Smithfield Foods recently auctioned a former Premium Standard Farms sow farm in Sullivan County, Missouri. The property, which spans 1,371 acres and includes a mix of farmland, pasture, and woodland, was sold in 10 separate tracts. The total sale price reached $5.64 million, equating to approximately $4,160 per acre.
According to the USDA’s Land Values 2024 Summary, Missouri’s cropland values averaged $4,910 per acre in 2024, while pasture land values were estimated at $2,650 per acre. Despite the discrepancy between these averages and the sale price, strong interest was observed during the auction process.
The farm itself includes 653 tillable acres, along with a 27-acre lake, timbered areas, pastures, and ponds. Although these features alone make the property noteworthy, its past and unique sale conditions have drawn additional attention.
The farm once operated as a Premium Standard Farms sow facility but has been inactive for some time. The confinement buildings were dismantled, and a deed restriction now prohibits future hog production or confinement operations on the property.
Premium Standard Farms was once the second-largest pork producer in the United States. The company’s business model relied on owning and controlling the entire supply chain, from farmland to pork production. However, the company faced significant challenges, including market volatility and legal battles over environmental issues, such as lagoon spills.
Smithfield Foods acquired Premium Standard Farms in 2007, resolving its legal and environmental troubles. The acquisition led to the formation of Smithfield’s Hog Production Division, which operates under the legal entity Murphy-Brown of Missouri.
In 2013, Chinese meat processor Shuanghui International (now known as WH Group) acquired Smithfield Foods. That same year, Missouri lawmakers lifted a ban on foreign ownership of farmland, permitting up to 1% of the state’s land to be held by foreign entities.
A 2022 report from the Missouri Department of Agriculture noted that Murphy-Brown of Missouri owned 42,172 acres in the state, most of which is located in Sullivan, Mercer, and Putnam counties. The recent auction accounts for approximately 10% of Smithfield’s land holdings in Sullivan County, based on the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s report, though it’s unclear if additional sales have occurred since.
In August 2023, Smithfield Foods announced plans to close 35 hog farms in northern Missouri, including several located in the same region as the auctioned property. Smithfield declined to comment on the history of the property or the reasons behind the decision to sell.
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