August 27, 2025 • 24 mins
Episode 37 is jumping back to where it all began: Episode 1 with Benji Campbell of Cal-Maine Foods:
What does it take to lead in the poultry industry during times of unprecedented challenges? General Manager Benji Campbell of Cal Maine Foods opens up about his journey in egg production management, sharing how family entrepreneurship shaped his leadership approach from the very beginning.
The conversation takes us deep into the current biosecurity challenges facing poultry operations nationwide. Campbell explains how avian influenza has evolved to become more contagious since 2021, leaving the United States approximately 12 million laying hens short of meeting domestic egg demand. His practical insights reveal why proper protocols are critical and how most disease outbreaks can be traced back to human activity on farms.
But this episode goes beyond industry talk when Campbell shares a deeply personal story that reveals the true character of the poultry community. After his wife suffered severe injuries in a catastrophic car accident in December 2020, the industry rallied around his family with prayer and support. Three years later, colleagues still check on her recovery—demonstrating how professional relationships in this field often become meaningful personal connections.
For those navigating leadership positions, Campbell offers invaluable wisdom on balancing the 24/7 demands of poultry management with family life, building strong teams through effective communication, and embracing change when faced with the common resistance of "we've always done it this way." His parting message comes from Mark 9:23: "Everything is possible for those who believe"—a philosophy that has guided him through both personal tragedy and industry transformation.
Whether you're new to the poultry industry or a seasoned professional, this conversation provides a roadmap for leadership with integrity, resilience, and faith during challenging times.
Hosted by Brandon Mulnix - Director of Commercial Accounts - Prism Controls
The Poultry Leadership Podcast is only possible because of its sponsor, Prism Controls
Find out more about them at www.prismcontrols.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brandon Mulnix (00:00):
Welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast.
I'm your host, Brandon Mulnix,and this week we're doing
something different.
I'm not available to createanother episode this week, so
I'm going back in time andreleasing episode one, because
it's still one of everybody'sfavorites, and definitely one of
mine.
There's so much positivefeedback we get from this
episode.
I know that not everybody'sheard it, so let's go back and
(00:23):
interview Benji Campbell fromCalamine Foods.
(00:54):
Welcome to the PoultryLeadership Podcast.
I'm your host, Brandon Mulnix.
This is a podcast all aboutpoultry leadership.
Whether you're one day in theindustry or third generation in
the industry, this podcast isfor you.
The idea of this podcast is toshare stories from industry
leaders to the next generationof poultry leaders.
I have the amazing pleasuretoday of this being the kickoff
(01:18):
edition, and with me, live inperson, I have Benji Campbell,
general manager of calaminefoods.
I invited Benji along on alittle trip here and we're just
enjoying some time together invenice, louisiana, and Benji's
going to help by sharing hisstory.
Benji, welcome to the podcast.
How you doing today bud, I'mgood.
Benji Campbell (01:38):
How are you?
Thank you right in for forhaving me on this.
Uh, be your first guinea pig, Iwould say for this.
It's hard to believe it's beenfour years since we met each
other, but it's been good doingbusiness.
Like Brandon said, I'm BenjiCampbell.
I'm the general manager for CalMaine Foods at our Pittsburgh,
Texas location.
I grew up in a small town ofFlora, Mississippi, where I
(02:01):
graduated from Tri-CountyAcademy.
I went on from there to receivea bachelor's in business
management from Delta StateUniversity and that's where I
met my beautiful wife and lifepartner.
We also have two beautifuldaughters, Bricklin and Oakley.
Brandon Mulnix (02:15):
Very cool.
Have they gotten in theindustry?
Yet we have.
Benji Campbell (02:19):
You know they both are farm girls.
You know living on the farm andgrowing up on the Calamity
farms that we were at inLouisiana and Edwards,
mississippi, and they both haveexperienced the whole packing
eggs and what it takes toprocess eggs in our industry.
That's really cool.
Brandon Mulnix (02:40):
As we kick off this podcast, any shout outs to
anybody who, in your career, whohelps you along the journey
like you're looking to helpsomebody else along the journey
um were.
Benji Campbell (02:49):
My grandpa, adams, was an entrepreneur
himself, started a communicationbusiness after he got out of
the navy and went on to run thatbusiness until his passing um
(03:12):
and then my, my grandpa, youknow, campbell, was a mechanic
for the ford motor company andhe was there for 40 plus years
and went on to to be a mechanicat a local butane um supplier in
yazoo county mississippi.
And um, as well as you know mydad um.
He taught me a lot of a lot ofhard work.
(03:35):
My dad is an entrepreneurhimself.
In 1983 he started his owncompany, uh, in air conditioning
and heating.
Um and just the just thebenefit that I got from watching
him run a business as well asbe a family man, yeah, really
got me to where I am today.
Just the hard work, thededication that it takes uh to
(03:57):
be a successful you know, notreally a a you know um, but so
your dad had.
Your dad had pretty biginfluence on you then yeah, yeah
, he uh definitely did um justteaching me the right and wrongs
, the what to do, you know, fromthe aspects of running a
business.
Brandon Mulnix (04:16):
Um so, with your dad being an incredible
influence on you and theindustry going through, you know
, quite a bit over the lastcouple of years.
There's a lot of big topicslike avian influenza and COVID
stuff like that.
What are some of the greatestlessons learned in the last 12
months or?
Benji Campbell (04:36):
maybe a little longer.
Yeah, lessons learned in thepast 12 months from a challenge
that the forums is.
