Farmer's Feed and Seed Company was the birthplace of Pilgrim's Pride and the beginning of the modern chicken industry in Northeast Texas. On October 2, 1946, Aubrey E. Pilgrim acquired Farmer's Feed and Seed Company and was soon joined as a partner by his brother, Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim. The first chickens were sold from a small pen behind the building. From these modest beginnings as a farm supply store, the company grew into one of the largest producers and marketers of chicken in the world. Through its first fifty years of growth, Pilgrim's Pride's employee partners made it a leader in its industry in both the United States and Mexico. By its golden anniversary, Pilgrim's Pride had attained annual sales exceeding one billion dollars and was still growing. The company's success provided far-reaching economic benefits to rural America and to the hundreds of businesses that support it and are supported by its partners.