CAL-MAINE FOODS INC
For the period ended May 31, 2025. Filed Jul 22, 2025.
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FY2025 · Filed Jul 22, 2025
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Item 1. Business
Our Business
We are the largest producer and distributor of shell eggs in the United States. Our mission is to be the most sustainable producer
and
reliable
supplier
of
consistent,
high
quality
fresh
shell
eggs,
egg
and
foods
in
the
United
States.
Our
operating approach is built around operational
excellence, a "Culture of Sustainability" and
creating value for our stockholders,
customers, team
members and
communities. We
sell most
of our
products throughout
much of
the United
States (“U.S.”)
and
aim
to
efficient,
state-of-the-art
located
close
to
our
customers.
We
were
founded
in
and
are
headquartered in Ridgeland,
Mississippi.
The Company has
one operating and
one reporting segment,
which is the
production, packaging, marketing
and distribution of
shell eggs, egg
products and prepared
foods. Our integrated
operations consist
of hatching chicks,
growing and
maintaining flocks
of pullets, layers and breeders,
manufacturing feed, and producing,
processing, packaging, and distributing
shell eggs. Layers are
mature female chickens,
pullets are female
chickens usually less
than 18 weeks
of age, and
breeders are male
and female chickens
used to
produce fertile
eggs to
be hatched
for egg
production flocks.
Our total
flock as
of May
31, 2025
consisted of
48.3 million layers and 11.5 million pullets and breeders.
Many of our customers rely on us to provide most of their
shell egg needs, including specialty and conventional eggs. Specialty
eggs encompass
a broad
range of
products. We
classify cage-free,
organic, brown,
free-range, pasture-raised
and nutritionally
enhanced eggs as specialty
eggs for accounting and
reporting purposes. We classify all other shell
eggs as conventional products.
While we report separate sales information for these egg types, there are many cost factors that are not specifically available for
conventional or
specialty eggs
due to
the nature
of egg
production. We
manage our
operations and
allocate resources
to these
types of eggs on a consolidated basis based on the demands of our customers.
We believe that one
of our important
competitive advantages
is our ability
to meet our
customers’ evolving
needs with a
favorable
product mix of conventional
and specialty eggs, including
cage-free, organic, brown, free-range,
pasture-raised and nutritionally-
enhanced eggs, as well as
egg products and prepared foods.
While a small part of
our current business, demand for
the free-range
and pasture-raised eggs we produce and sell continues to grow. They represent attractive offerings to a subset of consumers, and
therefore our
customers, and
help us
serve as
the trusted
provider of
quality food
choices. We
have expanded
our
prepared foods
product offerings,
including with
our strategic
investment in
Crepini Foods,
LLC in
September 2024,
and our
acquisition of Echo Lake Foods, LLC (formerly Echo Lake Foods, Inc.) and certain related companies (collectively “Echo Lake
Foods”) subsequent to the end of our 2025 fiscal year.
Throughout
the
history,
we
have
other
businesses
in
our
industry.
Since
1989,
we
have
and
integrated 25 businesses. Subsequent to the end of our 2025 fiscal year,
we acquired our 26
th
business when we purchased Echo
Lake
Foods.
For
on
our
recent
acquisitions,
refer
to
Part II. Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Acquisitions
and Part
to Consolidated
Financial Statements,
Note 17 - Subsequent Events
.
When
we
use
“we,”
“us,”
“our,”
or
the
“Company”
in
this
report,
we
mean
Foods,
Inc.
and
our
subsidiaries, unless
otherwise indicated
or the
context otherwise
requires. The
fiscal year-end
is
on
the Saturday
closest to May 31. Our
fiscal year 2025 ended May
31, 2025, and the
first three fiscal quarters of
fiscal 2025 ended August 31,
2024, November 30, 2024, and March 1, 2025. All references herein to a fiscal year means our fiscal year and all references to a
year mean a calendar year.
Industry Background
According to the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture (“USDA”) Agricultural
Marketing Service, in
2024 approximately 71%
of table
eggs produced in the U.S. were sold as shell eggs, with 57% sold through food-at-home outlets such
as grocery and convenience
stores, 12%
sold to
food-away-from home
channels such
as restaurants
and 2%
exported. The
USDA estimated
that in
approximately 29% of eggs produced in
the U.S. were sold as egg
products (shell eggs broken and sold
in liquid, frozen, or dried
form) to institutions
(e.g. companies
producing baked
goods). For
information about
egg producers
in the
U.S., see
“Competition”
below.
