Our Commitment
Expanding the Boundaries of Sustainability
Treating our animals, the environment, our producers and the communities that support us with respect are as important to us as caring for our customers.
Creekstone Farms’ Keys to Sustainability
Today most of those who eat meat define sustainable meat as how well the animal was treated and raised — subjects like organic farming, humane animal handling and being free of antibiotics or hormones are important to them.1 At Creekstone Farms, we take our commitment to sustainability beyond the animals in our care and extend it across every aspect of our business, including our ranchers, team members, consumers and the communities where we live and work.
Our commitment to sustainability is anchored in three core areas:
Taking Better Care of Tomorrow Together
From our producers on family ranches and farms to the family at our processing facility, we are devoted to the well-being of the land, the animals and the people we work with every day.
Environmental Stewardship
At Creekstone Farms, everything we do is tied to the land, so we take great care to reduce our impact upon the natural environment:
- Creekstone Farms works with producers who employ sustainable practices like rotational grazing, where cattle are moved to different pastures to give the plants and soil the time they need to heal.
- Our processing plant and distribution center are designed with energy-efficient LED lighting along with water reuse and reconditioning systems to help conserve limited natural resources.
- We are making incremental improvements to reduce and replace single-use plastics and non-recyclable materials in our packaging with renewable materials.
Animal Welfare
- We work with ranchers whose number one priority is humanely and sustainably raising their animals with respect and dignity.
- Our Natural Black Angus Beef is produced from cattle raised with Certified Humane® animal-handling practices to give today’s consumers the peace of mind they’re hungry for.
- Our All-Natural Heritage Duroc Pork is sustainably and humanely raised crate-free to help customers feel good about the food they enjoy.
- The Creekstone Farms facility has had a Humane Animal Handling program in place since 2010 which encompasses the care and well-being of live cattle during transportation and while they are in our facility.
- Our Kansas processing facility was designed by renowned animal authority Dr. Temple Grandin to ensure that the cattle are treated humanely to reduce stress and fear.
- Our indoor cattle holding facilities provide proper ventilation and temperature controls to keep cattle comfortable in any weather condition.
- Our program is monitored by Quality Assurance (QA) staff who are trained and have achieved the highest degree of Humane Handling knowledge and understanding by way of the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO).
- All facility QA management are Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certified on a biannual basis.
Our Local Community and Team Members
- Our processing facility is founded on the cornerstones of animal welfare, worker safety, food safety, traceability, and product quality and we are dedicated to helping our customers and consumers understand where their food comes from.
- Our automated distribution center significantly reduces injuries, labor, and human error, while improving efficiencies and ensuring more consistent product quality and accurate order fulfillment.
- Creekstone Farms established the Walnut Valley Learning Center near our processing facility to provide on-site childcare for more than 100 of our team members’ children.
- Locally, we give to and support our local schools and families, as well as many local organizations that focus on hunger relief and poverty.
- On a national scale, we support various disaster relief, hunger relief and military veteran support programs.
Sources
1Midan Marketing, Sustainably Raised Meat Research Report, July 2021