PigProgress reports that at the beginning of May, it was announced that 37 sow farms in Missouri, USA, owned by Smithfield Foods, are being closed.

Negative conditions and health issues

Smithfield is the world's largest pork processor, which was acquired in 2013 by Shuanghui International, the largest pork producer in China.

These farm closures were reported to a local news agency by an anonymous employee. The employee cited negative market conditions and health issues in the herds as reasons for the closures but did not provide further details.

Smithfield has 132 company-owned farms and 109 contract farms in Missouri, along with one leased farm, 8 feed mills, and a pork processing plant.

In July 2021, the company closed its founding slaughterhouse in the town where it was founded over 85 years ago, in Smithfield, Virginia.

Acquisition concerns

At that time, Smithfield's acquisition in 2013 was the largest acquisition of an American company by a Chinese company in history. It may still be the largest. Prior to the completion of the transaction, there were concerns that Shuanghui (now called WH Group) could use Smithfield as a channel to sell its products in the US.

There were also concerns about food security, as a foreign company was about to control roughly one-fifth of US pork production.

Others, including members of Congress, wondered why the WG Group would pay about 30% more for Smithfield than its market value. This prompted some - both inside and outside the government - to express concern that the Chinese government was a silent partner in the deal.

Ownership restriction

Concerns about the Smithfield acquisition have persisted. Currently, with US-China relations currently strained, foreign ownership of US agricultural businesses and farmland is under scrutiny by policymakers.

Missouri and 26 other states, as reported by The Washington Post, are now considering proposals that would ban or restrict foreign acquisitions of farms. However, the newspaper further reports that "Smithfield executives are exasperated by suggestions that Chinese ownership of American land is a threat."

One of those Smithfield leaders, Kraig Westerbeek, stated, "I don't have anybody from China leading what we do" and "I don't consider this a government-owned business. I don't even understand the conversation, honestly."

Trial verdict

In October 2022, Smithfield received a verdict in a highly publicized trial stemming from an incident that took place at one of its farms in Utah, USA in 2017. During that incident, two animal rights activists stole what they described as two sick piglets. They also released footage from inside the barns.

In October, the two defendants were acquitted by a grand jury of burglary and theft charges. Smithfield stated that "this verdict is very disappointing, as it may encourage anyone opposed to animal agriculture to vandalize farms."