- 1953 Happy Chicken Farms is founded by Lee and Marjorie Lackey processing and selling eggs from the family garage on First Ave in Grandview Heights, Ohio with the kitchen table acting as the first office desk and panel van as first delivery truck.
- 1961 Lee Lackey and Floyd Hemmelgarn begin a decades long egg supply relationship and cooperate to secure the Big Bear Farms account.
- 1971 Happy Chicken Farms moves from its Fornoff Rd. processing plant into new facilities on Hendrix Dr. in Grove City
- 1975 Sister company, Merry Milk Maid is created along with expanding range of dairy products to include butter and margarine, and other food service products (but not milk at first!).
- 1975 Lee Lackey launches a new buying cooperative Midwest Foods Incorporated with Happy Chicken Farms and Hemmelgarn as first two members and conducting the administrative duties in the office.
- 1998 Happy Chicken Farms and Merry Milk Maid move to a newly built, 12,000 square foot office/warehouse location in Urbancrest, Ohio.
- 2003 Happy Chicken Farms celebrates its’ 50th anniversary – Midwest Farms is formed to purchase the assets of Brickland Enterprises, consisting of a single hatchery and multiple breeder farms in VA.
- 2005 A freezer/cooler addition of 4,500 square feet with ammonia system is completed to expand the ice cream division
- 2006 Midwest Egg Marketing is formed as an egg marketing cooperative to better serve its egg producing members with Happy Chicken Farms handling administrative duties.
- 2020 Completion of two bay truck maintenance/repair garage and parking lot expansion for up to 42 trucks and 50 employee parking spaces
- 2020 Merry Milk Maid celebrates its 45th anniversary
- 2023 Happy Chicken Farms celebrates its 70th anniversary!
Did You Know...?
Ohio is the #2 egg farming state in the U.S. and produces more than 10 BILLION EGGS each year!