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The Top U.S. / Canadian Pork / Hog Producers - Pork Powerhouses (2005)

By Successful Farming - This article briefly lists the US top 10 and Canadian top 5 pork / hog producers in 2004/2005, as published by Successful Farming magazine. The article also provides a link to the full Successful Farming Pork Powerhouses Report for 2005.

1 October 2005

3 minute read

There should be no shortage of hogs next year. Sow numbers for the 30 largest Pork producers in 2004 show an increase of 137,100 over 2003. However, only about 10,000 of those sows were true expansion; the rest was acquisition as the industry continues to consolidate.

10 largest pork producers in the United States
2005 Rank	2004 Rank	Name of Operation	Headquarters	# Sows 2005	# Sows 2004	Comments
1	1	Smithfield Foods	Smithfield, VA	798,000	808,000	Trimmed a few sow farms in Midwest. 162,000 additional sows outside U.S.
2	2	Premium Standard Farms	Kansas City, MO	221,000	225,000	108,000 in MO; 80,000 in NC; 33,000 in TX. PSF went public in June.
3	3	Seaboard Farms	Shawnee Mission, KS	213,600	213,600	Will market all pork for Triumph Foods. Changed name from Seaboard Farms.
4	5	Iowa Select Farms	Iowa Falls, IA	150,000	130,000	Converting nurseries to sow farms.
5	4	Christensen Farms	Sleepy Eye, MN	148,800	144,000	Shareholder in Triumph Foods. Added two 2,400-sow farms.
6	5	Prestage Farms	Clinton, NC	140,000	130,000	Converting nurseries to sow farms.
7	13	The Maschhoffs	Carlyle, IL	115,000	52,000	Bought Land O’Lakes swine operations.
8	7	The Pipestone System	Pipestone, MN	110,000	100,000	One farm in system expanded and more growth is planned.
9	8	Cargill	Minneapolis, MN	94,000	99,000	Sold sow farms in North Carolina to Coharie Farms and GIS Perfect Pig.
10	9	Goldsboro Hog Farm	Goldsboro, NC	76,000	76,000	No growth planned.
Source: Successful Farming

5 largest pork producers in Canada (excluding Quebec)
2005 Rank	2004 Rank	Name of Operation	Headquarters	# Sows 2005	# Sows 2004	Comments
1	1	Maple Leaf Foods	Landmark, Manitoba	118,000	122,000	Full or partial ownership of sows. Includes nucleus and multiplier barns.
2	3	Hytek	LaBroquerie, Manitoba	48,000	40,000	Acquired some sow farms and looking for more. Adding finishing space.
3	4	Big Sky Farms	Humboldt, Saskatchewan	40,000	28,000	Bought Community Pork Ventures.
4	6	The Puratone Corp.	Niverville, Manitoba	27,500	25,000	Plan to be at 32,000 sows by end of 2006 through acquisition, not new growth.
5	5	Stomp Pork Farms	LeRoy, Saskatchewan	27,000	27,000	No plans for expansion.
Source: Successful Farming