You know, our biosecuritypractices.
Um, obviously, we went througha, yeah, a pretty big challenge
in 2015 and this, this challengethat we've been faced since,
(04:56):
you know, 2021 and 2022, um,just the the disease itself is
evolving right, um, and it'sbecoming more contagious,
whether it it's through, youknow, turkeys, it's through
broilers, breeders, it's through, you know, even commercial
layers.
That in itself has just becomea challenge to our farms, and
(05:17):
you know, just, a daily way oflife that we practice
biosecurity throughout our farmsis to prevent that disease from
coming to us.
Brandon Mulnix (05:26):
Looking at someone that's up and coming in
the industry.
What does that biosecurity meanto them?
Why is this that?
Benji Campbell (05:34):
important.
What's our way of life?
For one thing, without our henswe don't have a job.
We don't take care of our hens,we don't take care of the
health of our hens.
You know there's no job for usin the industry.
It's you know we wouldbasically be rebuilding a
complex or re-housing a complexof hens.
(05:58):
So that's what we stress to ouremployees as management the
importance to practice goodbiosecurity, because we never
know what's on on our doorstep.
You never know what's what'soutside our doorstep.
You know what can be broughtonto the farms is easily
contracted and most of the umyou know outbreaks have been.
(06:21):
You know they're back to, youknow humans bringing it into
your farm.
Brandon Mulnix (06:26):
Wow, it just seems strange that you know just
some poor practices.
You know.
Driving down the road, you knownot cleaning your stuff,
walking in a barn, you know, andjust the impact that can have
on a farm.
You were talking earlier aboutthe number of hens and the fact
that we're still not recovered.
Can you tell me a little bitmore?
Benji Campbell (06:44):
about that.
So, Brandon, with the UnitedStates, we've got roughly 330
million people in the UnitedStates.
Our USDA hash numbers reporteda 318 million hen number a
couple months ago and thatleaves us about about 12 million
(07:08):
hens short of being able tosupply the United States with
the adequate number of eggs thatis needed.
Brandon Mulnix (07:17):
Okay, interesting.
So I'm going to change this alittle bit and get a little bit
more deep into who BenjiCampbell is.
I'm going to ask you you thequestion what's the most
difficult thing you've gonethrough and how did you overcome
?
Benji Campbell (07:28):
it.
So you're digging deep here,probably a little bit yeah
that's how we are, oh yeah.
So, um, probably the mostdifficult thing that I've ever
had to go through in my lifecurrently um was my wife was
involved in a, you know, a caraccident in uh, december,
december 31st of 2020.
(07:50):
Um, yeah, and everybody knowsthat 2020 was bad enough, with
the covid uh spill there andeverything that the industry and
you know just the industry as awhole, but, as you know, the
poultry industry as a whole, butthe entire united states went
through during 2012 and you knowwe decided we'd just uh send
2020 without with a bang, youknow, literally.
(08:12):
And you know her accident um,you know it left her with, um,
you know, broken femur on herleft side.
That was was broken in twospots, um, the femur bone was
actually protruding out from herleg.
The emergency brake pedal ofher vehicle went through the
(08:35):
lower portion of her leg, whichactually broke her tibia into,
obviously tearing all the muscletissue with that.
She suffered two pelvicfractures um lacerated liver, uh
torn, you know, acl and pcl inher, in her right knee, just
from the impact of the.
The dashboard hitting her.
(08:55):
She was.
She was hit head-on.
She was driving a chevy tommywas hit head-on by an f-450 um
which had a, uh, ranch styleflatbed that you know, was
overhanging on her side, with aguy crossed over to sit alone in
a curve and, um, pretty muchyou know side swiped her and the
(09:17):
bed of the truck is what didthe damage to her vehicle in her
as well.
Um, you know, and the worst partof that was, you know, I was
the the third person on the onthe scene because I was we just
left work it was shortly behindher and home to um, we were
actually getting ready to gospend christmas with our family.
(09:38):
We were heading on the back andgo go see family when this
happened.
The worst part about the wholedeal was when I pulled up on the
scene and I couldn't help herbecause there was no way that I
could get her physically out ofthe vehicle because of the way
(09:59):
that the, the door was smashedin and all from the vehicle.
So I had to just sit there andwatch my wife in pain, trying to
calm her as well and waiting onparamedics and the fire
department to get there.
I waited for over an hourbefore they finally got her cut
out of that vehicle.
Going through that was probablyone of the most difficult
(10:23):
things I've ever had to gothrough.
We got through it.
Um, you know there was a lot ofprayer, reached out to a lot, of
a lot of people.
Um, you know all of our family,um, you know our co-workers,
even people that we know acrossthe the poultry industry,
reached out to me and was askingme what can we do for you, what
(10:45):
can we do to help you and yourwife through this situation?
And you know, and biggest thingI could tell them was just pray
.
You know pray that she'll bethrough.
You know, recover.
You know 100%, yeah, and stillto this day.
And it just goes to show you howgreat this poultry industry is
and the company that you know wework for.
(11:06):
You know, uh, cal me foods, uh,just, I constantly have people,
to this day, every time that Italk to them, ask me how my wife
is, how she's doing, how herrecovery is going.
You know, and we're three yearsout from this thing, um, so
just that just goes to show youthis the, the family that we
have, you know, not just in calme, because cal means a very
(11:30):
family oriented company, um,just a great family feel and
can't speak enough about thatbut just the, the family that
the poultry industry in itselfhas just just the connections
through the vendors that we have, um just just how much those
people you know truly care about.
