Environmental Practices Overview
Headquartered in Pittsburg, Texas, Pilgrim's Pride Corporation maintains a strong commitment to conserving and improving air, water and soil quality in every aspect of our operations.
We are committed to meeting or exceeding the strict requirements of our many
environmental permits, which regulate the quality of the air and water that is
used in our operations and returned to the surrounding environment.
Pilgrim's Pride has spent a significant portion of our capital, operating and
maintenance budgets on equipment and technology designed to meet federal and
state environmental quality standards. In philosophy and in practice, Pilgrim's
Pride follows environmental best management practices that minimize impact on
the environment, and we encourage our employee-partners and contract poultry
growers to find new and innovative methods to protect and improve the
environment.
We strive to make our operations - feed mills, hatcheries and processing
facilities - as environmentally friendly as possible. Our poultry is fed
natural grains and pure water, with no hormones or preservatives added. This
not only makes for a better, more natural product, but also limits the amount
of chemicals introduced into the environment.
Protecting the environment takes all of us working together. It's one job that
can't be accomplished without a team effort. At Pilgrim's Pride, we encourage
all of our employee-partners to interact responsibly with the environment, and
we establish policies and practices to ensure environmental responsibility.
Environmental Stewardship on the Family Farm
 Farmers
are the ultimate stewards of the environment, and we at Pilgrim's Pride are
doing everything we can to preserve the family farm.
No one cares more about the quality of the water and soil than the farm
families who live where they work. Many of our farms have been in the family
for generations, and these farmers intend to pass them on to their children for
generations to come.
Our contract growers' poultry houses are specially designed to prevent
contamination of groundwater supplies and soil erosion, and Pilgrim's Pride
growers are encouraged to use best management practices, including litter
storage and composting facilities, where appropriate. We emphasize proper
handling and management of litter and flock mortality, and we require
compliance with all state and local environmental laws and regulations. We are very proud of our growers, and we honor their continuing commitment to environmental excellence.
Along with our growers and employee-partners, Pilgrim's Pride proudly accepts
our responsibility as a steward of the land, air, and water. We invest in
modern agricultural practices and commit talent, time, research and resources
to protect the environment as a part of our day-to-day activities.
Organic Fertilizer - A Valuable Resource
The byproduct of poultry production on the farm is organic fertilizer. In
poultry houses, flocks are kept on beds of what is referred to as "litter." At
Pilgrim's Pride, we use wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, rice hulls, and
even coffee hulls for poultry litter.
When farmers clean out their poultry houses, the litter that has captured solid
manure is either taken directly to the field for beneficial use through land
application or stored. During storage, the litter goes through a natural
heating or "curing" process, and it becomes very valuable as a fertilizer for
row crops or pastures on the farm.
We encourage all of our contract growers to adopt best management practices,
including proper nutrient management and the use of litter sheds and
composters, in their farm operations.
Managing Vital Nutrients
A nutrient management plan is an important step in designing a farm program
that not only fertilizes crops, but also protects against nutrient runoff.
These programs help protect water and soil by properly handling and returning
vital nutrients such as potassium, nitrogen and phosphorous in the proper
amounts and proportions needed to fertilize crops.
At Pilgrim's Pride, we work with local and state authorities on nutrient
management plans for all our growers. Proper nutrient management planning
assures that the right amount of litter is used at the right time for optimal
crop growth and maximum environmental protection.
Protection From the Elements
Properly designed, litter sheds and composters can be important tools in total
nutrient management. Where local weather conditions dictate, we recommend that
our contract growers' farms have a designated litter storage site which allows
litter to be stored until the next planting season, protected from the
elements. Growers tell us that these facilities save time and give flexibility
in allowing the litter and composted material to be used when demand or need is
greatest.
 A
litter shed is a barn-like structure for storing poultry litter on the farm.
The main purpose of the shed is to store litter until it is needed for crop
fertilization. Typically, the litter shed is built on a concrete pad to prevent
seepage of litter into the surrounding soil.
Composting is a biological process in which organic wastes are converted into a
product that can be used as a soil conditioner and organic fertilizer. On the
farm, the composter unit is generally built inside or immediately outside the
litter shed, because normal farm mortality is composted by adding litter.
A litter shed is a good way to manage litter, but there are other proper
storage methods that also meet environmental standards and are part of total
nutrient management planning. The farmer may spread the litter on the farm's
fields or store it covered with plastic to prevent runoff in the rain. However,
the storage area must not be near wells, streams, rivers, sinkholes, caves,
ponds, or lakes, and must be on flat land.
What all nutrient management plans have in common is the proper management of
litter for each farm, considering the amount of litter produced, the amount and
appropriateness of farm acreage and crops, and the farm's terrain and location
near water sources.
Today, every Pilgrim's Pride contract poultry grower is required to develop and
maintain a nutrient management plan.
Total Recycling
 Pilgrim's
Pride has been recycling poultry byproducts for many years, and we are proud to
own and operate some of the most advanced protein conversion facilities in the
country. Protein conversion is a total recycling process in which the inedible
byproducts of poultry processing are converted into protein-concentrated feed
ingredients.
Essentially, every part of the bird that doesn't end up on the table is
recycled as feed ingredients or fertilizer. Using carefully controlled systems,
byproducts are converted into high-quality protein meals and liquid fat
products. These products are used in poultry feed or sold for use in other
animal feed or pet food.
Conserving Energy
Our protein conversion plants incorporate the best available control technology
in their daily operations. Boilers that produce steam for processing are fueled
by natural gas, low-sulphur fuel oil, fats from animal byproducts, and other
environmentally friendly fuels. Our protein conversion plants feature
sophisticated heat recovery systems that use waste heat to produce hot water
for use in our poultry-processing plants. These highly efficient systems help
Pilgrim's Pride reduce our consumption of fossil fuels in our day-to-day
operations.
Working Together to Protect the Environment
 At
Pilgrim's Pride, we expect all of our growers and employee-partners to interact
responsibly with the environment, and our policies set examples for them to
follow. We make sure that our people stay informed about new research as we
continually update environmental procedures, and our environmental policies
reflect our continuing commitment to provide leadership and innovation to the
food and poultry industries.
Proud of the communities in which we live and work, we are pledged to remain on
the forefront of environmental protection, not because it's required by law,
but because it's the right thing to do. Pilgrim's Pride proudly accepts this
responsibility. And in the end, environmental stewardship simply makes good
business sense.
Celebrating Environmental
Excellence Among Our Growers
Pilgrim's Pride environmental
policy
Pilgrim's Pride chairman's
statement
|