Parks Grows Pork Marketing Network
The Parks Companies have expanded their presence in Canada with the grand opening of a 22,000-square-foot swine marketing facility near Milverton, Ontario. This livestock assembly yard will help market pigs, including sows, boars, and BBQ pigs, to a range of buyers both within and outside Ontario.
"We see growth in the Ontario pork industry, so we wanted to put a bigger footprint in the area," said General Manager of Parks Livestock Operations Hayden Parks.
The Parks Companies began in 1976 when Lawrence Parks, inspired by his grandfather Lloyd Parks and father Gary Parks, turned his knowledge of livestock buying and selling into a business. Starting in Oakwood, Illinois, Lawrence expanded operations with two new locations in Illinois by 1994, followed by a move into North Carolina in 1995 and Iowa in 1998.
The company continued its westward expansion by opening facilities in Nebraska in 1999, two locations in Canada in 2000, and Minnesota in 2002. Today, The Parks Companies operate 29 livestock marketing facilities across the U.S. and Canada.
The Parks Companies specialize in swine marketing, particularly cull sows, finishing culls, market hogs, and feeder and weaner pigs. They have built a system designed to sort hogs precisely to meet the needs of various specialty processors, maximizing the value for both producers and buyers.
In addition to marketing, the Parks Companies have diversified into livestock transportation, trailer wash services, roaster pig harvesting, and swine finishing operations.