As the largest U.S. food company, we have the responsibility and opportunity to be as transparent as we can about the products we produce. Our core values call on us to be good stewards, so we’re continuously looking at new ways to increase accountability and transparency throughout our supply chain.

Today we’re setting a new standard that we believe will raise expectations across the beef industry around what it means to raise cattle sustainably. We have become the first food company to license Progressive Beef™, the largest-ever cattle sustainability program verified through USDA approved auditors.

What is Progressive Beef?

Progressive Beef is a quality management system designed for cattle feeding operators that sell to companies like Tyson Foods. We don’t own feedlots or ranches, but instead rely on more than 4,000 independent producers across the country to sell us high quality cattle.

Cattle feeding operators certified in the program follow best practices for animal welfare, food safety, responsible antibiotic use and environmental sustainability, and these practices are verified twice per year through USDA approved auditors. Each audit is like a report card, and the metrics involved help ranchers improve their operations.

We have seen first-hand the benefits of bringing together verifiable best practices that are geared toward continuing improvement in long-term beef production. Licensing the program allows us to better collaborate with our supply chain and measure the progress we’re making in beef sustainability.

We believe Progressive Beef will be the gold standard for cattle management practices, and we welcome others in the beef business to join us so we can all confidently answer questions from the people who buy our products about how their beef is raised.

This program is yet another example of how we are delivering on our purpose of raising the world’s expectations for how much good food can do.

Published August 15, 2018.

Author
Group President of Poultry at

Chad Martin was named group president of poultry in early 2019. As group president, he is responsible for driving earnings growth and poultry market share through integrated planning, business strategy development, operational execution and innovation.

He is a member of Tyson Foods’ enterprise leadership team and reports to President and CEO Noel White.

Prior to leading this team of 46,000 team members, Chad served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Beef Enterprise and was Vice President Strategy, as well as Vice President of Food Safety Quality Assurance, Fresh Meats. His career with Tyson began in 1998 when he joined IBP, Inc., which later became Tyson Fresh Meats, as a Quality Assurance auditor.

Chad is a true servant leader who cares deeply about people and creating a culture of empowerment and positive intent. As a long time FSQA leader, he is a strong believer in the Tyson We Care safety program which seeks to ensure the safety of all team members through continuous improvement initiatives that promote communications, awareness and best practices.

He earned his degree in Animal Science at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.