House of Raeford Farms has temporarily halted ready-to-cook chicken production at its Nesmith, South Carolina, plant following maintenance challenges that required immediate attention.
According to company spokesperson Dave Witter, the issues surfaced in mid-November and involved both construction-related work and several equipment repairs. The pause in operations began on November 17.
Because the company could not initially determine how long the repairs would take, House of Raeford notified the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and issued temporary furloughs for 216 employees connected to the affected production line.
Other parts of the facility remain active. Operations for mechanically separated chicken — an important output of the Nesmith site, often referred to locally as the “Hemingway Plant” — have continued throughout the maintenance period.
Witter emphasized that the disruption is expected to be short-term. House of Raeford anticipates restarting the ready-to-cook production line as early as next week and bringing furloughed employees back to work once repairs are completed.
The company confirmed that the situation only affects the Nesmith location and has no impact on its other facilities.
