Beef and Lamb Suppliers

>7.7MM

head of cattle purchased

>31,100

family farm and ranch partners

>$12.5B

paid to our family farm and ranch partners

>3.6MM

head of livestock purchased

>13,890

family farm partners

>$2.3B

paid to our family farm partners

* Includes beef facilities in the U.S. and Canada

In 2021, JBS USA Beef (including JBS US Beef and JBS Canada) purchased more than seven million head of cattle from approximately 31,100 family farm and ranch partners, paying them $12.5 billion to supply our 10 beef production facilities. JBS Australia purchased approximately 3.6 million head of livestock, including cattle, lambs, sheep, goats and veal calves, to supply its 9 production facilities, paying their 13,896 producer partners more than $2.3 billion. In 2021, approximately 20% of the cattle JBS Australia purchased was sourced from one of our six JBS Australia feedlots. Pilgrim’s UK processed over 273,000 lambs from 400 family farm partners for more than $41 million. Pilgrim’s UK provides the only fully dedicated lamb supply chain in the U.K., partnering with our network of dedicated sheep farmers—some of these partners have been with us for over 25 years.

Our JBS US Fed Beef, Regional Beef, JBS Canada, Pilgrim’s Moy Park, Pilgrim’s UK and JBS Australia North and South business units each have unique requirements for selecting family farm and ranch partners to supply our beef and lamb. Open dialogue and strong relationships with our family farm and ranch partners are conduits for success across our supply chain. We define a “family farm or ranch” as any farm or ranch organized as a sole proprietorship, partnership or family corporation where the majority of the business is owned and controlled by a person and his or her relatives.

In the U.S. and Canada, all cattle suppliers are required to sign an affidavit indicating their compliance with governmental regulations, certification of Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) or an equivalent animal-welfare certification program.

In the U.S., we encourage our feedyard partners to enter the precompetitive National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Feedyard Assessment Database. Enrollment is voluntary and demonstrates a producer’s commitment to environmental stewardship, animal care and quality. Approximately 62% of our feedyard partners participate to date. We also third-party verify 35% of our fed cattle supply according to the BQA Feedyard Assessment.

In Australia, all livestock that are consigned for sale are required to have a National Vendor Declaration (NVD), a document verifying Australian meat and livestock food-safety, as well as the product’s origin. In signing the NVD, the producer declares compliance with the Livestock Producer Assurance (LPA), an independently audited on-farm food-safety certification program. The NVD contains information relevant to the husbandry of livestock consigned for harvest. In addition, before livestock leave their farm of birth, they must be tagged with an approved National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) device. This allows animal movements to be recorded in a national database and provides the assurance of livestock trace-back to the property of birth and trace-forward from the property of birth.

Our Pilgrim’s Moy Park Orléans business purchases beef for further processing. They only source beef from approved suppliers that are audited annually for food safety and animal welfare. They also developed contracting initiatives with French beef farmers associations to ensure available supply. In a declining French cattle market, this provides farmers an alternative to an otherwise volatile and uncertain market. This program has the following attributes:

Ensures Pilgrim’s Moy Park Beef Orléans supplies of available animals
Provides a set price, independent of market fluctuations, to improve economic efficiency and income security for all, including engaged farmers
Requires farmers have a market and a medium- to long-term production plan
Enhances production of cattle from farms that meet the Charter of Good Breeding Practices

Pilgrim’s Moy Park Beef Orléans also encourages its suppliers to purchase cattle from farms involved in Charte des Bonnes Pratiques d’élevage (Good Farming Practices) agreement. The Good Farming Practices, established by the National Livestock Confederation (CNE), is the approved industry standard. Meat from the Netherlands and Ireland also meet requirements set out by the Good Farming Practices. This contributes to making sure 100% of our 1,600 contracted farm partners are audited for animal welfare and environmental performance.

Pilgrim’s UK provides the only fully dedicated lamb supply chain in the U.K., partnering with our network of 400 dedicated sheep farmers — some of these partners have been with us for over 25 years. Our farmer partners are located in Wales and West Country of England. These regions are renowned for their grass conditions, making them an ideal location for extensive lamb production. All Pilgrim’s UK lamb producers are Farm Assured and raise lambs according to our higher-than-industry standards. Our standards are independently audited by Farm Assurance Assessors. Our lamb producer partners also complete a Responsible Efficient Production Assessment biannually. This assessment evaluates the farm’s production, health, welfare and environmental standards.

