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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsAmerica’s 37 largest hog farms increased their combined sow numbers by just 0.5% in 2021, reaching 4,148,638—up 20,813 from 2020. Successful Farming described the change as a modest rebound after the pandemic disruption, not a return to effortless growth: labor shortages and severe disease outbreaks continued to weigh on producers. These are historical figures from the 2021 ranking, not a measure of farm sizes or conditions today.
What the 2021 ranking says about the rebound
Successful Farming’s annual ranking showed a small overall expansion among the largest U.S. hog operations. Its October 6, 2021, article reported that 37 farms together held nearly 4.15 million sows, about 60% of the nation’s breeding herd. The publication said its ranking had begun 27 years earlier.
The ranking PDF gives the year-over-year totals:
| Year | Sows counted | Change from prior year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 4,127,825 | — |
| 2021 | 4,148,638 | 20,813 more sows, or about 0.5% |
The article’s editor’s note says the ranking included producers with more than 25,000 sows and excluded Canadian producers. The totals therefore describe a defined group of large U.S. operations, not every hog farm in the country. The company-level data came from the producers except for Smithfield, whose numbers Successful Farming said were estimates from industry experts. See the 2021 Pork Powerhouses ranking PDF.
Which companies led the list?
Smithfield Foods was first by a wide margin, with 930,000 sows in the 2021 table. Seaboard Foods ranked second and Pipestone Management third. The five largest entries were:
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| 2021 rank | Producer | Sows |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smithfield Foods | 930,000 |
| 2 | Seaboard Foods | 335,000 |
| 3 | Pipestone Management | 288,000 |
| 4 | Iowa Select Farms | 242,500 |
| 5 | Carthage System | 178,600 |
Pipestone’s listed U.S. figure should not be confused with the separate international counts in the PDF: its note also lists 59,000 sows in Mexico and 93,000 in China. None of these figures should be read as current herd sizes; they belong to the 2021 ranking.
Growth was uneven across farms
The combined gain did not mean every large producer expanded. Successful Farming reported that, compared with 2020, 19 farms kept their sow numbers steady, 11 increased them, and seven reduced them. The ranking’s overall 0.5% rise was therefore a modest net result across operations moving in different directions.
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Reported increases and reductions
The article highlighted increases at Pipestone Management, Carthage System, Suidae Health & Production, Tosh Farms, TDM Farms, and Holden Farms. It reported reductions at The Maschhoffs, Seaboard Foods, Clemens Country View Family Farms, The Hanor Family of Companies, and Allied Producers’ Cooperative. These are descriptions of the 2021 report, not later company updates.
Business changes in the report
Successful Farming also reported that Smithfield acquired J.C. Howard Farms and that Purvis Farms entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Those developments were part of the article’s 2021 account of a sector adjusting after pandemic disruption.
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Why producers called it a rebound—and what remained difficult
Some producers described 2021 as better than expected. Jason Hocker, managing partner of AMVC Management Services, told Successful Farming, “This year certainly turned out better than we thought.” He also called it “a decent rebound year” that had helped bring back some profitability after the COVID year. That was his assessment at the time, not a claim that the industry had fully recovered.
Labor and disease pressured day-to-day operations
Labor was the most prominent non-pig challenge among the operations interviewed. Zack McCullen III, vice president of Prestage Farms, said labor remained “a huge challenge,” and described considering part-time workers and raising wages to retain staff. The article also reported unusually severe PRRS outbreaks, referring to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome. Those immediate operating pressures complicated any expansion or recovery.
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Automation was one response to labor shortages
The report said some farms were considering automated feed systems and other automation to reduce labor needs. It did not compare particular products or quantify how much labor or cost automation might save, so it supports describing automation as an option producers were considering—not as a proven, universal fix.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the report identified as future risks
Looking ahead from 2021, Successful Farming raised African swine fever (ASF) and California Proposition 12 as risks for the U.S. hog business. The article treated ASF as a potential external shock and Proposition 12 compliance costs as a business concern. These were the report’s forward-looking concerns at the time; they should not be mistaken for a current disease-status update or an assessment of today’s regulatory costs.
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How producers described supporting growth
The article also described one way a company sought to help producers expand. Clemens CFO Josh Rennells said the company returned producer equity while keeping incentives in place, so producers could use the equity to grow their businesses. His comments illustrate a financing approach discussed in the 2021 report; they do not establish that every producer used the same model.
How to use these figures
The 2021 ranking is useful for understanding the scale and direction of the largest listed U.S. operations during the recovery period. It is not a current league table: its counts, company changes, and outlook are tied to Successful Farming’s 2021 reporting. For the ranking’s historical producer-by-producer figures, consult the original PDF. The accompanying account was published by Successful Farming on October 6, 2021.
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