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                                                                   Exhibit 10.17

                                                                  EXECUTION COPY

                               PIERRE FOODS, INC.

                           DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN

                                    ARTICLE I
                                  INTRODUCTION

         1.1   NAME. The name of this Plan shall be the "Pierre Foods, Inc.
Deferred Compensation Plan." Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, the
capitalized terms used in this Plan shall have the meanings set forth in Article
II.

         1.2   PURPOSE. The purpose of this Plan is to reward certain employees
of the Company and its Affiliates for their performance of past services. The
Plan will terminate when all Deferred Stock Bonuses have been distributed.
Accordingly, the Plan is intended to constitute a Bonus Program (as defined in
DOL Reg. Section 2510.3.2(c)) which is exempt from the requirements of ERISA.

         1.3   ADMINISTRATION OF THE PLAN. The Plan shall be administered by the
Committee. The duties and authority of the Committee under the Plan shall
include (i) the interpretation of the provisions of the Plan, (ii) the adoption
of any rules and regulations which may become necessary or advisable in the
operation of the Plan, (iii) the making of such determinations as may be
permitted or required pursuant to the Plan and (iv) the taking of such other
actions as may be required for the proper administration of the Plan in
accordance with its terms. Any decision of the Committee with respect to any
matter within the authority of the Committee shall be final, binding and
conclusive upon the Company and upon each Participant, former Participant,
designated beneficiary, and each Person claiming under or through any
Participant or designated beneficiary. No additional authorization or
ratification by the Board of Directors or stockholders of the Company shall be
required. Any action taken by the Committee with respect to any one or more
Participants shall not be binding on the Committee as to any action to be taken
with respect to any other Participant. A member of the Committee may be a
Participant, but no member of the Committee may participate in any decision
directly affecting his rights or the computation of his benefits as an
individual Participant under the Plan. Each determination required or permitted
under the Plan shall be made by the Committee in the sole and absolute
discretion of the Committee made in good faith.

                                   ARTICLE II
                                   DEFINITIONS

         2.1   "ACCOUNT" means a bookkeeping account maintained by the Company
for a Participant's Deferred Stock Bonus under the Plan.

         2.2   "AFFILIATE" of any Person means any other Person, directly or
indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with such Person.

         2.3   "AMENDMENT AND WAIVER" means the Amendment to the Employment
Agreement between the Company and Robert C. Naylor and the related Waiver of
Payment, dated as of May

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11, 2004 and the Third Amendment to Incentive Agreement between the Company and
Norbert E. Woodhams, Sr. and the related Waiver of Payment, dated as of May 11,
2004.

         2.4   "CODE" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

         2.5   "COMMITTEE" means the persons who have been designated by the
Board of Directors of the Company to administer the Plan. If no persons have
been designated by the Board of Directors of the Company to administer the Plan,
the full Board of Directors of the Company shall constitute the Committee for
purposes of this Plan.

         2.6   "COMPANY" means Pierre Foods, Inc., a North Carolina corporation,
or its successors or assigns under the Plan.

         2.7   "DEFERRED STOCK BONUS" means the amount of shares of Preferred
Stock (as determined from a Participant's Amendment and Waiver or otherwise)
which are allocated to a Participant's Account in accordance with Article III.

         2.8   "EFFECTIVE DATE" means June 30, 2004.

         2.9   "ERISA" means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974, as amended.

         2.10  "HOLDING" means Pierre Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation.

         2.11  "PARTICIPANT" means any eligible employee of the Company or its
Affiliates or any other Person who is participating under the Plan pursuant to
Article III.

         2.12  "PERSON" means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a
limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a
joint venture, an unincorporated organization and a governmental entity or any
department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

         2.13  "PLAN" means this "Pierre Foods, Inc. Deferred Compensation
Plan," as amended from time to time.

         2.14  "PREFERRED STOCK" means shares of Class A Preferred Stock, par
value $0.01 per share, of Holding.

                                   ARTICLE III
                               PLAN PARTICIPATION

         3.1   ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION. Each Person who executed an
Amendment and Waiver and such other Persons as the Committee may allow (each, a
"PARTICIPANT") shall be entitled to participate in this Plan. The Participants
and the amount of each Participant's Deferred Stock Bonus shall be listed on
EXHIBIT A attached hereto.

         3.2   DEFERRED STOCK BONUS ACCOUNT. The Committee shall establish and
maintain an Account with respect to each Participant who has received a Deferred
Stock Bonus. The Participant's Account shall be a bookkeeping account maintained
by the Company and shall

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reflect the amount of the Deferred Stock Bonus that has been allocated to each
Participant. The amount of any deemed earnings, gains and losses in each
Participant's Account shall be credited or charged to his Account in accordance
with Article IV.

