Present - 2001

• 2008
  Smithfield Foods launched Helping Hungry Homes™ to bring food to families in need
• 2007
  Sales at $12 billion for fiscal 2007
• 2007
  Acquired Premium Standard Farms, expanding hog production from 14 to 17 percent and pork processing from 26 to 31 percent of the U.S. total
• 2007
  Acquired Butterball, the largest U.S. turkey producer, through a joint venture
• 2007
  Acquired the branded meats business of ConAgra Foods, Inc. (including well-known brands Armour and Eckrich), increasing packaged meats operations in the U.S. by 20 percent
• 2007
  Jointly acquired Sara Lee's European Meats business with large positions in France, Portugal, the Netherlands and Germany, making Groupe Smithfield the largest packaged meats producer in Europe
• 2007
  Smithfield Foods announced decision to phase out gestation stalls in favor of group housing
• 2006
  Smithfield Foods earned a place on FTSE4Good's rankings of socially responsible companies
• 2006
  FORTUNE Magazine ranked Smithfield Foods among America's Most Admired Companies
• 2006
  Smithfield partnered with celebrity cook, restaurateur, author and TV personality Paula Deen with the goal of encouraging families to eat meals together
• 2006
  Smithfield Foods launched the Learners to Leaders™ national educational alliance
• 2006
  C. Larry Pope became president and CEO of Smithfield Foods
• 2005
  Smithfield Foods partnered with Compass Group to limit antibiotic use in pork production
• 2005
  The purchase of MF Cattle Feeding, forming a joint venture with ContiBeef, created the nation's largest cattle feeding company
• 2005
  Smithfield Foods became the first in the industry to achieve ISO 14001 certification for all its U.S. hog production and processing facilities
• 2003
  Acquired Farmland Foods, the sixth-largest U.S. pork processor
• 2003
  Smithfield Foods began sponsoring World Water Monitoring Day
• 2001
  Acquired Moyer Packing Co. and Packerland Holdings to form Smithfield Beef Group, the nation's fifth-largest beef processor
• 1998 – 2005
  Expanded into international markets, purchasing operations and entering into partnerships in France, Poland, Canada (sold in 2004), China, Mexico, Spain, the U.K., Brazil and Romania. Also branched into new areas including foodservice and ready-to-eat with the acquisitions of numerous domestic companies

2000 - 1966

• 2000
  Acquired Murphy Farms, Inc., the largest hog producer in the U.S. The combined hog raising entity, Murphy-Brown, LLC, turned Smithfield Foods into the leading hog producer in the world
• 1999
  Purchased Carroll's Foods, the nation’s fourth-largest hog producer
• 1998
  Acquired Circle Four Farms, a longtime hog production partner
• 1996
  Smithfield Lean Generation Pork™ introduced on a large scale in supermarkets, revolutionizing the industry
• 1995
  Purchased John Morrell & Co., expanding its reach throughout the Midwest from Minnesota to Texas
• 1994
  First Smithfield Lean Generation Pork™ debuted in foodservice operations
• 1992
  Opened the world's largest and most modern meat processing facility in Tar Heel, N.C.
• 1990
  Smithfield Foods differentiates itself in the marketplace, managing its supply of hogs from conception to processing to produce more consistent, higher-quality, leaner meat products
• 1984
  Purchased Patrick Cudahy™, a 100-year-old Wisconsin company known for its sweet apple-wood smoked sausages, bacon and ham, Smithfield Foods' first presence outside the East coast
• 1981
  Purchased Gwaltney® of Smithfield, its first major acquisition, expanding Smithfield Foods into the Eastern region
• 1987
  Began to produce its own hogs through a joint venture with Carroll's Foods
• 1986
  Acquired Baltimore's Schluderberg-Kurdle, or Esskay
• 1975
  Luter rejoined the company as chairman and CEO

1965 - 1936

• 1962
  Joseph W. Luter, III joined the company. From 1966 - 1969, he served as president.
• 1936
  Joseph W. Luter, Sr. and Joseph W. Luter, Jr. opened Smithfield Packing plant in Smithfield, Va.