11
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
production
industry
remains
highly
fragmented.
According
to
,
the
ten
largest
producers
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,
particularly
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®
,
Sunny Meadow®
4Grain®
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
regulations,
our
own
standards
and
customer
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
egg production
or have
mandated the
sale of
only cage-free
eggs and
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
laws and
regulations and
permits. We
are not
currently aware
of any
material
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.