Our industry has been greatly impacted by several outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (“HPAI”) in recent years. For
additional information regarding HPAI and its impact on our industry and business, see
and
.
Given historical
consumption trends,
we believe
that general
demand for
eggs in
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
For
fiscal
2025,
shell
egg
household
penetration
is
97%.
to
the
USDA’s
Economic Research
Service, estimated
annual per
capita consumption
in the
United States
between 2020
and 2024
varied, ranging
from 271 to 288 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” below.
Prices for Shell Eggs
Wholesale shell egg
sales prices are
a critical component
of revenue for
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
and outbreaks
of agricultural
diseases such
as HPAI.
We
believe the
majority of
eggs sold in
in the retail
and foodservice
channels are sold
at prices
that take into
account, in
varying ways, independently
quoted and certified 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.
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
eggs
such
as
enhanced,
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.
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
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
Part II. Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Results of
Operations
, egg prices in fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2025 were significantly impacted by HPAI.
Our pricing for
shell eggs is
negotiated with our
customers on individual
terms. We sell our shell
eggs at prices
based on formulas
that take into account,
in varying ways, independently
quoted regional wholesale market
prices for shell eggs,
formulas related
to
our
such
as
grain-based
and variations
of
cost-plus arrangements,
or
hybrid models
including cost
of
production and wholesale market prices.
The majority of our conventional eggs are priced and sold under frameworks
that generally utilize market-based formulas tied to
independently quoted regional wholesale market
quotes.
The majority of our
specialty eggs are sold
under frameworks that do
not utilize market-based formulas, although we do have some customers that prefer market-based pricing for cage-free eggs. As
a result, specialty
egg prices typically
do not fluctuate
as much as
conventional pricing. We do not
sell eggs directly
to consumers
or set the prices at which eggs are sold to consumers.
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 production cost per dozen.
Feed Costs for Shell Egg Production
Feed is a primary
cost component in the
production of shell eggs
and represented 53.4%
of our fiscal 2025
farm production costs.
We routinely fill our
feed 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
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
local cash
price for
grain and
futures price.
The
difference can
be due
to transportation
costs, storage
costs, supply
and demand,
local conditions
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
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
2025 were
2.1 million tons
of finished
feed, of
which we
manufactured 1.9 million
tons. We currently
have the
capacity to
store 215
thousand
tons of corn and soybean meal, and we replenish these stores as needed throughout the year.
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 2021-2025 are
shown below
for corn and soybean meal:
Shell Egg Production
Our percentage of dozens produced to sold was 88.6% of our total shell eggs sold in fiscal 2025. 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 2025, 90.8% of our production came
from Company-owned
facilities, and
9.2% 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
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
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 May
31, 2025, every Company-owned processing
plant was
SQF certified. Because shell
eggs are perishable, we
do not maintain large egg
inventories. Our egg inventory
averaged five days
of sales during
fiscal 2025. We
believe our constant
focus on production
efficiencies and automation
throughout our vertically
integrated operations enable us to be a low-cost supplier in our markets.
We
are
proud
to
have
created,
implemented
and
maintained
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 and
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
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
doses
for
a
restricted
period.
We
do
not
use
antibiotics
for
growth
promotion
or
enhancement.
Specialty Eggs
We
are
one
of
the
largest
and
marketers
of
value-added
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
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
in
the
U.S.
have
passed
legislation
or
regulations
mandating
minimum
space
or
for
egg
production or
mandated the
sale of
only cage-free
in their states,
with implementation
of these laws
ranging
from January 2022 to January
- These states represent approximately
27% of the U.S. total
population according to the 2020
U.S. Census.
California, Massachusetts,
Colorado, Michigan,
Oregon, Washington,
and Nevada,
which collectively
represent
approximately 23% of the total estimated
U.S. population, have cage-free legislation in
effect.
Due to the national egg
shortage
caused by HPAI, Nevada temporarily suspended its cage-free egg mandate and other states are considering similar actions.
A significant
our customers
previously 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
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
capital
in
recent
years
to
acquire
and
construct
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
22.5% of our total net shell egg sales for
fiscal year
- At
the same
time, we
understand the
importance of
our continued
provide affordable
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
Best®
and
Land O’
Lakes®
branded eggs under
license from EB
at our facilities
under EB guidelines.
