What looks like a dramatic drop in Hormel CEO Jeffrey Ettinger’s salary from 2008 to 2009 is actually the result of a one-year incentive package.

While records show Hormel Ettinger took a 27 percent dip in salary from 2008 to 2009, Julie Craven, vice president of corporate communications at Hormel Foods, said there is an explanation.

Every three years, Ettinger, as chief executive, is subject to a long-term incentive compensation package. Figures published Monday in the Star Tribune stated Ettinger earned $5,386,991 in 2008 and $3,915,264 in 2009, indicating a one-year difference of $1,471,727. According to Craven, the difference is due to the compensation package.

“Since the long-term incentive compensation element was paid in 2008 and was not scheduled to be paid in 2009, compensation for these two years cannot be compared unless the long-term incentive paid in 2008 is excluded from the comparison,” Craven said in a written statement.