(11:50):
You know the, the people insidethe industry that are taking
care yeah that, ah, man, I'm,I'm glad she's doing really well
.
Brandon Mulnix (11:57):
I got to see her here in texas and not that long
ago and she's, you know, seemsto be doing pretty well.
Girls seem to be doing prettypretty good.
You know family.
So, yeah, glad, glad you camethrough all that.
So, going off script a littlebit with our topic here, talk
about work-life balance.
As a leader in this industry,how do you prioritize, when work
(12:19):
is 365 days a year, cause thechickens never stop versus that
family time?
Right?
Benji Campbell (12:26):
yeah and that and that goes back to, uh, you
know kind of what I mentioned alittle bit earlier about my dad.
You know just um, yeah, on, andI was on his own business,
that's.
You know anybody that knows.
Uh, you know a single businessowner.
You know an entrepreneur that'strying to be I mean, it's a 365
day a year job and the, thebalance that you have to have,
(12:49):
um, for work versus family.
You know it's.
You know something, just justas a person, that you have to
figure out all your own.
You know there there's justsometimes you have to say, hey,
I'm at a ball game or hey, I'mat a function, but what can I do
to help figure out a certainproblem or situation that you
(13:11):
can do?
And it's just a fine balance offamily and company time that
you kind of have to figure outpersonally, really.
Brandon Mulnix (13:19):
Yeah, I struggle with a lot of the same
challenges being on the vendorside, because our customers
never sleep.
It'll work nine to five and youknow we understand that there's
issues middle of the night,christmas, and you know, the
ones I know really have I'vereally grown to like are ones
that will treat customers thesame way they treat their family
(13:40):
and a lot of ways where they'rewilling to give up, you know,
an evening to talk to a customerwhen their farm has had, you
know, been hit with AI and youmentioned, you know, the poultry
industry is a pretty specialplace and I'm glad to be part of
that for that reason alone isjust because I know that there's
a lot of people that will reachout and you know whether
there's a fire or whetherthere's a, you know, wind storm
(14:04):
or a family emergency, you knowhow many people reach out and
say, hey, how can I help?
Whether it's just prayer,whether it's, you know, you know
they just want to help.
So now, that's what I loveabout this industry as well.
Now, you know you're a generalmanager of a farm and you've got
a job to do.
Benji Campbell (14:28):
What's a win for you?
So obviously, uh, a win for meis the fact that, you know, my
wife never still here with us,you know, just just to to go
back on that last question I hadfor but yeah, I mean a a daily
win, you know, is obviouslywaking up every day and getting
to go to a job that I love to do.
Yeah, and that's another thing,kind of kicking back, you know,
to the grandparents.
Uh, you know, my grandpaCampbell told me.
He said, if you find somethingthat you love to do, it's never
(14:51):
work.
Yeah, you'll never work a dayin your life If you find
something that you love to do,and I have.
Brandon Mulnix (14:57):
I have found that in the poultry industry and
I truly do love getting up andgoing to work every day and
that's a win okay, you and I aregoing to jump in a time machine
and go back to a day much, muchearlier in your career where
it's a younger Benji Campbell.
Yeah, and you're just gettingstarted in this industry.
What's one piece of advice yougive that young Benji Campbell?
(15:18):
Don't be afraid to take chanceswow yeah, why do you give that
advice?
Benji Campbell (15:23):
just, you know it's, you know we've been, we've
been.
I've been reading a book herelately that's, uh, it's, it's
called, it's your ship, um, andthe biggest piece of advice that
, uh, that's given in that bookis no matter what you know,
adversity comes, you know,towards you is to not be afraid
(15:44):
to take a chance and go outsideof not necessarily a company's
you know comfort zone, but don'tbe afraid to take the chance to
make a situation better what'sthe worst thing they can do?
Brandon Mulnix (15:58):
take away your birthday, yeah, yeah, that's
what I hear a lot.
Um, and I just goes back to oneof my philosophies always been.
You know I wouldn't be marriedunless I asked.
You know you got to take thoseguesses.
You know they can't.
What's the worst thing thatcould happen?
They can tell you no, and untilthey tell you no, then you
don't know what really reallythe answer is.
(16:19):
And so, yeah, that's greatadvice.
That really is Yep, and I'msure that young Benji Campbell
would appreciate you telling himthat Hell, yeah, because it is
afraid.
Yeah, you know, in theseindustries, when you're working
through these challenges andyou're afraid because they've
always done it this way, youknow, as we talked about, you
know with these young guys thisweek, you know this last day or
(16:40):
so, and you'd hear, well,they've always been doing it
that way.
Or you know, change is hard andall of these different things,
but how that process got put inthe first place was someone had
to step up and say, hey, I thinkwe should do it this way and
that's the way that worked,whether that was yesterday or 10
years ago, that's the way thatworked.
But also be willing to makethat change again, you know, and
(17:01):
always be working on the nextthing or, you know, looking at
it from a new perspective orwith new technologies, or or
just different, differentopportunities as they come up.
So let's look at the industryas a whole.
Right now, you know, ai is, youknow, one of the biggest,
biggest problems out there.
But let's, let's look at one ofthe other challenges.
What's the biggest challengefor you in the poultry industry?
Benji Campbell (17:24):
I would say it's , um, just the, the requirements
that we're, you know, seeingfrom not necessarily just just
customers, but just the overallindustry itself, just the
different requirements thatwe're having to do, whether it's
caged versus cage-free, as wellas just the audits that we are
(17:50):
being asked to go through.
