Applegate Meets Regenerative Grasslands Target for Beef Nine Months Ahead of Schedule

Natural and organic meat brand Applegate, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corp., announced that it has reached its target of sourcing 100% of the beef it uses for its beef hot dog line from certified regenerative grasslands nine months ahead of schedule.

Applegate has helped transition 10.8 million acres of grassland to certified regenerative by third-party programs within the Applegate supply chain — a number that is 80% higher than its initial goal set a year ago, in March 2024. Every Applegate beef hot dog is now sourced from 100% verified regenerative farms, certified by Regenerative Organic Certification, Land to Market, and Certified Regenerative endorsed by Certified Humane, the release shared with Food Processing noted.

Applegate’s definition of regenerative agriculture as a series of practices that use animals to make a positive impact on the land, prioritizing soil health, biodiversity, water retention and farmer livelihoods.

Applegate said that its natural and organic beef hot dogs made with regeneratively sourced beef will ship this month with no change to the pricing of the products based on the new designation. Meanwhile, the Applegate Do Good Dog hot dog, which was a pilot product used to gauge consumer interest, will be discontinued.