Launched in 2004, Green Tier recognizes and rewards companies whose environmental performance surpasses regulatory compliance and goes the extra mile to achieve continuous improvement. Participants are committed to incorporating sustainable practices into their business operations through effective resource use and waste reduction.

“Congratulations to Patrick Cudahy for 125 prosperous years of business here in Wisconsin,” said Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp. “We’re pleased this long standing business is stepping forward as a leader in Green Tier to demonstrate that strong economic performance and environmental results can go hand in hand.”

“It is a requirement for my engineering team to address sustainability criteria in our projects,” said Gene Bridges, VP of Engineering and Maintenance, Patrick Cudahy. “Moving forward I see many exciting green milestones that we will achieve: significant reduction in landfill waste and energy conservation are just the beginning.”

 In support of local youth athletics, Smithfield Foods will donate $1 million to build up to seven lighted ball fields and the new home for the Smithfield Recreation Association. The Smithfield Town Council unanimously approved spending $200,000 to cover the town’s share of the project.

The seven-field complex will include one field specially designed for children with disabilities. The new complex will be owned by the town and leased to Smithfield Recreation Association. Currently, the Smithfield Recreation Association operates out of 40 year old Beale Park. Beale Park faces ongoing drainage repairs and erosion problems, and has had to turn interested children away in recent years due to limited field space.

Further community involvement as well as an environmental survey will be the next steps toward the project’s completion. We’re proud to support the health and wellness of our local youth and can’t wait to see these fields in action!

Murphy Brown’s service to the chapter was recognized at the Chamber’s annual meeting January 23, 2013 as Large Business of the Year. As an active member of the Algona, Iowa Area Chamber of Commerce, Murphy-Brown joins with other businesses dedicated to advancing the Algona area through activities, educational opportunities and promoting the community’s businesses.

Vicki Mallory, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, presented the award and expressed appreciation for the wide scope of involvement from Murphy-Brown leadership and employees and their commitment to the Algona area. The award was accepted on behalf of Murphy-Brown by Rosalie Kain and Adrianne Magill. The Annual Meeting is a major fundraiser for the chamber and includes a dinner, speeches and an auction.

Many people have spent their careers attempting to enhance the health and vitality of our environment. From my experience, first through the government and regulatory approaches and now from the perspective of private business, I can tell you that things have changed quite a bit since I first started my career. We, as a culture, have grown to be much more comfortable working at the intersection of environmental protection and business success. It is my personal belief that the two are inseparable, and that creating business value and creating environmental value usually go hand in hand.  

For example, each year through our Environmental Excellence Awards program, we encourage our employees to submit ideas for projects that do two things: help the environment and save our company money. I told our folks that once we ran out of projects that could do both those things, they could come see me and we would change the rules of the program. No one has come to me yet, and these projects have already saved Smithfield almost $300 million. But the amazing thing about them is not ONLY the dollars saved (while that is important). My favorite thing about these projects is how small they can be in scope individually. For example, years ago one employee noticed that we could change a valve to pulse water rather than spray it constantly, and that dropped the amount of water used by about half. These small incremental changes may seem insignificant on their own, but are multiplied when implemented over time throughout the company.

I encourage you, in both your workplace and personal life, to commit today to making just a couple small changes to positively impact the world around us. I’ve seen personally how they can accumulate to form dramatic results, and I’d encourage you to work towards that in your own sphere of influence.

Here at Smithfield, we believe the future is bright, but we understand that we have a responsibility to produce affordable food in a sustainable way, which is what we strive to do each day. Wherever you find yourself, my hope is that you use your influence to create value—for your family, your employer, the environment, and your community.  

Sincerely,

Dennis Treacy

Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer

Smithfield Foods, Inc.

On March 8^th, 2013, Farmland and Richard Petty Motorsports driver, Aric Almirola, teamed up to present $20,000 to Three Square Food Bank, Southern Nevada’s only food bank. To honor the legendary No. 43 Ford made famous by NASCAR champion Richard Petty, 43 cases of Farmland Oven Perfect, a ready-to-cook fresh pork tenderloin, were also donated.

These donations gave families, children and seniors in Las Vegas access to protein, an essential component for a healthy diet, but a scarce commodity at many food banks.

