Smithfield Foods announced Monday that it plans to spend an estimated $1.3 billion to build a new pork processing plant in South Dakota.
The meat producer said that the proposed facility would replace its existing downtown Sioux Falls plant. The new site, company officials said, would combine fresh pork processing and packaged meat production in a facility that would be "the most modern of its kind in the U.S.”
"This highly automated facility will represent a major investment in Sioux Falls, the state of South Dakota and the future of American agriculture,” Smithfield President and CEO Shane Smith said in a statement. "Smithfield’s investment supports our long-term strategy of continuing to grow and optimize our value-added packaged meats and fresh pork operations to deliver innovation, convenience and value to our customers.”
The proposed plant would be located in an industrial park on Sioux Falls’ northwest side; the plans remain subject to regulatory, design and permitting approval, as well as the authorization of Smithfield’s board.
If approved, work at the new site would begin this spring. Production is expected to begin in late 2028.
Smithfield currently employs about 3,200 people in Sioux Falls. The announcement did not indicate what impact, if any, the replacement facility would have on its local workforce.
