Whitewater and Janesville, Wis. – Woodman’s Markets and its supply partner, S&R Egg Farm, are proud to announce both companies’ plans to transition to 100% cage-free eggs.
Woodman’s, which is employee-owned and headquartered in Janesville, operates 16 retail locations throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. Under its new plan, Woodman’s will exclusively sell cage-free eggs by 2025.
S&R Egg Farm, founded in 1958 and based in Whitewater, has grown from a 12,000-bird operation to now having nearly 4 million egg-laying hens across its 800 acres of farmland that stretch across the vast countryside of Southeastern Wisconsin.
S&R has established a goal of switching all of its hens to cage-free—something it aims to accomplish by 2025.
Woodman’s has been an innovative company in the grocery retail space since its inception in 1919. From its early adoption of electronic UPC acceptance and employee ownership, to its recent commitment to mobile technology and in-home delivery service with its ShopWoodmans.com website. “Woodman’s continues to evolve to better meet it’s customer’s needs, and this commitment to go cage-free by 2025 is no exception,” said Woodman’s Vice President, Clint Woodman. “We’re proud to team up with our supply partners at S&R to make this commitment.”
S&R’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Sean Delano, noted cage-free as being the future of egg production. “America’s farmers and ranchers have always been some of our country’s most innovative individuals, and as the demand for cage-free egg production from our nation’s food retailers grows, S&R is proud to evolve into a cage-free company,” said Delano. “We look forward to working with our retail partners and other stakeholders to make this switch.”
The Humane Society of the United States applauded both companies for their commitment to cage-free production.
“We welcome the announcements from Woodman’s and S&R that both companies are going cage-free,” said Matthew Prescott, senior food policy director for The Humane Society of the U.S. “This can be a complex issue, and its commendable that Woodman’s and S&R are addressing it.”
Source: Woodman’s Markets