workers performing maintenance
Two workers in blue protective suits inspecting and working near chickens housed in a large, well-lit poultry facility with an additional worker in the background.
Four large silver grain silos standing in front of a barn on a poultry farm under a partly cloudy sky.
Woman in blue coveralls inspecting hens while holding a chicken inside a large poultry barn filled with hens on straw-covered ground.
Close-up of brown eggs arranged neatly in cartons, stacked for storage or distribution.
Industrial processing facility with machinery actively sorting and processing eggs under bright blue lighting.
Factory worker in a grey uniform inspecting eggs on a conveyor belt in a processing facility, with industrial equipment in the background.
Egg processing line in a factory, with a worker monitoring machines that organize and package eggs.
Large storage room with numerous rows of egg crates stacked high, with a worker operating forklift in the background.
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