Cal-Maine
{{short description|Egg producer in Jackson, Mississippi}}
{{infobox company
| name = Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
| type = Public
| traded_as = {{ubl|{{NASDAQ|CALM}}|S&P 600 component}}
| founded = {{Start date and age|1957}}
| hq_location = {{nowrap|Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.}}
| revenue = {{decrease}} {{US$|1.35 billion|link=yes}} (2020)
| assets = {{increase}} US$1.21 billion (2020)
| equity = {{increase}} US$1.01 billion (2020)
| num_employees = 3,461 (May 30, 2020)
| website = {{url|calmainefoods.com}}
}}
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is an American fresh egg producer, established in 1969 and based in Jackson, Mississippi. Its eggs are sold mostly in mid-Atlantic, midwestern, southeastern, and southwestern states. These regions account for approximately a quarter of US egg consumption.{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=Vanessa |date=21 March 2017 |title=Egg Makers Are Freaked Out By The Cage-Free Future |work=BuzzFeed |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/venessawong/egg-makers-are-freaked-out-by-the-cage-free-future |access-date=14 June 2017}} Cal-Maine is a public company trading on the NASDAQ, headed by its founder, Fred R. Adams, Jr., whose family owns a controlling interest.
Recent history
On May 1, 2012, Cal-Maine announced a joint venture between the cooperative Eggland's Best and Land O'Lakes. Cal-Maine was the largest franchisee of Eggland's Best and one of the company's 13 shareholders. As of 2011, 16 percent of Cal-Maine egg sales were Eggland's Best.{{Cite news |date=May 1, 2012 |title=Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. Announces New Joint Venture by Eggland's Best and Land O'Lakes Combining Their Specialty Egg Businesses |publisher=Business Wire |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120501006110/en/Cal-Maine-Foods-Announces-New-Joint-Venture-Eggland%E2%80%99s |access-date=May 21, 2019}}
In 2018, an investigation at Lake Wales Farm by the animal rights group Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) indicated that chickens suffered inhumane living conditions and abuse by employees. After further investigation by the Polk County sheriff's department and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), it was found that the farm had followed American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) protocols for euthanizing poultry. No confirmation of abuse was found.{{Cite news |last=Francuz |first=James |date=January 16, 2018 |title=Investigation Suggests Brutal Abuse Of Chickens At Lake Wales Farm |work=Inquisitr |url=https://www.inquisitr.com/4739714/investigation-suggests-brutal-abuse-of-chickens-at-lake-wales-farm/ |access-date=January 17, 2018}}
According to the [https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-lawsuit-allege-grocery-chains-Costco-15224486.php San Francisco Chronicle], in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the spring of 2020, Cal-Maine increased egg prices over 300% - from $1 to $3.44 per dozen. This triggered at least one lawsuit challenging the price jump as unjustified, since there hadn't been an actual supply chain interruption.{{Cite news |last=Guerrero |first=Susana |date=April 24, 2020 |title=Suit alleges Costco, Trader Joe's and others hiked egg prices during pandemic |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-lawsuit-allege-grocery-chains-Costco-15224486.php |access-date=April 25, 2020}}
Early in the morning of December{{nbsp}}17, 2020, a fire destroyed two barns at Cal-Maine's Dade City, Florida facilities. The fire killed over 240,000 chickens, including 120,000 pullets; the financial loss was estimated to be over $1 million.{{cite news |last1=Vigdor |first1=Neil |title=At Least 240,000 Chickens Are Killed in Fire at Florida Egg Farm |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/us/farm-fire-chickens-fl.html |access-date=18 December 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=17 December 2020}}
In November 2023, the company was found liable in a lawsuit alleging that it colluded, along with Rose Acre Farms, United Egg Producers, and United States Egg Marketers, to reduce the supply of eggs and increase prices between 2004 and 2008.{{cite news|last1=Volmert|first1=Isabella|title=U.S. egg producers conspired to fix prices from 2004 to 2008, a federal jury ruled|date=2023-11-22|url=https://apnews.com/article/egg-producers-price-gouging-lawsuit-conspiracy-8cd455003a3a40bab74d0f046d0f2c9d|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=2023-11-25}} The plaintiffs in the case, a group of large food manufacturers led by Kraft Foods, originally filed the long-running lawsuit in 2011, but it did not reach trial until October 2023.{{cite news|last1=Arcieri|first1=Katie|title=Kraft, Kellogg Go After Egg Producers for Price-Fixing Scheme|date=2023-10-17|work=Bloomberg Law|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/kraft-kellogg-go-after-egg-producers-for-price-fixing-scheme-39|access-date=2023-11-25}}
In March 2024, it was announced Cal-Maine had completed the acquisition of a broiler processing plant, hatchery and feed mill in Dexter, Missouri from the American multinational food processing corporation, Tyson Foods for an undisclosed amount.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-19 |title=Cal-Maine Foods completes acquisition of Tyson Foods' assets |url=https://www.foodbev.com/news/cal-maine-foods-completes-acquisition-of-tyson-foods-assets/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=FoodBev Media |language=en-GB}}
Principal subsidiaries
- Cal-Maine Farms, Inc.
- Southern Equipment Distributors, Inc.
- South Texas Applicators, Inc.
- Cal-Maine Partnership, Ltd.
- CMF of Kansas, LLCads 2004
References
{{reflist}}