Pilgrim’s UK sources two specific breeds of lamb, Dorset and Abervale. Dorset is preferred as they naturally breed lamb all year, enabling us to organically raise enough lamb to meet customer demand, year-round. Whereas Abervale is classified as Guaranteed Tender rams and is selected based on muscle density.

At JBS USA, we serve a broad customer base that requires diverse types of beef and lamb products. To fulfill these requests, we have multiple branded beef and lamb programs that have varying requirements and certifications to meet our compliance standards.

Branded Beef and Lamb Program Requirements

Programs	Program Requirements
	Cattle have been fed a high-energy cereal-based vegetarian diet for a minimum of 100 days Cattle have been raised according to Global GAP standards Cattle will be AusMeat YG cipher (30 months of age) or less at slaughter Cattle have been raised without the use of hormones Cattle treated with any antibiotics will serve the minimum prescribed Export Slaughter Interval (EIS) prior to slaughter
	Cattle are sourced from properties and comply with the USDA NOP Organic Certification standard Cattle have never received growth promotants of any kind Cattle have never been administered antibiotics Cattle have never been fed genetically modified ingredients Cattle will be AusMeat S cipher (42 months of age) or younger at the time of slaughter
	Cattle have never received growth promotants of any kind Cattle have never been administered antibiotics Cattle have a minimum of 50% Red or Black Angus genetics with no Dairy or Brahman influence Cattle were born and raised in the U.S. and verified through cattle origin or brand ID on affidavit Cattle were raised in compliance with the Certified Humane^TM Farm Animal Care Standards for beef cattle Cattle will be less than 30 months of age at slaughter A minimum of 10% of suppliers are inspected annually for compliance with a JBS USA representative or a third party A third-party organization verifies producers remain compliant
	Cattle have been fed a high-energy cereal-based vegetarian diet for a minimum of 100 days Cattle will be AusMet PR cipher (42 months of age) or less at slaughter Cattle treated with any antibiotics will serve the minimum prescribed Export Slaughter Interval (ESI) prior to slaughter
	Cattle have been fed a 100% vegetarian diet Cattle have never been given added hormones and have not been administered antibiotics within 300 days of harvest Cattle are purebred and U.S. born and raised
	Cattle are 100% grass fed and grass finished Cattle have never been fed grain, have had continuous access to pasture during the growing season and are fed stored forages during the winter months Cattle have never been fed animal byproducts Cattle have never been given antibiotics or added hormones Producers must provide cattle affidavit upon arrival at harvest to prove cattle were raised in compliance with our strict program protocols A third-party company, Where Food Comes From, verifies producers remain compliant
	Cattle and lambs have been raised in accordance with the JBS Farms Assurance Program Cattle and lambs have been fed a 100% grass diet Cattle and sheep have been raised without the use of hormones, antibiotics or GMOs Cattle will be AusMeat YP cipher (36 months of age) or less at slaughter Lamb will be AusMea L cipher (approx. 12 months of age) or less at slaughter Lambs will only be sourced from meat breeds Cattle will not contain any Bos Indicus or dairy breed content
	Cattle and lambs have been raised in accordance with JBS Farms Assurance Program Cattle have been fed a 100% grass diet Cattle have been raised without the use of hormones, antiobiotics or GMOs Cattle will be AusMeat YP cipher (36 months of age) or less at slaughter Cattle will not contain any Bos Indicus or dairy breed content
	Cattle will be AusMeat YG cipher (30 months of age) or less at slaughter Cattle will be fed a minimum of 70 days on a grain ration Cattle treated with any antibiotics will serve the minimum prescribed Export Slaughter Interval (ESI) prior to slaughter
	Cattle have been raised without the use added hormones Cattle are of Angus heritage Cattle are less than 30 months at harvest Cattle are grass fed, grain finished Cattle are Canadian born and raised
	Cattle have been raised without the use of antibiotics or added hormones Cattle have been feed 100% vegetarian diet and have never been feed animal byproducts
	Certified Organic by Quality Assurance International Cattle have been raised without the use of antibiotics or added hormones Cattle have been fed a GMO-free diet

Sustainability Recognition Across the Beef Supply Chain

In 2019, we became the first U.S. beef company to achieve recognition across our supply chain in the cow-calf, feedyard/finisher and processing segments from the U.S. Beef Industry Sustainability Framework. The Framework is widely adopted throughout the industry and outlines the key areas of sustainability and improvement across the U.S. beef value chain. It is comprised of high-priority indicators, sector specific metrics and sustainability assessment guidelines.

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