18
date. Furthermore,
due to
the more
limited supply
for organic
ingredients,
we may
commit to
purchase organic
ingredients in
advance to help ensure 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.
Corn
and
soybean
meal
are
commodities
and
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 most recently the Russia-Ukraine war.
An important competitive advantage
for Cal-Maine Foods is
our ability to meet
our customers’ evolving needs
with a favorable
product
mix
of
conventional
and
specialty
eggs,
including
cage-free,
organic
and
other
specialty
offerings,
as
well
as
egg
products.
We
have
also
enhanced
our
efforts
to
provide
free-range
and
pasture-raised
eggs
that
meet
consumers’
evolving
choice
preferences.
While
a
small
part
of
our
current
business,
the
free-range
and
pasture-raised
eggs
we
produce
and
sell
represent attractive offerings
to a subset of
consumers,
and therefore our customers,
and help us continue
to serve as the trusted
provider of quality food choices.
We are
also focused on additional ways
to enhance its product mix
and support new opportunities in the
restaurant, institutional
and industrial food
products arena. On
October 4, 2021, Cal-Maine
Foods announced a
strategic investment of $18.5
million in
debt
and
equity
in
Meadow
Creek
Foods,
LLC
(“MeadowCreek”),
an
egg
products
operation
located
in
Neosho,
Missouri,
focused on offering
hard-cooked eggs. Cal-Maine
Foods serves as the preferred
provider of specialty and
conventional eggs for
MeadowCreek
to
manufacture
egg
products.
On
December
13,
2022,
our
Board
of
Directors
approved
an
additional
$13.8
million investment
to expand
the Company’s
controlling interest
and fund
additional equipment
and working
capital needs
to
support growth opportunities for
MeadowCreek. As demand for
hard-cooked eggs continues to grow,
the funds will be used for
additional
refrigerated
storage
space
and
expanded
capacity
for
cooking
and
packaging
to
better
serve
MeadowCreek’s
customers.
Due
to
delays
caused
by
supply
chain
issues and
plans
for
expansion,
MeadowCreek
is
now
expected
to be
fully
operational by or before March 2023.
The
Company
has
joined
in
the
formation
of
a
new
egg
farmer
cooperative
in
the
western
United
States.
ProEgg,
Inc.
(“ProEgg”)
is
comprised
of
leading
egg
production
companies,
including
Cal-Maine
Foods,
servicing
retail
and
foodservice
shell egg customers in 13 western states. ProEgg is a producer-owned
cooperative organized under the Capper-Volstead
Act.
Our
membership
in
ProEgg
is
expected
to
provide
benefits
for
its
customers,
including
supply
chain
stability
and
enhanced
reliability.
Initially,
Cal-Maine Foods’
customer relationships
and customer
support are
expected to
remain the
same. At some
point in the future, it is anticipated
that each producer member will sell
through ProEgg the shell eggs
it produces for sale in the
western
states
covered
by
the
cooperative.
Customers
would
have
a
single
point
of
contact
for
their
shell
egg
purchases,
as
ProEgg would have a dedicated team to market and sell the members’ combined
egg production in the region.
The Company’s
top priority in joining
as a member of
ProEgg is serving
our valued customers in
this important market
region.
During
this
initial
phase,
we
will
continue
our
work
to
confirm
that
our
participation
in
this
new
cooperative
is
in
the
best
interest of
our customers
and aligns
with our
long-term interests.
This consideration
will take
place before
moving to
the next
phase of membership, and we expect this process to be completed on
or before the end of our fiscal year 2023.
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.
Because
of
the
seasonal
and
quarterly
fluctuations,
comparisons
of
our
sales
and
operating
results
between
different
quarters
within
a
single
fiscal
year
are
not
necessarily meaningful comparisons.
HPAI
We
are closely
monitoring
the current
outbreak of
HPAI
that was
first detected
in commercial
flocks in
the U.S.
in February
2022. Outbreaks in commercial flocks in the U.S. have most recently
occurred during each month from September to December
2022. The
current HPAI
epidemic has
surpassed the
prior 2014-2015
outbreak in
terms of
the number
of affected
hens in
the
U.S.,
and
HPAI
continues
to
circulate
throughout
the
wild
bird
population
in
the
U.S.
and
abroad.
According
to
the
U.S.
Centers
for
Disease Control
and
Prevention,
these
detections
do
not present
an immediate
public
health
concern.
There have
been no positive tests for HPAI
at any Cal-Maine Foods’ owned or contracted production
facility as of December 28, 2022. The
USDA division
of Animal
and Plant
Health Inspection
Service (“APHIS”)
reported on
December 27,
2022 that
approximately
43.3 million commercial
layer hens and 1.0
million pullets have been
depopulated due to HPAI
this year.
We believe
the HPAI
outbreak will
continue to exert
downward pressure
on the overall
supply of eggs,
and the duration
of those effects
will depend
