Premium Iowa Pork submits highest bid for Hylife

Jun 05, 2023

Premium Iowa Pork submitted the highest bid of $13 million for the Hylife Foods pork plant in Windom, Minn., during the planned bankruptcy auction held last week. Premium Iowa Pork, based in Hospers, Iowa, and Premium Minnesota Pork, located in Luvern, Minn., together produce a majority of the 3% of crate-free, antibiotic-free pork in the U.S.

While a company spokesperson confirmed the sale on Friday to the Star Tribune, the deal was not expected to be finalized until this week.

The Star Tribune also reported Friday that Premium Iowa Pork does not plan to retain the 1,000-plus employees that had previously worked at the plant. Approximately half of the employees are here in the U.S. on H-2B visas and will have to leave within 10 days of their employment ending at HyLife.

Meanwhile, the Star Tribune reported that a federal judge had approved an agreement between Hylife and South Dakota- based AgriSwine Alliance for the sale of 20,000 finisher hogs at a price $60.00/head, or $1.3 million. The company was reportedly already raising the hogs and was the sole bidder.

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Video: WARNING! Rough Start To Breeding Season!!

WARNING! Sheep Breeding Season Begins With A Bang! Breeding season is officially underway at Ewetopia Farms, but it didn’t exactly start the way we planned!

This vlog begins with us sorting through our rams to find the perfect match for a customer’s breeding program. What should have been routine quickly turned dangerous when one of our more nervous rams panicked. In seconds, Arnie’s knee was injured, and then I was slammed hard onto the concrete floor — both of us taken down by one ram!

Thankfully, it was just bruises, but it’s a reminder of how unpredictable and powerful mature rams can be. Once we recovered, it was time to get back to the real work — the start of breeding season.

We sorted the ewes into four breeding groups (two Suffolk and two Dorset), checking parentage as they ran through the chute, deworming those that needed it, and setting aside thinner ewes for session two of breeding season in a month’s time.This staggered approach keeps lambing organized and prevents overcrowding in the barns.

From rogue rams to the excitement of new breeding groups, this episode is full of action. Stay tuned for the next vlog, where we’ll share how we chose the rams for each group!