Thursday, September 1st 2016
Iowa is going to get a new pork packing plant, and pig farmers couldn’t be happier. The Wright County Board of Supervisors approved an economic development agreement with Prestage Foods of Iowa on Aug. 22 that clears the way for Prestage to build a $240 million, ultra-modern pork processing facility near Eagle Grove. Prestage Foods of Iowa originally tried to build the plant in Mason City, but it proved to be a contentious issue and was ultimately rejected by the city council there. Wright County officials welcomed Prestage with open arms, enjoyed stronger all-around project support and approved the agreement 3 to 0 in the final vote. The North Carolina-based Prestage family has raised pigs in Iowa and several southern states for years and has developed a solid reputation in the industry, something that is not lost on farmers and those in the know. Farmers who own and raise their own hogs stand to gain the most from the new packing facility. Prestage plans to process 10,000 hogs a day when the plant becomes operational in late 2018 and 4,000 head of the daily quota will need to be purchased from independent producers. There is currently a disparity in production and packing capacity in Iowa. Production currently exceeds capacity by 7 percent, so additional shackle space is critical for the industry.