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Item 1A. Item I. Risk Factors and and branded eggs under license from EB at our facilities under EB guidelines. EB hens are fed
Given historical consumption trends, we believe that general demand for eggs in the U.S. increases basically in line with the
overall U.S. population growth; however, specific events can impact egg supply and consumption in a particular period, as
occurred with the 2015 HPAI outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic (particularly during 2020), and the most recent HPAI outbreaks
starting in early 2022 and again in late 2023. For fiscal 2024, shell egg household penetration is approximately 97%. According
to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, estimated annual per capita consumption in the United States between 2019 and
2023 varied, ranging from 279 to 292 eggs which is directly impacted by available supply. The USDA calculates per capita
consumption by dividing total shell egg disappearance in the U.S. by the U.S. population.
The most significant shift in demand in recent years has been among specialty eggs, particularly cage-free eggs. For additional
information, see “Specialty Eggs.”
Prices for Shell Eggs
Wholesale shell egg sales prices are a critical component of revenue for the Company. We sell the majority of our conventional
shell eggs at prices based on formulas that take into account, in varying ways, independently quoted regional wholesale market
prices for shell eggs or formulas related to our costs of production, which include the cost of corn and soybean meal. We do not
sell eggs directly to consumers or set the prices at which eggs are sold to consumers.
Wholesale shell egg prices are volatile, cyclical, and impacted by a number of factors, including consumer demand, seasonal
fluctuations, the number and productivity of laying hens in the U.S. and outbreaks of agricultural diseases such as HPAI. We
believe the majority of conventional shell eggs sold in the U.S. in the retail and foodservice channels are sold at prices that take
into account, in varying ways, independently quoted wholesale market prices, such as those published by Urner Barry
Publications, Inc. (“UB”) or the USDA for shell eggs; however, grain-based or variations of cost plus arrangements are also
commonly utilized.
The weekly average price for the southeast region for large white conventional shell eggs as quoted by UB is shown below for
the past three fiscal years along with the five-year average price. The actual prices that we realize on any given transaction will
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not necessarily equal quoted market prices because of the individualized terms that we negotiate with individual customers which
are influenced by many factors. As further discussed in
, egg prices in fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2024 were significantly impacted by HPAI.
Wholesale prices for cage-free eggs are quoted by independent sources such as UB and USDA. There is no independently quoted
wholesale market price for other specialty eggs such as nutritionally enhanced, organic, pasture-raise and free-range eggs.
Specialty eggs are typically sold at prices and terms negotiated directly with customers and in the case of cage-free eggs, can be
sold at prices that take into account independently quoted markets. Historically, prices for specialty eggs have generally been
higher due to customer and consumer willingness to pay more for specialty eggs. We utilize several different pricing mechanisms;
however, the majority of our specialty eggs are typically sold at prices and terms negotiated directly with customers. As a result,
specialty egg prices do not fluctuate as much as conventional pricing.
Depending on market conditions, input costs and individualized contract terms, the price we receive per dozen eggs in any given
transaction may be more than or less than our farm production and other costs per dozen.
Feed Costs for Shell Egg Production
Feed is a primary cost component in the production of shell eggs and represented 56.0% of our fiscal 2024 farm production costs.
We routinely fill our storage bins during harvest season when prices for feed ingredients, primarily corn and to a lesser extent
soybean meal, are generally lower. To ensure continued availability of feed ingredients, we may enter into contracts for future
purchases of corn and soybean meal, and as part of these contracts, we may lock-in the basis portion of our grain purchases
several months in advance. Basis is the difference between the local cash price for grain and the applicable futures price. The
difference can be due to transportation costs, storage costs, supply and demand, local conditions and other factors. A basis contract
is a common transaction in the grain market that allows us to lock-in a basis level for a specific delivery period and wait to set
the futures price at a later date. Furthermore, due to the more limited supply for organic ingredients, we may commit to purchase
organic ingredients in advance to help assure supply. Ordinarily, we do not enter into long-term contracts beyond a year to
purchase corn and soybean meal or hedge against increases in the prices of corn and soybean meal. As the quality and composition
of feed is a critical factor in the nutritional value of shell eggs and health of our chickens, we formulate and produce the vast
majority of our own feed at our feed mills located near our production plants. Our annual feed requirements for fiscal 2024 were
1.9 million tons of finished feed, of which we manufactured 1.8 million tons. We currently have the capacity to store 210 thousand
tons of corn and soybean meal, and we replenish these stores as needed throughout the year.
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Our primary feed ingredients, corn and soybean meal, are commodities that are subject to volatile price changes due to weather,
various supply and demand factors, transportation and storage costs, speculators, agricultural, energy and trade policies in the
U.S. and internationally, and global instability that could disrupt the supply chain. We purchase the vast majority of our corn and
soybean meal from U.S sources but may be forced to purchase internationally when U.S. supplies are not readily available. Feed
grains are currently available from an adequate number of sources in the U.S. As a point of reference, a multi-year comparison
of the average of daily closing prices per Chicago Board of Trade for each quarter in our fiscal years 2020-2024 are shown below
for corn and soybean meal:
Shell Egg Production
Our percentage of dozens produced to sold was 88.8% of our total shell eggs sold in fiscal 2024. We supplement our production
through purchases of eggs from others when needed. The quantity of eggs purchased will vary based on many factors such as
our own production capabilities and current market conditions. In fiscal 2024, 91.2% of our production came from company-
owned facilities, and 8.8% from contract producers. The majority of our contract production is with family-owned farms for
organic, pasture-raised and free-range eggs. Under a typical arrangement with a contract producer, we own the flock, furnish all
feed and critical supplies, own the shell eggs produced and assume market risks. The contract producers own and operate their
facilities and are paid a fee based on production with incentives for performance.
