text: The Company's branding strategy led to the development of a joint venture between Hormel Foods Corporation and Excel Corporation, a wholly owned 
  subsidiary of Cargill Incorporated. This joint venture began marketing and selling nationally branded fresh case ready beef and pork under the existing 
  HORMEL ALWAYS TENDER brand name in fiscal year 2003. This 50 percent owned joint venture, named Precept Foods LLC, is based in Austin, Minn. 
  
  In fiscal 2001, the Jennie-O Turkey Store (JOTS) business was formed as a result of merging the Company's existing Jennie-O Foods, Inc. business with 
  the operations of The Turkey Store Company, which was acquired in the second quarter of fiscal 2001. The Turkey Store Company was a turkey 
  processing business headquartered in Barron, Wisconsin. The merged JOTS operation is currently the largest turkey processor in the world. JOTS 