Smithfield Closures Not Expected To Have Big Impact On State Hog Production
August 10, 2023 7:57AM CDT
FILE – Hogs feed in a pen in a concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO, on the Gary Sovereign farm, in Lawler, Iowa on Oct. 31, 2018. The Iowa Supreme Court on Thursday, June 30, 2022, reversed a longstanding precedent that allowed landowners to sue for damages when a neighboring hog farm causes water pollution or odor problems that affect quality of life. The court concluded, 4-3, that a 2004 decision was wrong.. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall File)
Smithfield Foods is closing 35 hog farms in northern Missouri – putting 92 people out of jobs.
The operations are in Mercer and Putnam Counties. Don Nikodim, with Missouri Pork Association, says he does not expect the closures to have much of an impact on the state’s hog production.
He says Smithfield Foods is expected to use newer sites in southern Missouri to raise pigs because the older ones are less competitive in today’s marketplace.
The northern Missouri hog operations are expected to close in October.