EB hens
are fed a
proprietary diet
and offerings
include nutritionally
enhanced, cage-free,
organic, pasture-raised
and free-range
eggs.
Land O’
Lakes®
branded
eggs are produced by hens that are fed a whole-grain vegetarian diet and include brown, organic and cage-free eggs.
In 2024, EB
was the third
best-selling dairy brand
in the U.S.
The top three
best-selling branded specialty
egg SKUs in
2024 were
EB branded eggs
and seven out
of 10 best-selling
SKUs were EB
branded eggs. In
2024, our sales
(including sales from
affiliates)
represented approximately 50% of EB branded eggs and 46% of
Land O’ Lakes®
branded eggs nationwide.
Our
® brand eggs are produced at
our facilities by hens that are
provided with a vegetarian diet. Our
of
® include cage-free, organic
and pasture raised eggs.
We market organic, vegetarian and omega-3 eggs
under
our
4-Grain®
brand, which consists of conventional and
cage-free eggs. Our
Sunups®
and
brands are sold as
conventional eggs.
We also produce, market and distribute private label specialty and conventional shell eggs to several customers.
Egg Products and Prepared Foods
Our egg product
offerings include liquid
and frozen egg
products, as well
as prepared foods
such as hard-cooked
eggs, egg wraps,
protein pancakes,
crepes and
wrap-ups. Liquid
and frozen
are primarily
sold to
the institutional,
foodservice and
food manufacturing sectors in the U.S. Prepared foods are sold primarily within the retail and foodservice channels.
During March 2023, MeadowCreek Food,
LLC (“Meadowcreek”),
a majority-owned subsidiary,
began operations with a
focus
on being
a leading
provider of
hard-cooked eggs.
During second
fiscal quarter
acquired the
remaining ownership
in MeadowCreek and it became a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Effective on
September 9,
2024, we
completed a
strategic investment
with Crepini
LLC, establishing
a new
and
prepared foods venture. Crepini LLC,
founded in 2007, grew its
brand throughout the U.S.
and in Mexico featuring egg
wraps,
protein pancakes, crepes,
and wrap-ups, which
are sold online
and in over
3,500 retail stores.
The new entity, located in
Hopewell
Junction, New
York,
operates as
We
approximately $6.75
cash
to
equipment
and
other
assets
and
fund
working
capital
in
exchange
for
a
51%
in
the
new
venture. Crepini LLC contributed its existing assets and business in exchange for a 49% interest in the new venture.
Subsequent
to
fiscal
2025,
we
Echo
Lake
Foods
for
$258
Echo
Lake
Foods
is
based
in
Burlington, Wisconsin and produces, packages,
markets and distributes prepared foods, including waffles,
pancakes, scrambled
eggs, frozen cooked
omelets, egg patties, toast
and diced eggs. For
additional information regarding
our acquisition of
Foods, see
Part II. Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Acquisitions
and Part II. Item 8. Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,
Note 17 - Subsequent Events
.
Summary of Product Sales
The
table
sets
forth
the
contribution
as
a
percentage
of
revenue
and
volumes
of
dozens
sold
of
and
specialty shell eggs and egg products and prepared food sales for the following fiscal years:
Revenue
Volume
Revenue
Volume
Revenue
Volume
Conventional Eggs
Branded
6.0
%
5.1
%
4.3
%
4.9
%
6.6
%
6.4
%
Private-label
53.8
49.7
46.8
54.4
52.9
52.6
Other
7.1
8.5
4.4
5.8
5.7
6.3
Total Conventional Eggs
66.9
%
63.3
%
55.5
%
65.1
%
65.2
%
65.3
%
Specialty Eggs
Branded
12.2
%
17.0
%
20.3
%
17.4
%
18.0
20.4
%
Private-label
14.1
17.8
18.5
16.3
11.3
12.9
Other
1.3
1.9
1.0
1.2
1.1
1.4
Total Specialty Eggs
27.6
%
36.7
%
39.8
%
34.9
%
30.4
%
34.7
%
Egg Products and Prepared Foods
4.6
%
3.8
%
3.9
%
Marketing and Distribution
In
fiscal
2025,
we
sold
our
in
states
through
the
southwestern,
southeastern,
mid-western,
mid-Atlantic
and
northeastern regions
of the
U.S. as
well as
Puerto Rico
through our
extensive distribution
network to
a diverse
group of
including national
and regional
grocery
store chains,
club stores,
companies servicing
independent supermarkets
in the
U.S.,
foodservice distributors and egg product consumers. Some of
our sales are completed through co-pack agreements –
a common
practice in the industry whereby production and processing of certain products are outsourced to another producer.
