Janury 30, 2008

Farmer John quitting pig production
 

Farmer John, a unit under Hormel Foods', is pulling out of the pig producing industry at its Corcoran, California operation to transit to a finishing operation by October, a company spokesman told Meatingplace.com.

Spokesman Steve Duchesne said the 9,000 sows at its Corcoran operation will be sold, and the move is due to the increasingly competitive market and rising cost of feed and fuel.

He also said California's regulatory environment is an influence on the decision, citing an upcoming ballot initiative expected in the state's November election to ban sow stalls, field crates and battery cages.

Farmer John will source pigs to finish in California from an existing farm in Wyoming, which houses 14,000 sows.

Duchesne said the California operation would maintain about 68,000 pigs from one to six months old and continue annual production of about 125,000 pigs to supply the Los Angeles packing plant owned by Farmer John parent company, Clougherty Packing.

Based in Austin, Minnesota, Hormel Foods Corporation is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of food and meat products for consumers worldwide. It successfully acquired Clougherty Packing in 2004, thus taking Farmer John, a pork products producer, under its wing as well.