                                   ARTICLE IV
                              EARNINGS ON ACCOUNTS

         4.1   DEFERRED STOCK BONUS RECEIPTS. Each Account shall be deemed to
receive all interest, dividends, earnings and other property which would have
been received with respect to the Preferred Stock deemed to be held in such
Account if such Account were actually invested in such Preferred Stock. Cash
deemed received with respect to the Preferred Stock shall be credited to the
Account as of the date it would have been available for reinvestment if the
Account were actually invested in the Preferred Stock. No actual investment in
Preferred Stock is required and such investment shall be solely for the
Company's own account, and the Participant shall have no right, title or
interest therein. Accordingly, each Participant is solely an unsecured creditor
of the Company with respect to any amount distributable to him under the Plan.

                                    ARTICLE V
                             ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST

         5.1   ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST. The Company may, in its sole discretion,
establish a grantor trust (as described in Section 671 of the Code) for the
purpose of accumulating assets to provide for the obligations hereunder. The
assets and income of such trust shall be subject to the claims of the general
creditors of the Company. The establishment of such a trust shall not affect the
Company's liability to pay benefits hereunder, except that any such liability
shall be offset by any payments actually made to a Participant under such a
trust. In the event such a trust is established, the amount to be contributed
thereto shall be determined by the Company and the investment of such assets
shall be made in accordance with the trust document.

         5.2   STATUS OF TRUST. Participants shall have no direct or secured
claim in any asset of the trust or in specific assets of the Company and will
have the status of general unsecured creditors of the Company for any amounts
due under this Plan. The assets and income of the trust will be subject to the
claims of the Company's creditors as provided in the trust document.

                                   ARTICLE VI
                            DISTRIBUTION OF ACCOUNTS

         6.1   VESTING. A Participant's Account shall be 100% vested and
nonforfeitable and shall be distributable to the Participant or, in the event of
the Participant's death, to his beneficiary, as provided in Section 6.2 below,
subject however to the provisions of this Plan (including those provisions
limiting a Participant's rights to those of an unsecured creditor of the
Company); PROVIDED that a Participant and the Company may agree upon some other
basis upon which such Participant will vest in such Participant's Account.

         6.2   TIMING OF DISTRIBUTIONS. Each Participant's Account shall be
distributable as soon as administratively practicable following the earliest of:

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                (i)   the liquidation and dissolution of the Company or Holding
or the redemption (whether in cash or in kind) of a material portion of the
outstanding Preferred Stock, but in the event of a redemption of less than all
of the outstanding Preferred Stock, each Participant's account shall be
distributable only in the same proportion as the proportion of redeemed
Preferred Stock bears to the total Preferred Stock outstanding;

                (ii)  at the time provided in Section 6.4;

                (iii) such Participant's termination of employment because of
death or disability; provided that, in the event that the Company has
established a grantor trust under Section 5.1, the assets of which consist
entirely or in part of securities issued by the Company (or an Affiliate of the
Company), payment under this subsection (iv) will not be made unless and until
such time as the Company (or such Affiliate) redeems a sufficient amount of such
securities from the grantor trust so that the redemption proceeds are equal to
the Participant's Account, as long as the purpose of such redemption is to
provide cash proceeds to make such distribution to such Participant. If the
Company (or such Affiliate) redeems some securities from the grantor trust
pursuant to this subsection (iv), but not a sufficient number to enable the
trustee to distribute to the Participant his entire Account, and the purpose of
such redemption is to provide cash proceeds to make such distribution to such
Participant, then the Company will direct the trustee to make a payment equal to
such redemption proceeds, and payment of the balance of the Participant's
Account will be deferred until otherwise provided hereunder or until the Company
(or such Affiliate) redeems an additional amount of such securities from the
grantor trust for the purpose of providing cash proceeds to make such
distribution to such Participant. For purposes of this subsection (iv),
disability shall mean "Disability" as defined in any employment agreement in
effect between the applicable Participant and the Company or any Affiliate, or
if such Participant is not a party to an employment agreement in which
Disability is defined then, disability shall mean Participant's inability to
perform the essential duties, responsibilities and functions of his position
with the Company or any Affiliate as a result of any mental or physical
disability or incapacity even with reasonable accommodations of such disability
or incapacity provided by the Company or if providing such accommodations would
be unreasonable, all as determined by the Board of Directors in its reasonable
good faith judgment. Each Participant shall cooperate in all respects with the
Company if a question arises as to whether he has become disabled (including,
without limitation, submitting to an examination by a medical doctor or other
health care specialists selected by the Company and authorizing such medical
doctor or such other health care specialist to discuss Participant's condition
with the Company);

                (iv)  in the event that the Company has established a grantor
trust under Section 5.1, the assets of which consist entirely or in part of
securities issued by the Company (or an Affiliate of the Company), and if any of
such securities are redeemed by the Company (or such Affiliate) and the purpose
of such redemption is not to provide cash proceeds to make a distribution to any
particular Participant (whether pursuant to subsection (iv) or otherwise), a pro
rata portion of such redemption proceeds, up to the amount of his Account, will
be paid to each Participant, with his share being the proportion that his
Account hereunder bears to the aggregate Account of all Participants; or

                (v)   June 30, 2016.

