Smithfield Livestock Division to Close Nearly Three Dozen Missouri Farms

Aug. 8, 2023

Murphy-Brown LLC will reduce its Missouri hog production workforce by nearly 100 employees after the closures, which are slated for October.

Andy Hanacek

Murphy-Brown LLC, the livestock production division of Smithfield Foods, will close 35 hog farm facilities and lay off 92 employees in northern Missouri in October, according to news reports citing a Missouri Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice.

The company said in the notice that it was “reducing its hog farming operations” and “must reduce its workforce accordingly” in Missouri — as the meat and poultry industry faces significant challenges across the board, particularly in terms of predicting consumer demand in the face of inflation and higher prices for food.

Murphy-Brown will shutter 13 sites in Newtown, 12 in Lucerne and 10 in Princeton, Mo., though the exact sites were not available. Employees have been offered opportunities to other company facilities where a position might be available. Layoffs are slated for Oct. 8 for any remaining employees at the facilities.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.