Pork Powerhouses

You can always count on Bill Prestage, 82, to tell it like it is. Family-owned Prestage Farms, 35 years in business, is the sixth largest pork producer in the U.S. with 175,000 sows.

With more than $.5 billion in hand, Wall Street investor Tad Gordon and feed specialist Dennis Harms created the biggest pig complex the U.S. had ever seen.

The history of the former Premium Standard Farms hog operation in northern Missouri is as tortured as any in the modern swine industry. Now things are finally turning around.

This year’s Pork Powerhouses survey is showing a lot of expansion in the sow industry. Learn more about Betsy Freese’s exclusive report.

Swine veterinarian Daryl Olsen and his partners at AMVC Management Services own or manage 117,500 sows in seven states.

The annual exclusive Pork Powerhouses 2017 ranking of the 40 largest U.S. producers shows there are 246,850 more sows among these companies than one year ago.