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Notwithstanding the above, as provided in Section 6.4, the Committee in its
discretion (which the Committee will not be obligated to exercise in any
instance or instances) may accelerate the distribution of the Account of any
Participant who has terminated employment to such date as the Committee
determines, and such distribution will be made on or as soon as administratively
practicable following such date.

         6.3   FORM OF DISTRIBUTION OF ACCOUNTS. Each Participant's Account will
be distributed to him in cash or in kind (as requested by the Participant,
provided that the Committee reserves the right to determine the form of
distribution in its sole discretion) in a lump sum payment. The lump sum
distribution will be made on the date provided in Section 6.2.

         6.4   INVOLUNTARY DISTRIBUTIONS. Notwithstanding the foregoing
provisions of this Article VI, the Committee may on its own initiative authorize
and direct the Company to distribute to any Participant (or to a designated
beneficiary in the event of the Participant's death) all or any portion of the
Participant's Account. Such payment would be specifically authorized and
directed in the event that there is a change in tax law, a published ruling or
similar announcement issued by the Internal Revenue Service, a regulation issued
by the Secretary of the Treasury, a decision by a court of competent
jurisdiction involving a Participant or a beneficiary, or a closing agreement
made under Section 7121 of the Code that is approved by the Internal Revenue
Service and involves a Participant, and the Committee determines that a
Participant has or will recognize income for federal income tax purposes with
respect to amounts deferred under this Plan prior to the time such amounts
otherwise would be paid to the Participant.

         6.5   DESIGNATION OF BENEFICIARIES. Each Participant may name any
Person (who may be named concurrently, contingently or successively) to whom the
Participant's Account under the Plan is to be paid if the Participant dies
before such Account is fully distributed. Each such beneficiary designation will
revoke all prior designations by the Participant, shall not require the consent
of any previously named beneficiary, shall be in a form prescribed by or
otherwise acceptable to the Committee and will be effective only when filed with
the Committee during the Participant's lifetime. If a Participant fails to
designate a beneficiary before his death, as provided above, or if the
beneficiary designated by a Participant dies before the date of the
Participant's death or before complete payment of the Participant's Account, the
Committee, in its discretion, may pay the Participant's Account to either (i)
one or more of the Participant's relatives by blood, adoption or marriage and in
such proportions as the Committee determines, or (ii) the legal representative
or representatives of the estate of the last to die of the Participant and his
designated beneficiary.

                                   ARTICLE VII
                            AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

         7.1   AMENDMENT. The Company, in its discretion, shall have the right
to amend the Plan from time to time, except that no such amendment shall,
without the consent of the Participant to whom a Deferred Stock Bonus or other
deferred compensation has been credited to any Account under this Plan,
adversely affect the right of the Participant (or his beneficiary) to receive
payments of such deferred compensation under the terms of this Plan.

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         7.2   PLAN TERMINATION. The Company may, in its discretion, terminate
the Plan at any time. However, no termination of this Plan shall alter the right
of a Participant (or his beneficiary) to payments of deferred compensation
previously credited to such Participant's Accounts under the Plan.
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence or Section 7.1, in connection with the
Plan's termination (or in any amendment adopted in connection with such
termination), as provided in Section 6.4, the Company may provide that each
Participant's Account under the Plan will be distributed as soon as may be
practicable to the Participant (or, if applicable, beneficiary).

                                  ARTICLE VIII
                               GENERAL PROVISIONS

         8.1   NON-ALIENATION OF BENEFITS. A Participant's rights to the amounts
credited to his Accounts under the Plan shall not be grantable, transferable,
pledgeable or otherwise assignable, in whole or in part, by the voluntary or
involuntary acts of any person, or by operation of law, and shall not be liable
or taken for any obligation of such person; PROVIDED that a Participant may
transfer to the Company such Participant's rights to the amounts credited to his
Accounts under the Plan. Any such attempted grant, transfer, pledge or
assignment contrary to the provisions of the prior sentence shall be null and
void and without any legal effect.

         8.2   WITHHOLDING FOR TAXES. Notwithstanding anything contained in this
Plan to the contrary, the Company (or any of its Affiliates) or the trustee
appointed under Article V, as appropriate, shall withhold from any distribution
made under the Plan such amount or amounts as may be required for purposes of
complying with the tax withholding provisions of the Code or any state income
tax act for purposes of paying any income, estate, inheritance or other tax
attributable to any amounts distributable or creditable under the Plan, or
otherwise require the Participant to contribute such amount in cash in the case
of an in-kind distribution.

