An official with a big pork processing plant, scheduled to open later this year in north-central Iowa, predicts the facility help boost the bottom-line for hog producers in the region.

The new Prestage Foods plant is scheduled to open in November near Eagle Grove. Prestage production coordinator Jesse Sumner says he’s been getting a positive response from producers who are currently marketing their hogs through other companies.

“I think you see folks who maybe have not liked the returns the hog industry has seen the last two or three years, as you look at what the cutout for meat has been versus what their share has been, as far as what a hog was worth,” Sumner said. “We’ve seen a spread that’s been at all-time highs. There’s been some frustration, so they’re looking for ways to try and make the math work better.”

Initially, the plant will slaughter 10,000 hogs per day on one shift, with half of those hogs coming from Prestage’s own barns. The other half will come from independent producers. According to Sumner, Prestage will eventually add a second shift to slaughter an additional 10,000 hogs per day, bringing total daily slaughter to 20,000.

(Thanks to Ken Anderson, Brownfield Ag News)