Environmental Impact
”Environmental stewardship” means taking responsibility for the care of our natural resources and requires constant attention to production practices that preserve the quality of our air, land, and water supply. As an avid sportsman, Bill Prestage has a strong love of nature and respect for natural resources. This is reflected in the conservation practices of Prestage Farms. Our farm sites are designed to enhance the environment through management practices that are science-based and proven by years of practice.
Our ongoing commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship was in place before the company began operations in 1983. When choosing colors for the company logo, our iconic blue and green were selected to represent “blue skies” and “green grass”. These colors still stand as a reminder and a testament to our pledge to enrich the environments in which we operate.
Prestage Farms has developed and adheres to farm practices that result in safe, efficient, and environmentally-responsible operations. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any action that is detrimental to the natural resources on or around our farms and facilities. Additionally, we strive to meet or exceed all environmental regulations. By working closely with all of our contract grower families, we ensure that a current Nutrient Management Plan is in place on all farms where it is required by current regulations. We employ full-time environmental and waste-management personnel who ensure that these plans are successfully implemented. These personnel maintain and update our rapid response plans in case of emergency or natural disaster.
To be effective stewards of the land, it is our belief that we have to be constantly vigilant in looking for new and innovative ways to improve our practices. We are committed to operating in an environmentally-responsible manner in order to not only protect our industry and our business, but ultimately to preserve a way-of-life for our farm families and future generations of food producers.
Current Environmental Initiatives
Renewable energy
Wood-fired boiler for the production of steam and green power at our 421 feed mill.
Fossil-fuel use reduction practices
Smaller, more fuel-efficient service vehicles.
Mileage minimizing truck routes.
Solar energy system for hot water production at Prestage Foods processing facility.
Wildlife Conservation
Participation in the C.U.R.E program on two of our largest complexes as well as on some contract growing farms.
Land & Nutrient Management Practices
On-farm forced air composting facilities for mortality management which provides organic fertilizer for use by local farmers.
Methane gas collection over hog lagoons which reduces land application of waste to nearly zero by preventing rain water collection and burning off excess methane created during anaerobic digestion. These collection systems have the potential to create green power.