Smithfield Moves Ahead, Asks Contracted Farmers to End Use of Gestation Stalls

Jan 08, 2014

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

Smithfield Foods, Inc., the world’s largest hog producer and pork processer, announced Tuesday that it is asking its pork suppliers to get rid of gestation stalls and convert to group housing for pregnant sows by 2022.

The company says it plans to provide incentives to encourage conversion, noting that contracted farmers who commit to convert to group housing will receive contract extensions after the conversion is completed.

"We recognize that these projects require a significant investment on the part of our growers," said Larry Pope, president and chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods.

It appears that Smithfield is following through on its commitments. In 2007 they began converting to group housing for all its company-owned U.S. farms. The company remains on track to complete its conversion to group housing by 2017. Smithfield’s operations in Poland and Romania completed its conversions a number of years ago.

In a Jan. 7 press release, Smithfield said that its hog production subsidiary Murphy-Brown had transitioned 54 per cent of pregnant sows on its company-owned farms in the U.S. to group housing systems in 2013.

Last year, Smithfield was bought by China’s Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. The acquisition was the biggest Chinese purchase of a U.S. firm in history.

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.