Hogs - Supply Chain - Hormel Foods

1,000

Hog Audits

in 2023

As a purchaser of animal products, we recognize and value the impact of our supply chain on the planet and society. Each hog producer we source from must agree to comply with local, state and federal laws, our Supplier Code of Conduct, and the qualifications detailed in the Hormel Foods’ quality assurance program, which includes animal welfare requirements and is described further here. We also require that all team members who work with hogs at any company-owned farm adhere to these requirements.

Routine audits are conducted at our sourcing facilities, and we hire third-party auditors to gather information to continuously improve our animal welfare procedures. Team members have access to a confidential hotline so they can anonymously report any animal welfare procedure that does not meet our standards. Our corporate Animal Welfare Steering Committee is responsible for ensuring our standards are met.

Hormel Foods is dedicated to maintaining high expectations in animal care and handling procedures with standards developed in partnership with animal care experts, including authorities on humane animal husbandry. In addition, Hormel Foods is dedicated to placing expectations on our suppliers that they uphold high standards as well. Our Animal Stewardship Policy details our commitment to having animals raised in a healthy environment and treated with care, respect and compassion throughout their lives.

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Massachusetts Question 3 Space Requirements for Animal Housing

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Updated: 11/19/24

Hormel Foods has assessed Question 3, which impacts the company’s fresh pork business, and was fully compliant when this law went into effect.

While Question 3 adds complexity to our supply chain, including costs associated with compliance, Massachusetts is an important market for Hormel Foods, and we will continue to meet the needs of our consumers and customers throughout the state.

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California Proposition 12

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Updated: 11/19/24

Hormel Foods was ready for California’s Proposition 12 in January 2022 to ensure it could continue to serve its customers and consumers in the State of California.

While this measure adds complexity to our supply chain, including costs associated with compliance, California is an important market for Hormel Foods, and we will continue to meet the needs of our consumers and customers throughout this state.

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Group Sow Housing

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Updated: 11/19/24

As a purchaser of animal products, we are committed to responsible sourcing and hold our suppliers to high standards, particularly regarding animal welfare. We require that all animals in our supply chain are raised in healthy environments and treated in accordance with our Supplier Code of Conduct and quality assurance program. As it relates to sow housing alternatives, Hormel Foods supports alternatives to gestation stalls, including group sow housing. We intend to offer products that include pork from suppliers that use sow housing alternatives, as customer and consumer demand warrants. To support the transition to group sow housing, Hormel Foods has taken a variety of actions:

Hormel Foods previously made a commitment to transition company-owned sow farms to group sow housing by 2018. It met this commitment early. In fact, Hormel Foods was among the first companies to commit to compliance with California Proposition 12 and a wide range of compliant Hormel Foods products were available beginning in January 2022, and continue to be today.
One of our subsidiaries, Applegate Farms, has required its suppliers to house sows in groups since 1987.
During our fiscal year 2024, Hormel Foods conduced a baseline study to understand the use and prevalence of group sow housing throughout our supply chain. The study sought to obtain data that included an understanding of the total percentage of animals harvested coming from group housing systems within our supply chain. Our reporting information for 2023/2024 is set forth below. Moving forward, our Global Impact Report will provide our understanding of the total percentage of group-housed sows in our supply chain, and any relevant actions taken in that year.
We engage with farmers, to understand the requirements of implementing sow housing, and the challenges they face in doing so.
We work closely with our customers, especially those who have goals with respect to sow housing, to offer relevant products and ensure there is an understanding of the investments required by farmers to achieve progress in this area.
We listen to consumers to better understand demand for products that include pork sourced from suppliers who are invested in group sow housing.

A change to long-standing farming methods takes time. We intend to continue to do our part to collaborate across our supply chain to help drive progress.

2023/2024 Group Sow Housing Report

During 2023/2024, Hormel Foods harvested hogs and acquired hogs in the market. For this period, 100% of the hogs that Hormel Foods harvested for the Massachusetts and California markets were housed in group pens from birth. Further, as of June 2024, 19% of the total hogs we were harvesting on an annualized basis (regardless of destination) were produced in California Proposition 12 compliant systems and 13% were produced in loose sow housed systems.

The ability to maintain and/or increase the use of California Proposition 12 compliant and loose sow housed produced hogs in our supply chain depends on several factors, including the capability of our independent suppliers to provide Hormel Foods with commercially viable pork that meets state requirements and loose sow housing standards, evolving consumer interests, and consumer demand.

Through members of our Animal Welfare Steering Committee, we met with key customers and farm partners during 2023/2024 to discuss a variety of topics, including group sow housing systems. During these discussions, our customers shared that consumers, on a broad scale, are very sensitive to the premium pricing that typically accompanies these types of products. We have recently seen a decline in consumer demand for most products that meet these requirements in the States of California and Massachusetts.

Through our study, we heard from farmers that they experience several barriers to expanding the use of group sow housing systems on their farms, none of which is in our control to directly influence. These barriers include: (1) a limit in resources, which hinders them from converting existing facilities or building new facilities, (2) increased piglet and sow injuries and death due to heightened sow aggression, (3) higher workplace injuries to staff due to heightened sow aggression, and (4) increased feed consumption, which may impact the health of the animal.

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Animal Welfare Quality Assurance Requirements

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Our animal welfare quality assurance requirements include:

All individuals who transport hogs to Hormel Foods must have the National Pork Board’s Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) certification. The training materials for this program cover the responsible way to treat and handle animals during loading, transportation and delivery. Handlers are taught to recognize the amount of space needed around each hog and points of balance to aid in hog movement. Achieving TQA certification requires attendance at an educational and training session, and a score of 90% or above on a written exam.
All sites where a producer raises hogs supplied to Hormel Foods must achieve Site Status as defined by the National Pork Board’s PQA Plus program. This is attained through an on-farm assessment that evaluates welfare and well-being principles.
All producers who supply hogs to Hormel Foods, and the employees of those producers, must be certified in the National Pork Board’s PQA Plus program. To achieve certification, producers must attend an educational and training session taught by a PQA Plus adviser – a veterinarian, extension professional or adult agricultural educator. The class content focuses on food safety, animal well-being, herd health, and medication decision making, administration and records management.
All producers who supply hogs to Hormel Foods must also adhere to the Hormel Foods Farm Animal Care and Treatment Specifications (FACTS) program. In addition to documentation and animal/facility observations, key components of the program include third-party audits and corrective actions for noncompliance.

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