Smithfield sow numbers down, but still huge

Monday, December 5, 2011

Sow numbers for Smithfield Foods were down in 2011, but down is relative to the biggest pork producer in the United States.

According to Successful Farming, Smithfield farrowed 837,951 sows in the United States in 2011 – nearly 40,000 fewer than in 2010 – and planned to cut another 30,000 sows. Smithfield farrows more sows than the next three largest competitors combined – Missouri-based Triumph Foods with 377,000 sows, Kansas' Seaboard Foods with 213,600 sows and The Maschhoffs of Illinois with 192,000 sows.

Production held steady for 12 of the 25 top producers in the United States. Most of the gain of 83,878 sows among the top 25 in 2011 compared to 2010 was because of acquisitions. Maschhoffs bought Nebraska Pork Partners and 55,000 sows.

In Western Canada, HyLife (formerly Hytek) was listed with 60,000 sows, up from 53,000 by buying an existing herd. Big Sky Farms in Saskatchewan, Maple Leaf Agri-Farms and The Puratone Corporation, both in Manitoba, were holding their own with 42,000, 35,000 and 28,000 sows respectively. ProVista Agriculture in Steinbach, Man., gained 3,000 sows for a total of 28,000. No Ontario farms made the list. BP