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2017 Pork Powerhouse List Published

Successful Farming published the 2017 Pork Powerhouses list on October 2. The rankings within the annual list remained largely unchanged but overall sow numbers increased by 246,850 since 2016.

For the first time ever, the top 40 own or manage more than 4 million sows. Almost two-thirds of the producers, 25 out of 40, have added sows. Only six companies reduced numbers (JBS (-10,500), Hanor (-2,500), New Fashion Pork (-3000), Great Plains Management (-1,500), Hord Livestock (-500) and Hormel (-28,000)).

This expansion raises the specter of market collapses in 1998 and 2008 also following record sow herd growth. Some analysts believe the advent of as many as four new packing facilities scheduled to come on-line in the next 3 years will help minimize the impact of the recent growth. But, the importance of continued cost containment, enhanced pork demand and increased exports cannot be overlooked.