'We've totally disrupted our food chain.' Farmers face impacts of Smithfield closure [View all]

Mike Ver Steeg grew up on the family farm where his dad raised pigs and sold them to the John Morrell & Co. plant in Sioux Falls.

Ver Steeg, 47, now runs Prestige Pork in Inwood, Iowa, with the help of his own son.

Like his dad did, Ver Steeg sells his hogs to the plant in Sioux Falls, now owned by the Virginia-based processing company Smithfield Foods.

Smithfield’s indefinite closure of its Sioux Falls plant forced Ver Steeg to start looking for alternatives and to consider the future of his farm. The shutdown removes an important link in the supply chain that connects farmers and consumers. It raises questions about the long-term future of the pork industry and local farms and food security, but it also raises an immediate, more pressing need: What to do with all the pigs?

Read more: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/business-journal/2020/04/14/smithfield-foods-sioux-falls-south-dakota-closure-hog-prices/2988253001/