Smithfield Hog Production Division, formerly Premium Standard Farms, Inc. (PSF), is a subsidiary of

Smithfield Foods, Inc Smithfield may refer to: Places Australia *Electoral district of Smithfield, a former electoral district of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly *Smithfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney *Smithfield, Queensland, a northern suburb of Ca ...

. PSF was founded in 1988 with the aim of creating a standardized method to produce premium

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

. To accomplish this goal, the

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

decided to pursue full

vertical integration In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the suppl ...

—a first for pork producers in the United States. Premium Standard Farms was the second-largest pork producer and the sixth-largest processor in the United States until Smithfield Foods acquired it in 2007.

Methane harvesting

Valley View Farm, near Green Castle, Missouri, is a finishing site that houses more than 100,000 hogs at any given time. Half of the site's waste lagoons are covered to allow the harvesting of methane gas. In addition to gas harvested from manure lagoons, Smithfield plans to harvest and process prairie grass. The company says 100% of its finishing facilities will have the ability to produce renewable natural gas. Smithfield also has farms that engage in methane harvesting in Bethany and Princeton. Smithfield built a connection from its farms in northern Missouri to the pipeline that supplies natural gas to

Milan, Missouri Milan ( ) is a city in Sullivan County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,819 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sullivan County. Geography Milan is located at the intersection of Missouri routes 5 and 6. Locust Cree ...

. Fuel produced by Smithfield is mixed directly into Milan's gas supply. This project took 18 months. Smithfield has formed a partnership with Roeslein Alternative Energy, Monarch Bioenergy, to help produce biogas. In early 2020, Smithfield and Roesleing Alternative Energy announced an additional $45 million investment in Monarch. This money will be used to expand Monarch's renewable natural gas capture and distribution to at least 85% of Smithfield's Missouri farms. Smithfield's gas harvesting efforts are part of its stated goal of reducing its greenhouse gas footprint by 25%. This is using the company's 2010 emissions as the base for calculation.

Acquisition by Smithfield Foods

Smithfield acquired Premium Standard Farms for $810 million in cash and stock. Smithfield also assumed $117 million dollars in debt. Smithfield paid a 20 percent premium over Premium Standard's stock price.

Litigation

2010, a

Jackson County, Missouri Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (after St. Louis County). Although Independence retains ...

, jury awarded seven neighboring farmers $11 million in damages for odors emanating from a 4,300 acre finishing farm near Berlin in Gentry County, Missouri where an estimated 200,000 hogs are processed annually. In 2006, six plaintiffs were awarded $4.6 million. The settlement was the largest in a hog farm odor issue. It was filed in 1999.Hog farm operators ordered to pay $11M for odor - St. Louis Bizjournal - March 5, 2010
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References

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External links

Archived official website of Premium Standard Farms
Agriculture companies of the United States Companies based in Missouri Food manufacturers of the United States Meat companies of the United States Smithfield Foods brands Food and drink companies established in 1988 1988 establishments in Missouri 2005 initial public offerings 2007 mergers and acquisitions