BEDMINSTER, NJ. — Applegate, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods, announced a new goal to transition its entire beef hot dog portfolio to beef raised on verified regenerative grasslands by the end of 2025.

Applegate expects to increase the regenerative acreage of its suppliers by over 2,200% through this transition. The company said the beef hot dog portfolio will contribute to approximately 6 million acres of grasslands.

“For 37 years, Applegate has led the charge for higher standards for animal agriculture, from the way we care for our animals to how we work to preserve the land and planet they live on,” said Joseph O’Connor, president of Applegate. “As pioneers of the movements surrounding organic and Applegate Humanely Raised meat and animals that are raised with no antibiotics ever, we saw a larger opportunity for regeneratively sourced meat. By working to shift our entire beef supply chain, consumers can support regenerative practices without having to forgo our organic and natural hot dogs they already love. This, in turn, will help to incentivize farmers and the industry to move regenerative agriculture practices from niche to norm.”

To achieve its goal, Applegate plans to work with more than 250 ranchers to implement a regenerative standard with third-party verification through certifiers like Land to Market. The company will also collaborate with umbrella frameworks such as GRASS (Generalized Regenerative Agriculture Sourcing Specification) and the Textile Exchange Regenerative Outcomes Framework to ensure its standards are aligned with industry-accepted metrics for ecological outcomes and animal welfare.

In 2021, Applegate launched the Do Good Dog, a nationally available hot dog made with beef raised on verified regenerative US grasslands. The development of the product helped to transition 260,000 acres of grassland to regenerative.