Brandon Mulnix (17:53):
So what do you mean by audits?
I mean, if I'm new to this, I'man upcoming person what is an
audit?
It's kind of that question.
Is no questions too dumb here?
You know, sure, let's keep someof the basics, but what's an?
Benji Campbell (18:04):
audit.
Yeah.
So, um, you know, in an audit,you know we, we go through, you
know all of our um.
Your SQF is obviously our, our,one of our big ones, which is
our, our safe quality foodsaudit.
Um, yeah, that makes sure thatwe're practicing all GMPs in the
process of planning and makesure that we're doing what we
(18:25):
say we're doing, as well as notonly our bird health, our hen
health with our UEP, our AHCrequirements From a cage-free
standpoint, the AOC audit.
Now we're being did with aCalifornia, you know, prop 12
audit, which is a new audit thisyear that we'll be going
(18:47):
through.
Brandon Mulnix (18:48):
Yeah, I mean, that's the challenges that just
keep, you know, keep coming asthe world continues to change
and you guys, you know, seem tobe able to get through it.
I mean it's a lot of work, moreman hours, more everything, but
yeah, that's definitely achallenge.
So if you could solve oneproblem for your team, what?
Benji Campbell (19:06):
problem would you solve?
You know it's that's, that's areally that is a tough question,
Brandon.
Um, you know I've I haven'tcreated a team.
You know, in a few years thatI've been, you know, five years
going on now being a generalmanager.
We've created a team that hasgood camaraderie.
There's good communication, youknow, between our processing
(19:29):
and production teams.
You know I've developed a goodstrong group of leaders as well
as employees.
Yeah, they work hard and theywork on a daily basis.
Um, they're dedicated to makingthings better.
Um, so I guess really, the youknow, the biggest, biggest thing
, biggest problem is just thatcontinue, uh, to continue the
(19:52):
momentum that we, we'veestablished and, you know, in
the vision, um know, just to bethe most sustainable and high
quality producer of shell eggs.
You know that we can be, you'rehow old are you, Benji?
Brandon Mulnix (20:04):
I'm 35.
35.
So, as you look forward, what'snext for you in life and your
career?
Benji Campbell (20:09):
You know, I take every day as a learning
opportunity.
Every day that I come to work Itry to learn, try to get better
.
So the the continue learning,uh, to better improve myself as
a leader, um and further in myfuture.
You know, in in the poultryindustry.
Brandon Mulnix (20:27):
Are there anything you do like to help
help yourself grow and learn?
Any tools out there that you'dyou know, take advantage.
Well, I I.
Benji Campbell (20:35):
I like to, to listen to.
Uh, you know everything I.
I take everything that ourupper management in our company,
things that they speak aboutand talk about.
I take that to heart and try tolearn the best that I can from
them.
Brandon Mulnix (20:49):
Okay, is there anything that I didn't ask you
that you believe is important toshare with the next generation
of leaders?
Benji Campbell (20:56):
Yeah, it's really not a.
You ask really good questionsand some difficult ones, right,
but you know, really the onlymessage I guess that I could
leave behind and it actuallycomes from a Bible verse that
you know I wrote.
You know every football gamethat I played in my entire high
school and college career itcomes from Mark 9, 23.
(21:19):
You know it says if you can,jesus said everything is
possible for those who believe,and during that passage Jesus is
actually speaking to a fatherwhose son was possessed by a
demon and through the father'sbeliefs, that demon was actually
casted out from the son.
Uh, through jesus and hisbeliefs.
(21:42):
So the biggest thing I guess Ican leave behind, and you know,
is no matter, you know whattrial or tribulation that you
experience, you know whether,whether it's personal, um, or
it's you know, through yourcareer yeah, every career has
its own challenges.
So through that career or injust life in general, you know,
if you believe that you can dosomething, everything is
(22:05):
possible.
Everything is possible forthose who believe, and that's
probably the greatest thing thatI can leave mind right now.
Wow.
Brandon Mulnix (22:11):
I mean, if you go back and just listen to
Benny's story throughout thisand the you know trials,
tribulation that he's beenthrough, I can understand why he
has a good team.
You know, I've had to meet um,have met many of my team members
, um, in fact I spent super bowlsunday for three and a half
years ago with Benji and when Imet him he invited me into his
(22:33):
home and that that's a lot to meabout this industry and that's
just something I can't ever say.
Thank you enough.
You invited me in.
I was young and I was new tothe industry.
I was inexperienced and youdidn't care.
You said hey, come break breadwith me at my family's house.
I'm going to introduce you tomy wife, I'm going to introduce
you to my kids.
You better pick my wings,otherwise as a guest judge
(22:56):
otherwise as a guest judge,otherwise you know you're out
the door.
Oh, you just included me and itjust felt so much, you know, it
just brought me in and justgave me, you know, helped me
understand why I like theindustry so much.
So, Benji, I appreciate yourtime.
This has been a great, greatadventure.
Absolutely.
I couldn't ask for somebodythat you know would come on,
(23:18):
come on the show with me and andget this thing started for the
industry.
So I hope this isn't the lasttime the industry hears from you
on this podcast.
Sure, hopefully in the future wecan get you back on and, you
know, share about another, maybeone of your favorite topics,
probably around deer hunting orsomething, yeah, and events
outside of work.
That's right, but justappreciate your time and events
(23:39):
outside of work.
But just appreciate your timeand as guests.
