Our goal is to provide poults of the highest quality, priced competitively as compared to produced poult cost achieved within the industry by the integrated companies.

We continually seek to discover new and innovative ways to improve the quality and health of our birds The examples below represent some of the steps we follow to improve the performance of our poults:

• Isolated and Dedicated Breeder Hatchery: We are the only commercial poult company (beside the primary breeding companies Nicholas and Hybrid) that dedicates a hatchery exclusively for hatching of parent stock poults. This isolation at the Marshall hatchery eliminates cross-contamination between commercial poults and parent breeding stock. Furthermore, the small volume of the Marshall hatchery allows to optimize our effectiveness in the application of proprietary technology for improved genetic performance and health.



• Salmonella reduction: Salmonella is a natural, organic part of a turkey's ecosystem and permanent total elimination is unlikely, however, a significant reduction in numbers is possible. This reduction is not apt to result from any single intervention, a coordinated program of strategic interventions is necessary. As part of our overall Salmonella reduction program, we vaccinate our breeding stock with our proprietary Salmonella SRP vaccine developed by affiliated company Epitopix. This vaccine not only reduces Salmonella within our parent stock breeders, but provides maternal SRP antibody to the commercial progeny. Our future plans include the introduction of a slow-release Salmonella SRP vaccine for commercial poults



• Single-Stage Incubation: Our largest hatchery in Willmar is a single stage (all in all out) modern hatchery that further optimizes poult quality. Eggs are grouped according to similar characteristics to minimize variations caused by breeder age and the differences between the two genetic breeds in the industry. The optimal incubation profile is generated for each egg group to minimize the hatch window and maximize poult quality. The single-stage hatching process allows us to also lower early poult infections by avoiding cross- contamination in the incubators after completion of the incubation process.



• Double Tom Selection Pressure: To further improve genetic performance of the Hybrid Converter breed, we select only the top 25% of the placed toms compared to the industry standard of using 50% genetic selection pressure. The genetic theory states that 70% of breed improvements originate from the male side. We believe this increase in tom selection pressure significantly increases our turkey's genetic performance. We have determined that the increased value that superior genetics provide far outweighs the cost. The Converter customers in our system agree as they have all chosen to share a portion of the cost in the form of a poult premium for double selected genetics.



• Breed Options: We provide genetics from both of the primary breeding companies in the turkey industry (Nicholas and Hybrid). The breed mix we produce in any given time is dictated by our customers as they wish and commit to a specific breed. We strive to achieve breed neutrality by following a pricing method that includes the reproductive breed differences.