         8.3   IMMUNITY OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS. The members of the Committee may
rely upon any information, report or opinion supplied to them by any officer of
the Company or any legal counsel, independent public accountant or actuary, and
shall be fully protected in relying in good faith upon any such information,
report or opinion. No member of the Committee shall have any liability to the
Company or any Participant, former Participant, designated beneficiary, person
claiming under or through any Participant or designated beneficiary or other
person interested or concerned in connection with any decision made by such
member of the Committee pursuant to the Plan which was based upon any such
information, report or opinion if such member of the Committee relied thereon in
good faith, or for any other action or omission of the Committee member made in
good faith in connection with the operation of this Plan.

         8.4   PLAN NOT TO AFFECT EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP. Neither the adoption
of the Plan nor its operation shall in any way affect the right and power of the
Company or its Affiliates to dismiss or otherwise terminate the employment or
change the terms of the employment or amount of compensation of any Participant
at any time for any reason or without cause. By accepting any payment under this
Plan, each Participant, former Participant, designated beneficiary and each
Person claiming under or through such Person, shall be conclusively bound by any
action or decision taken or made under the Plan by the Committee.

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         8.5   ASSUMPTION OF COMPANY LIABILITY. The obligations of the Company
under the Plan may be assumed by any Affiliate of the Company, in which case
such Affiliate shall be obligated to satisfy all of the Company's obligations
under the Plan, and the Company shall be released from any continuing obligation
under the Plan, provided however that the Company shall not be released from any
continuing obligation under the Plan to Participants with Accounts under the
Plan as of the date of such assignment. At the Company's request, a Participant
or designated beneficiary shall sign such documents as the Company may require
in order to effectuate the purposes of this Section.

         8.6   SUBORDINATION OF RIGHTS. At the Committee's request, each
Participant or designated beneficiary shall sign such documents as the Committee
may require in order to subordinate such Participant's or designated
beneficiary's rights under the Plan to the rights of such other creditors of the
Company as may be specified by the Committee.

         8.7   NOTICES. Any notice required to be given by the Company or the
Committee hereunder shall be in writing and shall be delivered in person or by
registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. Any notice given by
registered mail shall be deemed to have been given upon the date of registration
or certification by the Post Office, correctly addressed to the last known
address (as appearing in the records of the Committee or the Company) of the
person to whom such notice is to be given.

         8.8   GENDER AND NUMBER; HEADINGS. Wherever any words are used herein
in the masculine gender they shall be construed as though they were also used in
the feminine gender in all cases where they would so apply; and wherever any
words are used herein in the singular form they shall be construed as though
they were also used in the plural form in all cases where they would so apply.
Headings of sections and subsections of the Plan are inserted for convenience of
reference and are not part of the Plan and are not to be considered in the
construction thereof.

         8.9   CONTROLLING LAW. The Plan shall be construed in accordance with
the laws of the State of Delaware, to the extent not preempted by any applicable
federal law.

         8.10  SUCCESSORS. The Plan is binding on all Persons entitled to
benefits hereunder and their respective heirs and legal representatives, on the
Committee and its successor and on the Company and its Affiliates and their
successors, whether by way of merger, consolidation, purchase or otherwise.

         8.11  SEVERABILITY. If any provision of the Plan shall be held illegal
or invalid for any reason, such illegality or invalidity shall not affect the
remaining provisions of the Plan, and the Plan shall be enforced as if the
invalid provisions had never been set forth therein.

         8.12  ACTION BY COMPANY. Any action required or permitted by the
Company under the Plan shall be by resolution of its Board of Directors or by a
duly authorized committee of its Board of Directors, or by a person or persons
authorized by resolution of its Board of Directors or such committee.

         8.13  REVIEW OF BENEFIT DETERMINATIONS. If a claim for benefits made by
a Participant or his or her beneficiary is denied, the Committee shall within 90
days (or 180 days if special

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circumstances require an extension of time) after the claim is made furnish the
person making the claim with a written notice specifying the reasons for the
denial. Such notice shall also refer to the pertinent Plan provisions on which
the denial is based, describe any additional material or information necessary
for properly completing the claim and explain why such material or information
is necessary, and explain the Plan's claim review procedures. If requested in
writing, the Committee shall afford each claimant whose claim has been denied a
full and fair review of the Committee's decision and, within 60 days (120 days
if special circumstances require additional time) of the request for
reconsideration of the denied claim, the Committee shall notify the claimant in
writing of the Committee's final decision.

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                                    EXHIBIT A

<Table>
<Caption>
              PARTICIPANT                          AMOUNT
              -----------                          ------
<S>                                             <C>
Norbert E. Woodhams, Sr.                        $ 2,790,000

Robert C. Naylor                                $ 2,070,000
</Table>