Please share this podcast withup and coming leaders or others
in the industry that are justtrying to learn and grow.
This is a tool that can be usedjust to help people grow.
When you're in a situation inlife and you haven't experienced
it, these stories might be ableto come back through and the
(24:00):
things that Benji's been able toovercome may inspire others.
So please share this podcast.
We appreciate you and lookforward to serving you as we
move forward.
Benji Campbell (24:09):
Good deal.
Thank you, Brandon.
Brandon Mulnix (24:15):
Hey, I hope you enjoyed that episode as much as
I did.
Before we go, I want to thankour sponsors, prism Controls.
They have been the main part ofwhy this podcast exists.
They really feel that growinggreat leaders in this industry
is valuable, and so theycontinue to support this show.
So I really want to thank youas listeners and I encourage you
(24:37):
to share this episode so folksunderstand that the Poultry
Leadership Podcast is the way togrow in the industry.
Welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast.
I'm your host, Brandon Mulnix,and this week we're doing
something different.
I'm not available to createanother episode this week, so
I'm going back in time andreleasing episode one, because
it's still one of everybody'sfavorites, and definitely one of
mine.
There's so much positivefeedback we get from this
episode.
I know that not everybody'sheard it, so let's go back and
(00:23):
interview Benji Campbell fromCalamine Foods.
(00:54):
Welcome to the PoultryLeadership Podcast.
I'm your host, Brandon Mulnix.
This is a podcast all aboutpoultry leadership.
Whether you're one day in theindustry or third generation in
the industry, this podcast isfor you.
The idea of this podcast is toshare stories from industry
leaders to the next generationof poultry leaders.
I have the amazing pleasuretoday of this being the kickoff
(01:18):
edition, and with me, live inperson, I have Benji Campbell,
general manager of calaminefoods.
I invited Benji along on alittle trip here and we're just
enjoying some time together invenice, louisiana, and Benji's
going to help by sharing hisstory.
Benji, welcome to the podcast.
How you doing today bud, I'mgood.
Benji Campbell (01:38):
How are you?
Thank you right in for forhaving me on this.
Uh, be your first guinea pig, Iwould say for this.
It's hard to believe it's beenfour years since we met each
other, but it's been good doingbusiness.
Like Brandon said, I'm BenjiCampbell.
I'm the general manager for CalMaine Foods at our Pittsburgh,
Texas location.
I grew up in a small town ofFlora, Mississippi, where I
(02:01):
graduated from Tri-CountyAcademy.
I went on from there to receivea bachelor's in business
management from Delta StateUniversity and that's where I
met my beautiful wife and lifepartner.
We also have two beautifuldaughters, Bricklin and Oakley.
Brandon Mulnix (02:15):
Very cool.
Have they gotten in theindustry?
Yet we have.
Benji Campbell (02:19):
You know they both are farm girls.
You know living on the farm andgrowing up on the Calamity
farms that we were at inLouisiana and Edwards,
mississippi, and they both haveexperienced the whole packing
eggs and what it takes toprocess eggs in our industry.
That's really cool.
Brandon Mulnix (02:40):
As we kick off this podcast, any shout outs to
anybody who, in your career, whohelps you along the journey
like you're looking to helpsomebody else along the journey
um were.
Benji Campbell (02:49):
My grandpa, adams, was an entrepreneur
himself, started a communicationbusiness after he got out of
the navy and went on to run thatbusiness until his passing um
(03:12):
and then my, my grandpa, youknow, campbell, was a mechanic
for the ford motor company andhe was there for 40 plus years
and went on to to be a mechanicat a local butane um supplier in
yazoo county mississippi.
And um, as well as you know mydad um.
He taught me a lot of a lot ofhard work.
(03:35):
My dad is an entrepreneurhimself.
In 1983 he started his owncompany, uh, in air conditioning
and heating.
Um and just the just thebenefit that I got from watching
him run a business as well asbe a family man, yeah, really
got me to where I am today.
Just the hard work, thededication that it takes uh to
(03:57):
be a successful you know, notreally a a you know um, but so
your dad had.
Your dad had pretty biginfluence on you then yeah, yeah
, he uh definitely did um justteaching me the right and wrongs
, the what to do, you know, fromthe aspects of running a
business.
Brandon Mulnix (04:16):
Um so, with your dad being an incredible
influence on you and theindustry going through, you know
, quite a bit over the lastcouple of years.
There's a lot of big topicslike avian influenza and COVID
stuff like that.
What are some of the greatestlessons learned in the last 12
months or?
Benji Campbell (04:36):
maybe a little longer.
Yeah, lessons learned in thepast 12 months from a challenge
that the forums is.
You know, our biosecuritypractices.
Um, obviously, we went througha, yeah, a pretty big challenge
in 2015 and this, this challengethat we've been faced since,
(04:56):
you know, 2021 and 2022, um,just the the disease itself is
evolving right, um, and it'sbecoming more contagious,
whether it it's through, youknow, turkeys, it's through
broilers, breeders, it's through, you know, even commercial
layers.
That in itself has just becomea challenge to our farms, and
(05:17):
you know, just, a daily way oflife that we practice
biosecurity throughout our farmsis to prevent that disease from
coming to us.
Brandon Mulnix (05:26):
Looking at someone that's up and coming in
the industry.
What does that biosecurity meanto them?
Why is this that?
Benji Campbell (05:34):
important.
What's our way of life?
For one thing, without our henswe don't have a job.
We don't take care of our hens,we don't take care of the
health of our hens.