The majority of eggs sold are based on the daily or short-term needs of our customers. Most sales to established accounts are on
payment terms ranging
from seven to
30 days. Although
we have established
long-term relationships
with many
of our customers,
most of them are free to acquire shell eggs from other sources.
The shell eggs
we sell are
either delivered to
our customers’ warehouse
or retail stores,
by our own
fleet or contracted
refrigerated
delivery trucks, or are picked up by our customers at our processing facilities.
We
are a member of
the Eggland’s
Best, Inc. cooperative and
produce, market, distribute and
sell
Best®
and
Land
O’ Lakes®
branded eggs directly
and through our
joint ventures, Specialty
Eggs, LLC and
Southwest Specialty Eggs,
LLC, under
exclusive
license
in
Alabama,
Arizona,
Florida,
Georgia,
Louisiana,
Mississippi
and
Texas,
and
in
portions
of
Arkansas, California, Kansas, Nevada,
North Carolina, Oklahoma and
South Carolina. We also have an exclusive
license in New
York City in addition to exclusivity in select
New York metropolitan areas, including areas within
New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
As discussed above under “Branded Eggs,” we also sell our own
® and
4-Grain
® branded eggs.
Customers
Our top three
customers accounted for
an aggregate of
49.2%, 49.0% and
50.1% of our
net sales dollars
for fiscal 2025,
2024,
and 2023, respectively.
Our largest customer,
Walmart
Inc. (including Sam's Club),
accounted for 33.6%, 34.0%
and 34.2% of
net sales dollars for fiscal 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
For shell
egg sales
2025, approximately
86% of
our revenue
sales to
retail customers
and 13%
to sales
to
foodservice providers. Retail customers include primarily national and regional grocery store chains, club stores, and companies
servicing independent supermarkets in the U.S.
Foodservice customers include primarily companies that
sell food products and
related items to restaurants, healthcare and education facilities and hotels.
Competition
The production, processing, and distribution of shell
eggs is an intensely competitive business, which
has traditionally attracted
large numbers of producers in the U.S.
Shell egg competition is generally based on price, service and
product quality. The shell
egg
remains
highly
fragmented.
to
Egg
Industry
Magazine
,
the
ten
largest
owned
approximately 54% of industry table egg layer hens at calendar year-end 2024 and 2023.
Seasonality
Retail sales of shell eggs historically have been highest during the fall
and winter months and lowest during the summer months.
Prices for shell eggs fluctuate in response to seasonal demand
factors and a natural increase in egg production during the
spring
and early summer.
Historically, shell
egg prices tend to increase
with the start of the
school year and tend to
be highest prior to
holiday
periods,
Thanksgiving,
Christmas
and
Easter.
Consequently,
and
all
other
things
being
equal,
we
would
expect to experience lower selling
prices, sales volumes and net
income (and may incur net
losses) in our first and
fourth fiscal
quarters ending in
August/September and May/June, respectively. Accordingly, we generally
expect our need
for working capital
to be highest during those quarters.
Growth Strategy
Our growth
strategy is
centered on
both organic
growth and
growth through
acquisitions while
also diversifying
our product
portfolio.
Organic
growth
is
a
core,
ongoing
focus
area
for
us
which
is
grounded
in our
culture of
operational
excellence to
streamline workflows, reduce waste,
optimize resources and enhance
productivity. We are committed to investing in our existing
operations to strive for improved profitability by increasing sales, lowering costs and maintaining exceptional customer service.
We
have continued to grow our production
of cage-free shell eggs and other
higher value specialty eggs such as
pasture-raised,
free-range and organic shell
eggs. In addition to organic
efforts, we believe that
we can continue to expand
the market reach of
our shell egg and egg product businesses, as
well as grow our prepared foods business through
accretive acquisitions that deliver
favorable returns through our operating model emphasizing synergies and efficient operations.
Trademarks and License Agreements
We own the trademarks
Farmhouse Eggs®
,
Sunups®
,
and
4Grain®
. We produce and
market
Egg-Land's Best
®
and
Land O’ Lakes
® branded eggs under license agreements with
EB. We
believe these trademarks and license agreements
are
important to our business.
