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Smithfield Foods to build $1.3B pork processing plant in Sioux Falls
The president and CEO of Smithfield Foods says the company will be building a new, fresh pork and packaged meat processing facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Shane Smith says it will be the most modern plant of its kind in the United States.
“Featuring advanced automation technology and IT systems, it will be the largest combined packaged meats and fresh pork processing facility in Smithfield’s network with more than 1.1 million square feet of production space, and will deliver efficiency gains to Smithfield’s fresh pork and packaged meats operations.”
This facility will replace the company’s existing pork processing plant in Sioux Falls. The new plant will be located north of the city, near Interstate 29 and Interstate 90, helping to improve logistics and transportation.
South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden says the $1.3 billion facility is the largest business investment in the state’s history, and it’s a win for South Dakota agriculture.
“Ag is king in South Dakota. So when agriculture succeeds, our whole economy in South Dakota succeeds,” he says. “The existing Smithfield facility in Sioux Falls currently processes right at 20,000 hogs per day and the new facility will increase that number. It’s good news for South Dakota’s pork producers and the entire region.”
Smithfield tells Brownfield it’s early in the design process and premature to be specific on how much production capacity will increase with this new plant.
Smith says a groundbreaking is expected in the first half of 2027, with the plant operations expected to come online at the end of 2028. Watch the announcement.
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