Tyson was born in
Mound City, Missouri, the son of Isaac F. Tyson and his wife Anna, née Skelly. In 1931, John moved to
Springdale, Arkansas, with his wife and infant son Don, hauling hay, fruit, and chickens for local growers. Tyson's career in the poultry market began when he heard that chickens were bringing in higher prices in the northern parts of the United States than in his home of
Arkansas. Investing his savings and borrowing more, he began hauling chickens to Kansas City and St. Louis markets. In 1936, In the 1940s, Tyson purchased a broiler farm in Springdale and began cross-breeding the high-meat yield New Hampshire Red Christy chickens with other birds, a practice that was not then standard in the industry but which proved successful for Tyson. In 1947, he incorporated Tyson Feed and Hatchery, which was active in three phases of chicken farming: supplying chicks to farmers, selling feed to farmers, and transporting chickens to market. By 1952, the year Tyson's son
Don Tyson dropped out of college to join the company as
general manager, Tyson Feed and Hatchery was well established, but the field was competitive and the market was troubled. Tyson and his son considered accepting a buy-out offer from
Swanson, but decided to persist instead, and by the end of the decade had built the company's first processing plant in Springdale at a cost of $90,000, $15,000 above estimates. John and Helen died in a
train accident near Springdale in 1967; Don Tyson succeeded his father as CEO of the company. == References ==