Government Regulation
Our facilities and operations are
subject to regulation by various federal,
state, and local agencies, including, but
not limited to,
the FDA,
USDA, Environmental
Protection Agency
(“EPA”),
Occupational Safety
and Health
Administration (“OSHA”)
and
corresponding state agencies. The applicable regulations relate to grading, quality control, labeling, sanitary control
and reuse or
disposal of waste. Our shell egg facilities are subject to
periodic USDA, FDA, EPA and OSHA inspections. Our feed production
facilities are subject to FDA, EPA
and OSHA regulation and inspections. We maintain inspection programs and in certain cases
utilize
independent
third-party
certification
bodies
to
monitor
compliance
with
our
own
and
specifications. It is possible that we will be required to incur significant costs for compliance with such statutes and regulations.
In the future, additional rules could be proposed that, if adopted, could increase our costs.
A number
of states
have passed
legislation or
regulations mandating
minimum space
or cage-free
requirements for
or have
mandated the
sale of
only cage-free
egg products in
their states.
For further
information refer
to the
heading
“Specialty Eggs” within this section.
Environmental Regulation
Our operations and facilities are subject to various federal, state, and local environmental, health and safety
laws and regulations
governing, among
other
things, the
generation, storage,
handling, use,
transportation, disposal,
and remediation
of
hazardous
materials. Under these laws and
regulations, we must obtain
permits from governmental authorities,
including, but not limited to,
wastewater discharge permits. We
have made, and will continue
to make, capital and other
expenditures relating to compliance
with existing
environmental, health
and safety
regulations and
permits. We
are not
currently aware
of any
capital expenditures necessary to comply with such laws and regulations; however, as environmental, health and safety laws and
regulations are becoming increasingly more stringent, including those relating to
animal wastes and wastewater discharges, it is
possible that we will have to incur significant costs for compliance with such laws and regulations in the future.
Human Capital Resources
31, 2025, we
had 3,828 employees, of whom 3,064 worked
in egg production,
processing, and marketing,
231 worked
in feed
mill operations
and 533, including our
executive officers, were
administrative employees. Approximately
3.8% of
our
personnel
are
part-time, and we
utilize
temporary
employment
agencies
and
independent
contractors
to
augment
our
staffing needs when
necessary.
For
fiscal
2025,
we
had
1,975
average monthly
contingent workers.
As
of
May
31,
2025,
employees were covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our relations with employees to be good.
Culture and Values
We are proud
to be contributing corporate citizens where we live and work and to help
create healthy, prosperous communities.
Our
colleagues help
us
enhance our
community contributions,
which
are driven
by
our longstanding
culture that
strives to promote an environment that upholds integrity and respect and provides opportunities for each colleague to
realize full
potential. These commitments
are encapsulated in the
Cal-Maine Foods’
Code of Ethics and
Business Conduct
and in our
Human
Rights Statement.
Health and Safety
Our top
priority is
the health
and safety
of our
employees, who
produce high-quality,
affordable products
for our
customers and contribute
to a stable
food supply. Our enterprise safety
committee is comprised of
two corporate safety
managers,
and
seven
local
site
compliance
managers.
The
committee
that
oversees health
and
safety reviews
our
written policies
and
changes to OSHA regulation standards annually and shares information as it relates to
outcomes from incidents monthly with all
our facilities to improve future performance and our health and safety practices. The
committee’s goals include working to help
ensure that our engagements with customers and regulators evidence our strong commitment to our workers’ health and safety.
Our commitment to our colleagues’ health includes a strong commitment to on-site worker safety, including a focus on accident
prevention and life safety.
Our Safety and Health Program is designed to promote best practices that
help prevent and minimize
workplace accidents and illnesses.
The scope of our Safety
and Health Program applies to
all enterprise colleagues. Additionally,
to help
protect the
health and
well-being of
our colleagues
and people
in our
value chain,
we require
that any
contractors or
vendors
acknowledge
and
agree
to
comply
with
the
guidelines
governed
by
our
Safety
and
Health
Program.
At
each
of
our
locations, our general managers are expected to uphold and implement our Safety and Health Program in alignment with OSHA
requirements. We
believe that this
program, which is
reviewed annually by
our senior management
team, contributes to
strong
safety outcomes. As part
of our Safety and
Health Program, we conduct
multi-lingual training that
covers topics such
as slip-and-
fall avoidance, respiratory
protection, prevention of
hazardous communication of
chemicals, the proper
use of personal
protective
equipment, hearing
conservation, emergency
response, lockout
and tagout
of equipment
and forklift
safety,
among others.
