Sustainability
Wenger Feeds believes in meeting today’s needs, with an emphasis on people, planet and prosperity, for company growth without compromising future generation’s needs. In addition to earning triple ISO certification in 9001 (Quality), 14001 (Environmental Management), and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety), Wenger Feeds was the first agribusiness in Lancaster County to earn Green Plus certification. The certification, bestowed by the Institute for Sustainable Development, is based on sustainability in three areas—people including employees, community engagement, and awareness building; planet including energy, transportation, water, waste reduction, and green purchasing; and performance including organizational planning, documentation, financial information, human resources, and future planning.
Area of Concentration: People
Company Efforts and Elements: Customers, Employees, Community
Serving Customers: Consistently high ratings for customer service.
Be an employer of choice: Offer a professional environment with continuous learning opportunities. Over 2,300 total hours of training were completed by our employees in 2012.
Support the communities in areas we serve including hosting educational tours: We support over 50 local groups including emergency services organizations, 4-H, FFA, and organizations dedicated to agricultural preservation among others.
Area of Concentration: Planet
Company Efforts and Elements: Stewardship, Resource Management, Research
Care for the Environment: Designated funds spent yearly on environmental leadership projects including lighting retrofits at four facilities, an employee universal waste recycling effort recycling over 2 tons of universal waste, on-going waste reduction strategies that have currently reduced, reused or recycled 730.5 tons of feed, waste oil, rubber tires, electronic equipment, anti-freeze, plastic, cardboard, and batteries.
Nutrient Management: Using our Millogram newsletter to communicate important environmental updates and new energy use reduction and waste reduction technologies and strategies
Export all production facility manure, with nutrient balance sheets and licensed manure haulers and brokers (13,853 tons exported to number of haulers and brokers in 2012)
Continual compliance with the Chesapeake Bay TMDL and the DEP Manure manual and maintain good relationships with conservation and industry groups
Assisting customers with upcoming DEP and EPA inspections
Precision Feeding: Phytase and other enzymes are added to all feed formulas to improve nutrient absorption, prevent excretion, and protect ground water. In the past 5 years, we have reduced the amount of phosphorous in our feeds by a total of 34,600 tons by using phytase.
Operates four research houses to test new ingredients, formulations, and management techniques.
Area of Concentration: Prosperity
Company Efforts and Elements: Reliability, Manage Risk, Performance
Profit Sharing: Reward employees by sharing profits based on the achievement of company objectives and targets
Serving you for over 65 years: The company has grown consistently including moving from one mill to seven milling locations in under 70 years.
Opened a plant dedicated to producing a feed ingredient, organic expelled soybean meal, in 2006.
10.6: average years of service for WFM employees in 2012
5 of our top 15 customers have been with us for more than 20 years.
Risk Management: Developed custom risk management tool for customers
Work with customers to improve their performance on the farm
Nearly 50% of corn used was booked by our customers in 2012.
Sustainability Defined
From the Bruntland Report, sustainability is defined as "...that which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
Wenger Feeds: Quality Feed for Quality Food®.