Cargill Missouri agricultural team receives recognition

Cargill’s turkey agricultural team in Missouri will be recognized today by the company, as well as by state and federal officials for reaching 1.4 million work hours without a lost time injury for nearly five years. This 127-person team which is part of the Cargill Turkey & Cooked Meats business headquartered in Wichita, KS, is responsible for a feed mill, hatchery, breeder flocks, live haul service and working relationships with 168 independent family farms in the region that raise turkeys for the company.
The agricultural team logs a total of approximately 279,000 worker hours yearly. They are responsible for annually producing 12 million turkey eggs; raising 130,000 breeder hens and toms at 18 company and contract facilities in the region; hatching 9 million turkey poults; care for 10 million turkeys that range between 14 and 45 pounds each; providing 250,000 tons of feed for those turkeys; and insuring the safe arrival of birds at the company’s processing plant in California, MO
“Cargill has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect, as well as on a commitment to health and safety in the workplace,” said Jason Witt, general manager for Cargill’s turkey operations in mid-Missouri. “Employee safety is one of our top priorities and our team at California, Mo., takes great pride in promoting and practicing workplace safety. We believe people have the right to thrive as part of Cargill, which means returning home injury-free each day. That safety focus has been woven into Cargill’s cultural fabric over the company’s 150-year history.”

Cargill turkeys free of growth-promoting antibiotics available

Cargill’s Shady Brook Farms and Honeysuckle White are now offering fresh, whole turkeys and fresh, bone-in turkey breasts raised without growth-promoting antibiotics, just in time for Thanksgiving. By working with more than 700 independent farmers to raise the turkeys, Shady Brook Farms and Honeysuckle White are the first major turkey brands to implement a change like this on a large scale.
Cargill in July announced its plan to eliminate growth-promoting antibiotics from its turkeys, offering consumers the opportunity to purchase turkeys raised without growth-promoting antibiotics for Thanksgiving.
"Consumers today are becoming more interested in what goes into raising their food before it reaches their plate," says Jan Hood, marketing leader for Shady Brook Farms and Honeysuckle White turkey. "We've been listening to what they are looking for in turkey — or more importantly, what they aren't looking for — and have chosen to remove growth-promoting antibiotics from our turkey flocks because consumers want it and we believe it's the right thing to do for the turkeys in our care."
Consumers looking for fresh turkeys from Shady Brook Farms and Honeysuckle White raised without growth-promoting antibiotics should look for the USDA Process Verified seal stating:


• Raised by independent farmers
• Producers are trained on animal handling practices
• No antibiotics used for growth promotion (antibiotics only used for treatmentand prevention of illness.)
A 2014 survey of turkey consumers revealed that 62 percent of consumers are interested in purchasing turkeys for Thanksgiving raised without artificial growth stimulants and half of consumers are looking for turkeys raised on independent farms.
Consumers who want to purchase organic turkeys this fall are likely to pay nearly 143 percent more than they would for conventionally raised turkeys. Shady Brook Farms and Honeysuckle White don't think consumers need to sacrifice on price to have a wholesome turkey, so the premium products will be sold without a premium price.
"We believe that good food should be accessible to everyone. That's why we are making our fresh turkeys raised without growth-promoting antibiotics at a price comparable to conventionally-raised turkeys," Hood said.
The two brands will extend its commitment to turkeys raised without growth-promoting antibiotics to additional items in 2015.

Cargill donates 22,000 pounds turkey to Arkansas food bank

Cargill’s value-added meats business, which operates a major turkey production and processing complex in Northwest Arkansas that includes a hatchery, feed mill, contract turkey farms and a meat processing facility, will be donating 22,000 pounds of turkey to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank on December 14.
“We are thrilled to be in a position to help ensure people throughout the region who otherwise might not have meat as part of family dinners will now be able to serve wholesome turkey for the holidays,” said Shane Acosta, Cargill complex general manager at Springdale. “Arkansas has a high level of need to combat food insecurity and hunger, and our employees want to help feed people any way possible throughout the year, especially during the holiday season. We are passionate about supporting people and communities where Cargill has operations." Cargill is one of numerous companies in the region that support the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. Some of the company’s 1,600 employees that work for the turkey business in Northwest Arkansas will also be volunteering their time on December 14 to organize food at the Bethel Heights, Ark., food bank in preparation for distribution during the holidays.

To date in 2012, Cargill has donated more than 13,500 turkeys to food banks and other charities across the U.S. that focus on feeding those in need.

Cargill donates turkeys to Arkansas foodbank

Cargill’s turkey processing facility in Springdale, Ark., collaborated with the tri-state Poultry Federation representing Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, to donate 600 turkeys (15,400 pounds) to the Arkansas Foodbank in Little Rock, including a truckload of turkeys delivered for Thanksgiving.
Over the past 20 years, Cargill’s Springdale facility has donated more than 288,000 pounds of turkey to charitable organizations throughout Arkansas. “With this summer’s drought, the price of corn needed to feed poultry has increased dramatically, making it harder for people living on the margins of society, and people on fixed incomes, to have a traditional Thanksgiving turkey for dinner,” said Marvin Childers, president of the Poultry Federation. “It is our wish that this donation will help many families have a better holiday season.”
The Arkansas Foodbank serves more than 250 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and agencies that provide aid directly to hungry Arkansans. In 2011, the Arkansas Foodbank, a member of Feeding America and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, distributed more than 13.3 million pounds of food.

Cargill revamps turkey processing plant in wake of recall

Cargill's Springdale, Ark., ground turkey production facility, shut down after a September recall involving potential Salmonella Heidelberg contamination, is being reviewed and refitted with what the company is calling the most advanced testing and monitoring system in the poultry industry.
Cargill is considering a high-pressure process that kills any bacteria on the meat, already used on the company's ground beef products. It may also start vaccinating its turkeys against certain Salmonella strains. Cargill has already taken apart and steam-cleaned all its equipment and added additional bacterial washes to its existing processes. Its Salmonella testing frequency has been increased ten-fold. According to Mike Martin, Cargill's director of communications, Cargill hopes that when the facility opens again, the changes made will set a new standard for meat processing safety. 

Cargill turkey hatchery receives OSHA safety honor

Cargill Turkey Production LLC’s hatchery has received “Star” status as part of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Programs.
In the Voluntary Protection Program, management, labor and OSHA establish a cooperative relationship at a workplace to implement safety programs. According to OSHA, “The Star Program is designed for exemplary worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems.”
The hatchery has 44 employees and the capacity to hatch more than 17 million poults per year. The poults are placed on farms in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.