You know there's no job for usin the industry.
It's you know we wouldbasically be rebuilding a
complex or re-housing a complexof hens.
(05:58):
So that's what we stress to ouremployees as management the
importance to practice goodbiosecurity, because we never
know what's on on our doorstep.
You never know what's what'soutside our doorstep.
You know what can be broughtonto the farms is easily
contracted and most of the umyou know outbreaks have been.
(06:21):
You know they're back to, youknow humans bringing it into
your farm.
Brandon Mulnix (06:26):
Wow, it just seems strange that you know just
some poor practices.
You know.
Driving down the road, you knownot cleaning your stuff,
walking in a barn, you know, andjust the impact that can have
on a farm.
You were talking earlier aboutthe number of hens and the fact
that we're still not recovered.
Can you tell me a little bitmore?
Benji Campbell (06:44):
about that.
So, Brandon, with the UnitedStates, we've got roughly 330
million people in the UnitedStates.
Our USDA hash numbers reporteda 318 million hen number a
couple months ago and thatleaves us about about 12 million
(07:08):
hens short of being able tosupply the United States with
the adequate number of eggs thatis needed.
Brandon Mulnix (07:17):
Okay, interesting.
So I'm going to change this alittle bit and get a little bit
more deep into who BenjiCampbell is.
I'm going to ask you you thequestion what's the most
difficult thing you've gonethrough and how did you overcome
?
Benji Campbell (07:28):
it.
So you're digging deep here,probably a little bit yeah
that's how we are, oh yeah.
So, um, probably the mostdifficult thing that I've ever
had to go through in my lifecurrently um was my wife was
involved in a, you know, a caraccident in uh, december,
december 31st of 2020.
(07:50):
Um, yeah, and everybody knowsthat 2020 was bad enough, with
the covid uh spill there andeverything that the industry and
you know just the industry as awhole, but, as you know, the
poultry industry as a whole, butthe entire united states went
through during 2012 and you knowwe decided we'd just uh send
2020 without with a bang, youknow, literally.
(08:12):
And you know her accident um,you know it left her with, um,
you know, broken femur on herleft side.
That was was broken in twospots, um, the femur bone was
actually protruding out from herleg.
The emergency brake pedal ofher vehicle went through the
(08:35):
lower portion of her leg, whichactually broke her tibia into,
obviously tearing all the muscletissue with that.
She suffered two pelvicfractures um lacerated liver, uh
torn, you know, acl and pcl inher, in her right knee, just
from the impact of the.
The dashboard hitting her.
(08:55):
She was.
She was hit head-on.
She was driving a chevy tommywas hit head-on by an f-450 um
which had a, uh, ranch styleflatbed that you know, was
overhanging on her side, with aguy crossed over to sit alone in
a curve and, um, pretty muchyou know side swiped her and the
(09:17):
bed of the truck is what didthe damage to her vehicle in her
as well.
Um, you know, and the worst partof that was, you know, I was
the the third person on the onthe scene because I was we just
left work it was shortly behindher and home to um, we were
actually getting ready to gospend christmas with our family.
(09:38):
We were heading on the back andgo go see family when this
happened.
The worst part about the wholedeal was when I pulled up on the
scene and I couldn't help herbecause there was no way that I
could get her physically out ofthe vehicle because of the way
(09:59):
that the, the door was smashedin and all from the vehicle.
So I had to just sit there andwatch my wife in pain, trying to
calm her as well and waiting onparamedics and the fire
department to get there.
I waited for over an hourbefore they finally got her cut
out of that vehicle.
Going through that was probablyone of the most difficult
(10:23):
things I've ever had to gothrough.
We got through it.
Um, you know there was a lot ofprayer, reached out to a lot, of
a lot of people.
Um, you know all of our family,um, you know our co-workers,
even people that we know acrossthe the poultry industry,
reached out to me and was askingme what can we do for you, what
(10:45):
can we do to help you and yourwife through this situation?
And you know, and biggest thingI could tell them was just pray
.
You know pray that she'll bethrough.
You know, recover.
You know 100%, yeah, and stillto this day.
And it just goes to show you howgreat this poultry industry is
and the company that you know wework for.
(11:06):
You know, uh, cal me foods, uh,just, I constantly have people,
to this day, every time that Italk to them, ask me how my wife
is, how she's doing, how herrecovery is going.
You know, and we're three yearsout from this thing, um, so
just that just goes to show youthis the, the family that we
have, you know, not just in calme, because cal means a very
(11:30):
family oriented company, um,just a great family feel and
can't speak enough about thatbut just the, the family that
the poultry industry in itselfhas just just the connections
through the vendors that we have, um just just how much those
people you know truly care about.
(11:50):
You know the, the people insidethe industry that are taking
care yeah that, ah, man, I'm,I'm glad she's doing really well
.
Brandon Mulnix (11:57):
I got to see her here in texas and not that long
ago and she's, you know, seemsto be doing pretty well.
Girls seem to be doing prettypretty good.
You know family.
So, yeah, glad, glad you camethrough all that.
So, going off script a littlebit with our topic here, talk
about work-life balance.
As a leader in this industry,how do you prioritize, when work
(12:19):
is 365 days a year, cause thechickens never stop versus that
family time?
Right?
Benji Campbell (12:26):
yeah and that and that goes back to, uh, you
know kind of what I mentioned alittle bit earlier about my dad.
You know just um, yeah, on, andI was on his own business,
that's.
You know anybody that knows.
Uh, you know a single businessowner.