We
have
also
installed dry
hydrogen
peroxide biodefense
systems
in
our
processing
to
help
protect
our
colleagues’
respiratory health.
To help drive
our focus
on colleague
safety, we developed
safety committees
at each
of our
sites with
employee
representation from each department.
We
review the
success of
our safety
programs on
a monthly
basis to
monitor their
effectiveness and
the development
of any
trends that need to be addressed.
People
Our
strength
as
a
company
comes
from
our
at
all
levels
and
we
have
a
long-established
culture
that
values
each
individual’s contributions and
encourages productivity
and growth. This
culture is driven by
our Board of
Directors (the
“Board”)
and
executive
team.
Our
Policy
against Harassment,
Discrimination,
Unlawful
or
Unethical
Conduct
and
Retaliation; Reporting
Procedure affirms our
commitment to
supporting our
employees regardless
of race, color, religion,
sex,
national origin or any other basis protected by applicable law.
We
are
an
Equal
Opportunity
Employer
that
prohibits
any
violation
of
federal,
state,
or
local
law
employment. Discrimination
on any
basis protected
by applicable
law is
prohibited. We
maintain strong
protocols to
help our
colleagues perform
their jobs
free from
harassment and
discrimination. We are committed
to offering our
colleagues opportunities
commensurate with our operational needs and their experiences, goals and contributions.
Recruitment, Development and Retention
We
believe
in
compensating
our
colleagues
with
fair
and
wages,
in
addition
to
offering
benefits.
Approximately 79%
of
our
at
hourly
rates,
which
are
all
paid
at
rates
above
the
federal
minimum wage
requirement. We offer our full-time eligible
employees a range
of benefits, including company-paid
life insurance. The
Company
provides
a
comprehensive
self-insured
health
plan
and
pays
76%
of
the
costs
of
the
plan
for
participating
employees and their families
as of December 31,
- Recent benchmarking of
our health plan indicates
comparable benefits,
at lower employee contributions, when compared to an applicable Agriculture and Food Manufacturing sector grouping, as well
as peer group data. In addition, we offer employees the opportunity
to purchase an extensive range of other group plan benefits,
such as
dental, vision,
accident, critical
illness, disability
and voluntary
life. After
six months
of employment,
full-time employees
who
meet
eligibility
requirements may
elect
to
participate
in
our
KSOP
retirement
plan,
which
offers
a
range
of
alternatives and includes many positive
features, such as automatic
enrollment with scheduled automatic contribution increases
and
loan
provisions.
Regardless
of
the
employees’
elections
to
contribute
to
the
KSOP,
the
Company
contributes
shares
of
Company stock or cash equivalent at 3% of participants’ eligible compensation for each pay period that hours are worked.
We
provide
extensive
training
and
development related
to
safety,
compliance,
and
task
training.
We
invest
in
developing our future leaders through our Management Intern, Management Trainee and informal mentoring programs.
Sustainability
We understand that climate, and the potential consequences of climate change, freshwater availability and preservation of global
biodiversity, in addition
to responsible
management of
our flocks,
are vital
to the
production of
high-quality eggs
and egg
and to the success of
the Company. We have engaged in
agricultural production
for more than
60 years. Our
agricultural practices
continue to evolve as we continue to
strive to meet the need for nutritious, affordable foods
to feed a growing population even as
we exercise responsible
natural resource
stewardship and
conservation. We
published our most
recent sustainability report for
our fiscal 2024 in July 2025, which is available
on our website. Information contained on our website is not a
part of this report
on Form 10-K.
Our Corporate Information
We
a
website
at
www.calmainefoods.com
where
general
about our
and
corporate
governance
matters is
available. The
information contained
in our
website is
not a
part of
this report.
Our Annual
Reports on
Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on
Form 8-K, proxy statements, and all amendments to
those reports filed or
furnished pursuant to
Section 13(a) or
15(d) of the
Exchange Act are
available, free of
charge, through
our website as
soon as
practicable
after
we
file
them
with,
or
furnish
them
to,
the
SEC.
In
the
SEC
maintains
a
website
at
www.sec.gov
that
contains
reports,
proxy
and
statements,
and
other
issuers
that
file
electronically with the SEC. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is a Delaware corporation, incorporated in 1969.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.