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Dairy

Cal-Maine Names Miller President/CEO; Baker Stays as Board Chair

 

Photo: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.

Cal-Maine Foods Inc.’s board of directors has named Sherman L. Miller president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. He succeeds Dolph Baker as chief executive officer.

Baker will retain his role as chairman of the board and as an executive officer, and will remain actively involved in managing the company, with a focus on strategy, capital allocation, advising the senior management team and leading the board. This transition is consistent with the board’s succession planning process.

Sherman Miller joined the company in 1996 and has served in various management positions during his 26-year tenure, most recently as president and chief operations officer. He was elected president in 2018, chief operations officer in 2011 and vice president of operations in 2007. Prior to this, he served in management positions at various processing plant locations including Chase, Kan.; Delta, Utah; and Edwards, Miss. He became a member of the Cal-Maine Foods board in 2012.

He will remain interim COO until a successor is named. Miller serves as a director of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association and United Egg Producers, and past director of the American Feed Industry Association. He graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in poultry science.

“Sherman has dedicated his entire career to Cal-Maine Foods and is extremely well qualified for this leadership position, having the right complement of operational experience and strategic vision,” Baler said. “He has been a proven leader in managing our operations through the various market cycles that are characteristic of our industry.

“Under his leadership, the company has achieved tremendous growth, and he has the full confidence of the board that he is the right person to lead the company forward. Sherman is well-respected within the company, by our customers and throughout our industry. I look forward to our continued strong working relationship as we execute our growth strategy.”

“I am proud and honored to assume this role with Cal-Maine Foods,” Miller said. “Dolph has been a tremendous leader and mentor, and we will continue to benefit from his valuable insight and deep knowledge of the company. He has established Cal-Maine Foods as a leader in our industry, and we will continue to work together and build upon this proud legacy and history of success.

“Cal-Maine Foods has a proven business model with a favorable product mix, a strong focus on efficient and sustainable operations, and a solid base of valued customers. With the support of our capable and experienced management team and an outstanding team of employees throughout our operations, I am excited about the opportunities ahead for Cal-Maine Foods.”

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is primarily engaged in the production, grading, packing, marketing and distribution of fresh shell eggs, including conventional, cage-free, organic, brown, free-range, pasture-raised and nutritionally enhanced eggs. The company, which is headquartered in Ridgeland, Miss,, is the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the United States and sells the majority of its shell eggs in states across the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

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Laura Chenel Goat Yogurt Line Discontinued Due to Rising Costs

Laura Chenel is discontinuing production of its award-winning probiotic goat yogurt because the recent rising costs of milk and other materials, which means that the company can no longer produce this product at an affordable price, according to a letter sent to customers from National Sales Director BJ Frank.

Effective Sept. 30, Laura Chenel will discontinue the Laura Chenel Probiotic Goat Yogurt line (Plain & Vanilla 4.75 ounces and Plain 23 ounces.).

“We are committed to bringing good, wholesome food to home cooks and chefs across the nation,” Frank wrote. “With this in mind, for the last few years, we’ve made delicious, award-winning, gut-friendly probiotic goat yogurt that was well received by our consumers.

“Other than freeing up resources, this change does not impact any of our other product lines at Laura Chenel or within our family of brands, St. Benoit Creamery and Marin French Cheese Co.,” Frank wrote.

Laura Chenel introduced a new chapter in American cheese in 1979 when she started making farmstead goat cheese with milk from her goats and techniques she learned in France. Today, Laura Chenel still embodies its founding namesake’s trailblazing spirit as a leading producer of fresh and aged goat cheeses crafted with fresh goat’s milk from family-owned farms in California, Oregon, Nevada and Idaho. Located in the heart of Sonoma County,

Laura Chenel is the first creamery in the United States to be awarded the prestigious LEED Gold certification for achievement in green building sustainability. Its commitment to environmental practices, such as solar energy and water recycling, helps preserve the terroir for generations to come.

October’s Gourmet News brings our Fall Cheese Guide. Subscribe now so you don’t miss it!

Rumiano Cheese Commits to Carbon Neutrality by 2030

Rumiano Cheese Company, California’s oldest family-owned cheese company, has committed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. As a first step, Rumiano has introduced a climate impact program to accelerate efforts to improve the sustainability of its supply chain.

Rumiano has partnered with the CDIC, a coalition of California dairy producers, processors, major universities and the California Dairy Research Foundation, created to collaboratively drive dairy innovation and productivity. Established by the California Milk Advisory Board, the CDIC supports industry innovation through grants, internships, research projects and educational training.

With support from the CDIC’s Dairy Business Innovation Initiative, Rumiano has hired its first sustainability impact intern to assess the company’s entire ecological footprint. Cal Poly Humboldt environmental science major Ellie Frazier has spent two months collecting and documenting comprehensive baseline measurements on all business activities that contribute to energy and water consumption, resource usage and carbon emissions.

With baseline data in place, Frazier has entered the second stage of her research where she is analyzing areas of the business that have the greatest opportunities for optimization and environmental outcomes. Frazier’s research has already identified a number of climate impacting opportunities around transportation and sustainable packaging and she will be exploring additional ways Rumiano can further reduce emissions by decreasing miles traveled of raw materials and finished goods.

This collaboration with the CDIC builds on Rumiano’s long commitment to advancing sustainable farming and production practices and a record of innovation. Rumiano has already made significant investments in sustainability on several fronts.

Ambitious initiatives range from its zero-waste cheese manufacturing plant that recycles and repurposes everything from cardboard and plastic to whey and wastewater, to the company’s in-house wastewater treatment facility that biologically treats 20,000 gallons of cheese production wastewater per day. This process not only prevents 99 percent of milk solids from entering the environment through groundwater and rivers, it enables the water to become potable and usable for its community and puts clean water and food grade compost equivalents back into the land.

Last year, Rumiano opened an energy-efficient 46,766-square-foot state-of-the-art cheese packaging plant in Willows, Calif., that will soon run on 100 percent renewable solar energy generated on-site like the company’s existing facilities.

As we work toward our long-range sustainability action plans, we are committed to continuous progress across the entire supply chain. We know that over time, small changes in our farming, manufacturing and packaging processes will lead to big transformations. But the greatest impact on the health of our planet will lie in our collective ability to make pasture-based, regenerative farming practices more affordable and accessible to all farms,” said Joe Baird, Rumiano Cheese Company’s CEO. Regenerative agriculture promotes healthier soils that absorb more carbon into the ground and keep more greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere.”

Progress relies on innovation and collaboration,” said Veronique Lagrange, director of the CDIC, “We value our partnership with processors like Rumiano and are pleased to offer support through the Dairy Business Innovation Initiative to help them achieve their business objectives.”

October brings Gourmet News’s Fall Cheese Guide, in addition to our monthly issue. Subscribe now so you won’t miss them!