You know an entrepreneur that'strying to be I mean, it's a 365
day a year job and the, thebalance that you have to have,
(12:49):
um, for work versus family.
You know it's.
You know something, just justas a person, that you have to
figure out all your own.
You know there there's justsometimes you have to say, hey,
I'm at a ball game or hey, I'mat a function, but what can I do
to help figure out a certainproblem or situation that you
(13:11):
can do?
And it's just a fine balance offamily and company time that
you kind of have to figure outpersonally, really.
Brandon Mulnix (13:19):
Yeah, I struggle with a lot of the same
challenges being on the vendorside, because our customers
never sleep.
It'll work nine to five and youknow we understand that there's
issues middle of the night,christmas, and you know, the
ones I know really have I'vereally grown to like are ones
that will treat customers thesame way they treat their family
(13:40):
and a lot of ways where they'rewilling to give up, you know,
an evening to talk to a customerwhen their farm has had, you
know, been hit with AI and youmentioned, you know, the poultry
industry is a pretty specialplace and I'm glad to be part of
that for that reason alone isjust because I know that there's
a lot of people that will reachout and you know whether
there's a fire or whetherthere's a, you know, wind storm
(14:04):
or a family emergency, you knowhow many people reach out and
say, hey, how can I help?
Whether it's just prayer,whether it's, you know, you know
they just want to help.
So now, that's what I loveabout this industry as well.
Now, you know you're a generalmanager of a farm and you've got
a job to do.
Benji Campbell (14:28):
What's a win for you?
So obviously, uh, a win for meis the fact that, you know, my
wife never still here with us,you know, just just to to go
back on that last question I hadfor but yeah, I mean a a daily
win, you know, is obviouslywaking up every day and getting
to go to a job that I love to do.
Yeah, and that's another thing,kind of kicking back, you know,
to the grandparents.
Uh, you know, my grandpaCampbell told me.
He said, if you find somethingthat you love to do, it's never
(14:51):
work.
Yeah, you'll never work a dayin your life If you find
something that you love to do,and I have.
Brandon Mulnix (14:57):
I have found that in the poultry industry and
I truly do love getting up andgoing to work every day and
that's a win okay, you and I aregoing to jump in a time machine
and go back to a day much, muchearlier in your career where
it's a younger Benji Campbell.
Yeah, and you're just gettingstarted in this industry.
What's one piece of advice yougive that young Benji Campbell?
(15:18):
Don't be afraid to take chanceswow yeah, why do you give that
advice?
Benji Campbell (15:23):
just, you know it's, you know we've been, we've
been.
I've been reading a book herelately that's, uh, it's, it's
called, it's your ship, um, andthe biggest piece of advice that
, uh, that's given in that bookis no matter what you know,
adversity comes, you know,towards you is to not be afraid
(15:44):
to take a chance and go outsideof not necessarily a company's
you know comfort zone, but don'tbe afraid to take the chance to
make a situation better what'sthe worst thing they can do?
Brandon Mulnix (15:58):
take away your birthday, yeah, yeah, that's
what I hear a lot.
Um, and I just goes back to oneof my philosophies always been.
You know I wouldn't be marriedunless I asked.
You know you got to take thoseguesses.
You know they can't.
What's the worst thing thatcould happen?
They can tell you no, and untilthey tell you no, then you
don't know what really reallythe answer is.
(16:19):
And so, yeah, that's greatadvice.
That really is Yep, and I'msure that young Benji Campbell
would appreciate you telling himthat Hell, yeah, because it is
afraid.
Yeah, you know, in theseindustries, when you're working
through these challenges andyou're afraid because they've
always done it this way, youknow, as we talked about, you
know with these young guys thisweek, you know this last day or
(16:40):
so, and you'd hear, well,they've always been doing it
that way.
Or you know, change is hard andall of these different things,
but how that process got put inthe first place was someone had
to step up and say, hey, I thinkwe should do it this way and
that's the way that worked,whether that was yesterday or 10
years ago, that's the way thatworked.
But also be willing to makethat change again, you know, and
(17:01):
always be working on the nextthing or, you know, looking at
it from a new perspective orwith new technologies, or or
just different, differentopportunities as they come up.
So let's look at the industryas a whole.
Right now, you know, ai is, youknow, one of the biggest,
biggest problems out there.
But let's, let's look at one ofthe other challenges.
What's the biggest challengefor you in the poultry industry?
Benji Campbell (17:24):
I would say it's , um, just the, the requirements
that we're, you know, seeingfrom not necessarily just just
customers, but just the overallindustry itself, just the
different requirements thatwe're having to do, whether it's
caged versus cage-free, as wellas just the audits that we are
(17:50):
being asked to go through.
Brandon Mulnix (17:53):
So what do you mean by audits?
I mean, if I'm new to this, I'man upcoming person what is an
audit?
It's kind of that question.
Is no questions too dumb here?
You know, sure, let's keep someof the basics, but what's an?
Benji Campbell (18:04):
audit.
Yeah.
So, um, you know, in an audit,you know we, we go through, you
know all of our um.
Your SQF is obviously our, our,one of our big ones, which is
our, our safe quality foodsaudit.
Um, yeah, that makes sure thatwe're practicing all GMPs in the
process of planning and makesure that we're doing what we
(18:25):
say we're doing, as well as notonly our bird health, our hen
health with our UEP, our AHCrequirements From a cage-free
standpoint, the AOC audit.
Now we're being did with aCalifornia, you know, prop 12
audit, which is a new audit thisyear that we'll be going
(18:47):
through.