The commercial production of shell eggs requires a source of baby chicks for laying flock replacement. We supply the majority
of our chicks from our breeder farms and hatch them in our hatcheries in a computer-controlled environment and obtain the
balance from commercial sources. The chicks are grown in our own pullet farms and are placed into the laying flock once they
reach maturity.
After eggs are produced, they are cleaned, graded and packaged. Substantially all our farms have modern “in-line” facilities which
mechanically gather, clean, grade and package the eggs at the location where they are laid. The in-line facilities generate
significant efficiencies and cost savings compared to the cost of eggs produced from non-in-line facilities, which process eggs
that have been laid at another location and transported to the processing facility. The in-line facilities also produce a higher
percentage of USDA Grade A eggs, which sell at higher prices. Eggs produced on farms owned by contractors are brought to our
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processing plants to be graded and packaged. We maintain a Safe Quality Food (“SQF”) Management Program which is overseen
by our Food Safety Department and senior management team. As of June 1, 2024, every Company-owned processing plant is
SQF certified. Because shell eggs are perishable, we do not maintain large egg inventories. Our egg inventory averaged six days
of sales during fiscal 2024. We believe our constant focus on production efficiencies and automation throughout our vertical
integrated operations enable us to be a low-cost supplier in our markets.
We are proud to have created and upheld what we believe is a leading poultry Animal Welfare Program (“AWP”). We have
aligned our AWP with regulatory, veterinary and our third-party certifying bodies’ guidance to govern the welfare of animals in
our direct care, our contract farmers’ care. We continually review our program to monitor and evolve standards that guide how
we hatch chicks, rear pullets and nurture breeder and layer hens. At each stage of our animals’ lives, we are dedicated to providing
welfare conditions aligned to our commitment to the principles of the internationally recognized
Five Freedoms of Animal
Welfare
.
We do not use artificial hormones in the production of our eggs. Hormone use in the poultry and egg production industry has
been effectively banned in the U.S. since the 1950s. We have an extensive written protocol that allows the use of medically
important antibiotics only when animal health is at risk, consistent with guidance from the United States Food and Drug
Administration (“FDA”) and the Guidance for Judicious Therapeutic Use of Antimicrobials in Poultry, developed by the
American Association of Avian Pathologists. When antibiotics are medically necessary, a licensed veterinary doctor will approve
and administer approved doses for a restricted period. We do not use antibiotics for growth promotion or performance
enhancement.
Specialty Eggs
We are one of the largest producers and marketers of value-added specialty shell eggs in the U.S., which continues to be a
significant and growing segment of the market. We classify cage-free, organic, brown, free-range, pasture-raised and nutritionally
enhanced as specialty eggs for accounting and reporting purposes. Specialty eggs are intended to meet the demands of consumers
sensitive to environmental, health and/or animal welfare issues and to comply with state requirements for cage-free eggs.
Ten states have passed legislation or regulations mandating minimum space or cage-free requirements for egg production or
mandated the sale of only cage-free eggs and egg products in their states, with implementation of these laws ranging from January
2022 to January 2030. These states represent approximately 27% of the U.S. total population according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada, which collectively represent approximately 20% of the
total estimated U.S. population have cage-free legislation in effect currently.
A significant number of our customers have announced goals to either exclusively offer cage-free eggs or significantly increase
the volume of cage-free egg sales in the future, subject in most cases to availability of supply, affordability and consumer demand,
among other contingencies. Our customers typically do not commit to long-term purchases of specific quantities or types of eggs
with us, and as a result, it is difficult to accurately predict customer requirements for cage-free eggs. We are focused on adjusting
our cage-free production capacity with a goal of meeting the future needs of our customers in light of changing state requirements
and our customer’s goals. As always, we strive to offer a product mix that aligns with current and anticipated customer purchase
decisions. We are engaging with our customers to help them meet their announced goals and needs. We have invested significant
capital in recent years to acquire and construct cage-free facilities, and we expect our focus for future expansion will continue to
include cage-free facilities. Our volume of cage-free egg sales has continued to increase and account for a larger share of our
product mix. Cage-free egg revenue represented approximately 29.5% of our total net shell egg sales for fiscal year 2024. At the
same time, we understand the importance of our continued ability to provide affordable conventional eggs in order to provide our
customers with a variety of egg choices and to address hunger in our communities.
Branded Eggs
We are a member of the Eggland’s Best, Inc. cooperative (“EB”) and produce, market, distribute and sell
Egg-Land’s Best®
Land O’ Lakes®