The “Race to End Hunger” is part of our Helping Hungry Homes initiative, which is focused on alleviating hunger across the country. The “Race to End Hunger” also donated $20,000 and 43 cases of Oven Perfect to St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 28^th.

“At Farmland, we are committed to fighting hunger by partnering with local food banks and helping communities in the race to end hunger,” said Brendan Smith, Vice President of Marketing. “We are excited to expand our work with Richard Petty Motorsports and partner with Three Square Food Bank to provide 140,000 meals to Las Vegas-area families in need.”

For updates about our sustainability efforts follow us on @SmithfieldFoods or visit our Smithfield Foods page on Facebook.

For instance, our subsidiary, John Morrell, is supporting area communities in Ohio through its relationship with Compost Cincy, Cincinnati’s only urban compost facility. Compost Cincy recycles food, yard and other forms of organic waste from local businesses to create nutrient-rich compost, while also eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.

Their partnership is mutually-beneficial in that Compost Cincy provides John Morrell’s Springdale, OH facility with the tools necessary to make progress on its goal of sending zero waste to landfill. And in turn, John Morrell offers Compost Cincy nutrient-rich organic material that can be processed and converted into compost for sale to the public. We are always seeking these types of win-win partnerships that help us create value for our company, as well as for the communities where we live and work.

1.)    How did you get your start at John Morrell?

I was hired in 2007 as VP HR for Armour-Eckrich Meats LLC. When The John Morrell Food Group was formed (consisting of John Morrell, AEM, Patrick Cudahy, Premium Pet Health), I assumed responsibility for JMFG HR.

2.)    What’s something you are very proud of at home or on the job? 

I am very proud of my family for supporting me throughout my career even if it meant moving across the country to new places and having to change jobs and high schools.

3.)    What are some of the challenges and opportunities presented in being VP of Human Resources for a large company?  

No matter what industry you work in, hiring and retaining good talent today is very challenging even in a tough economy. In addition, as complex as HR has become with all the additional regulations and requirements, we need to continue to focus on developing our employees to meet the future needs of the business. 

HR must also show how it can favorably impact company profits and results through the acquisition, development and management of its employees.

4.)    Tell us about a role model or mentor who has helped you reach where you are today…

I couldn’t be where I am today without the support of my husband and our son.  However, my father played a significant role in where I am today in my career. During his professional career, there weren’t a lot of women working in management positions.  At a young age, he took me with him on a business trip to Washington, D.C. (long before take your child to work day),  encouraged me to go to college when at that time, many of my friends out of high school did not go on to college, and then later encouraged me to go on to graduate school.  He taught me a lot about working in the business world and was candid about the successes and mistakes he made during his working career.

5.)    What’s something surprising people may not know about you? 

In a period of about 12 years, my family moved 6 times for my career.

6.)    What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Originally an equine veterinarian.

1.) How did you get your start at Smithfield?

My introduction to Smithfield began with a call from a recruiter regarding a great opportunity.  I successfully made it through the interview process and began my career with Smithfield in May 2011.  I came to Smithfield in the role of Director of Industrial Engineering.  Prior to joining Smithfield I worked for Dell, Inc. as a Continuous Improvement Manager and Operations Manager.  My food manufacturing experience came from Nestle’, I worked for Nestle’ for 13 years in both Operations and Industrial Engineering.

2.) What is your job like on a day to day basis?

My job varies from day to day.  It consists of leading my team to identify continuous improvement opportunities across the company. These could be opportunities that exist in our manufacturing facilities and/or in our corporate office.

3.) As Director of Industrial Engineering, how do you streamline Smithfield Packing’s operations and improve efficiency?  As the Director of Industrial Engineering, there are several things that are required to streamline operations and improve efficiencies.   You need understand the operation, measure the current state of the operation, indentify opportunity or opportunities within the operation, come up with solutions —this should include collaborating with others for solution(s), execute the solution(s), check and measure the operation after improvement(s) have been made. (This process is a continuous loop!)

4.) What kind of strengths and skills make a good industrial engineer?

A good industrial engineer possesses tenacity, leadership, and the ability to organize a project, program or process in a simplistic and executable fashion.

5.) Can you tell us about a project or operation that has provided great results?