Brandon Mulnix (18:48):
Yeah, I mean, that's the challenges that just
keep, you know, keep coming asthe world continues to change
and you guys, you know, seem tobe able to get through it.
I mean it's a lot of work, moreman hours, more everything, but
yeah, that's definitely achallenge.
So if you could solve oneproblem for your team, what?
Benji Campbell (19:06):
problem would you solve?
You know it's that's, that's areally that is a tough question,
Brandon.
Um, you know I've I haven'tcreated a team.
You know, in a few years thatI've been, you know, five years
going on now being a generalmanager.
We've created a team that hasgood camaraderie.
There's good communication, youknow, between our processing
(19:29):
and production teams.
You know I've developed a goodstrong group of leaders as well
as employees.
Yeah, they work hard and theywork on a daily basis.
Um, they're dedicated to makingthings better.
Um, so I guess really, the youknow, the biggest, biggest thing
, biggest problem is just thatcontinue, uh, to continue the
(19:52):
momentum that we, we'veestablished and, you know, in
the vision, um know, just to bethe most sustainable and high
quality producer of shell eggs.
You know that we can be, you'rehow old are you, Benji?
Brandon Mulnix (20:04):
I'm 35.
35.
So, as you look forward, what'snext for you in life and your
career?
Benji Campbell (20:09):
You know, I take every day as a learning
opportunity.
Every day that I come to work Itry to learn, try to get better
.
So the the continue learning,uh, to better improve myself as
a leader, um and further in myfuture.
You know, in in the poultryindustry.
Brandon Mulnix (20:27):
Are there anything you do like to help
help yourself grow and learn?
Any tools out there that you'dyou know, take advantage.
Well, I I.
Benji Campbell (20:35):
I like to, to listen to.
Uh, you know everything I.
I take everything that ourupper management in our company,
things that they speak aboutand talk about.
I take that to heart and try tolearn the best that I can from
them.
Brandon Mulnix (20:49):
Okay, is there anything that I didn't ask you
that you believe is important toshare with the next generation
of leaders?
Benji Campbell (20:56):
Yeah, it's really not a.
You ask really good questionsand some difficult ones, right,
but you know, really the onlymessage I guess that I could
leave behind and it actuallycomes from a Bible verse that
you know I wrote.
You know every football gamethat I played in my entire high
school and college career itcomes from Mark 9, 23.
(21:19):
You know it says if you can,jesus said everything is
possible for those who believe,and during that passage Jesus is
actually speaking to a fatherwhose son was possessed by a
demon and through the father'sbeliefs, that demon was actually
casted out from the son.
Uh, through jesus and hisbeliefs.
(21:42):
So the biggest thing I guess Ican leave behind, and you know,
is no matter, you know whattrial or tribulation that you
experience, you know whether,whether it's personal, um, or
it's you know, through yourcareer yeah, every career has
its own challenges.
So through that career or injust life in general, you know,
if you believe that you can dosomething, everything is
(22:05):
possible.
Everything is possible forthose who believe, and that's
probably the greatest thing thatI can leave mind right now.
Wow.
Brandon Mulnix (22:11):
I mean, if you go back and just listen to
Benny's story throughout thisand the you know trials,
tribulation that he's beenthrough, I can understand why he
has a good team.
You know, I've had to meet um,have met many of my team members
, um, in fact I spent super bowlsunday for three and a half
years ago with Benji and when Imet him he invited me into his
(22:33):
home and that that's a lot to meabout this industry and that's
just something I can't ever say.
Thank you enough.
You invited me in.
I was young and I was new tothe industry.
I was inexperienced and youdidn't care.
You said hey, come break breadwith me at my family's house.
I'm going to introduce you tomy wife, I'm going to introduce
you to my kids.
You better pick my wings,otherwise as a guest judge
(22:56):
otherwise as a guest judge,otherwise you know you're out
the door.
Oh, you just included me and itjust felt so much, you know, it
just brought me in and justgave me, you know, helped me
understand why I like theindustry so much.
So, Benji, I appreciate yourtime.
This has been a great, greatadventure.
Absolutely.
I couldn't ask for somebodythat you know would come on,
(23:18):
come on the show with me and andget this thing started for the
industry.
So I hope this isn't the lasttime the industry hears from you
on this podcast.
Sure, hopefully in the future wecan get you back on and, you
know, share about another, maybeone of your favorite topics,
probably around deer hunting orsomething, yeah, and events
outside of work.
That's right, but justappreciate your time and events
(23:39):
outside of work.
But just appreciate your timeand as guests.
Please share this podcast withup and coming leaders or others
in the industry that are justtrying to learn and grow.
This is a tool that can be usedjust to help people grow.
When you're in a situation inlife and you haven't experienced
it, these stories might be ableto come back through and the
(24:00):
things that Benji's been able toovercome may inspire others.
So please share this podcast.
We appreciate you and lookforward to serving you as we
move forward.
Benji Campbell (24:09):
Good deal.
Thank you, Brandon.
Brandon Mulnix (24:15):
Hey, I hope you enjoyed that episode as much as
I did.
Before we go, I want to thankour sponsors, prism Controls.
They have been the main part ofwhy this podcast exists.
They really feel that growinggreat leaders in this industry
is valuable, and so theycontinue to support this show.
So I really want to thank youas listeners and I encourage you
(24:37):
to share this episode so folksunderstand that the Poultry
Leadership Podcast is the way togrow in the industry.
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