A Look Back at the Smithfield Foods History

Over the years, Smithfield Foods has completed a series of acquisitions that have made us a global food company with annual revenues approaching $12 billion, producing more than 50 brands of pork and turkey products as well as more than 200 gourmet foods. And in every aspect of our business, we remain 100 percent committed to providing good food responsibly.

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