One of the most successful projects to date that I have been involved in is the opportunity to work with a cross-functional team (Human Resources, Quality Assurance, and Industrial Engineering) to create Pork 201, a 3-day training program for our first line Supervisors within Smithfield Packing.  This project is especially important to me because it has allowed the first-line supervisors to understand more about the company and their important role in the success of Smithfield Packing.  The class exposes the supervisors to meat science, mathematics (cost & yields) and other tools to help them be successful in their roles.  Currently, 97 supervisors have gone through Pork 201, feedback received has been positive.  Prior to the Pork 201, supervisors take a math pretest,  our post math test results have shown a greater understanding of the math required for supervisors to be successful in their jobs.

6.) What’s something surprising people may not know about you?

I have done some acting in life.  I played as leading actress in two theatre productions.  I also had the opportunity to audition for “The Color Purple” movie in high school, missed the audition purposely goofing off with my friends.

7.) What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I wanted to be a high school Math teacher. 

1) How did you get your start at Murphy-Brown? How long have you been there?

I never doubted that after graduating from Wake Forest I would come back and settle down in my hometown of Clinton, NC.  The part I never dreamed of is that I would have such a rewarding professional career here in rural eastern NC.  After 27 years, I can say that my passion for this industry has never waned and continues to be the reason I want to get up in the mornings and make a difference.

2) What do you see as the most important piece of your job as Chief Financial Officer?

I want to move the company forward.  Murphy-Brown is a leader, an innovator, and strives to be on the cutting edge of technology. To be a part of the management team is fantastic, and having oversight over both accounting and information technology gives me the opportunity to touch and improve many aspects of the business.

3) What is the best advice you’ve received (either professional or personal)?

To reach your maximum potential, you must believe in what you do and be passionate about what you do.  I attribute that to my success.  Murphy-Brown’s motto, “Our families feed your families,” is fitting.  I can’t think of a better way to contribute to our world.

4) Can you tell us about someone who inspires you professionally?

Our employees and contract growers are the foundation and driving force behind our success.  These people inspire me.  We work with living, breathing animals that require a great deal of care and consistency, 365 days a year.  The process, including genetics, feed, animal care, transportation and many support functions, equates to a lot of hard work that goes into our product long before a consumer can serve it to their family.  As Paul Harvey so accurately described our business in the 2013 Super Bowl commercial, “And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker’, so God made a farmer.”

Check out the video that sums it all up. 

5) What is your favorite movie? Why?

I am a little embarrassed to say that my favorite movie is the ultimate chick flick, “Pretty Woman.”  Every time I watch it, I leave smiling and hopeful that there really are fairy tale endings, and good things will happen to good people.

6) What do you think is the most delicious pork product? (We know—it’s hard to pick just one!)

Hands down, it’s bacon!  What a delicious start to the day, on hamburgers, in baked beans,or  just by itself. . . . It’s just downright good!!!!!!!!

1.) How did you get your start at Farmland Foods? Have you always had an interest in agriculture?

I came to Farmland when Smithfield acquired Premium Standard Farms.  My husband and I joined PSF in the early days and both had active roles in helping to develop that business.  I have loved animals and ag since I was little and was begging my grandpa to let me feed cattle and hogs with him on his farm in Iowa!

2.)  What do you think is the most important aspect of your job?

Coordination and communication.  I really like finding synergies between seemingly different groups or objectives and putting them together.  I like tying the big picture together with detail and contributions from many different areas.

3.) What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?

Hire and develop people who will become even better than you at your job or aspects of it; don’t be afraid to be pushed by them.  Be willing to mentor people (in my case, esp. women!)

4.) What makes you passionate about your job?

The challenges and the camaraderie of working in agriculture.  I thrive when I’m being pushed to the max so I gravitate toward situations that do that.

5.) Tell us a little bit about your role on the animal care council…

I work as part of an active team that represents all aspects of our business and also we try to represent the interests of people that interact with the company like producers who supply us and customers and consumers.

6.) If you could have a super power what would it be?

Be two places at once; with my family and at whatever job location I need to be.

7.) If you could meet anyone for lunch, who would it be and what would you order?

Charles Darwin.  Ethnic food of any kind!