The animals we raise are the core of our business. Their well-being is pivotal to our success, and we do all we can to ensure their safety, comfort, and health. Indeed, our entire operations revolve around sound animal care.
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Keep our animals safe, comfortable, and healthy
- Maintain 100% Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus®) certification and site assessments at company-owned and contract farms
- Maintain PQA Plus certification for all suppliers and move toward site assessments as well
Smithfield has a long history of industry leadership in responsible animal production. For example, more than a decade ago, we became the first pork producer to develop and implement a comprehensive, systematic animal care management program to monitor and measure the well-being of pigs on company-owned and contract farms.
Our animal care management program guides the proper and humane care of our animals at every stage of their lives, from gestation to transport to processing plant. All farm employees and contract hog producers must employ the methods and techniques of the management system and we take steps to verify their compliance.
What’s in a name?
Recently, we changed the name of Smithfield’s Animal Welfare Committee to the Animal Care Council. We believe that “welfare” can be an ambiguous term, with different meanings to different groups of people. Since our primary aim is to take good care of our animals, we selected a name reflective of that commitment.
Murphy-Brown and its subsidiaries and its contract producers are committed to providing the following:
- Nutritious food and fresh water;
- Sound veterinary oversight and care;
- Appropriate treatment (including timely euthanasia for sick or injured animals that are not responding to care or treatment); and
- Protection from extreme weather conditions, protection from predators, and freedom from willful neglect or abuse.
Smithfield Hog Facts at a Glance
- Number of domestic sows: 827,000
- U.S. market hogs produced: 16.4 million
- International market hogs produced: 2.2 million
- Primary breeds raised: Durocs (sires); Large White, crossbred with
Landrace (females)
LEARN MORE What is a Contract Producer?
Murphy-Brown and its subsidiaries rely on independent farmers to raise about 60 percent of their animals. These producers, also known as contract growers or contract farmers, are paid under contracts that typically run for multiple years. Under these contracts, the company assumes the market risks while the contract growers are protected from market fluctuations and enjoy a predictable income stream. Murphy-Brown and its subsidiaries have been able to increase their scope of production significantly by engaging with contract farmers. In the United States, approximately 80 percent of all pigs are raised under some form of contract growing or marketing arrangement.
Managing Animal Care
As the world’s largest producer of pork, Murphy-Brown LLC, our hog production independent operating company (IOC), and its subsidiaries, own approximately 460 farms and contract with about 2,135 contract hog producers in the United States alone. Smithfield’s meat processing operations also receive pigs from numerous independent hog producers, whose numbers fluctuate depending upon market conditions.
Two groups within Smithfield address animal care issues: the corporate-level Smithfield Foods Animal Care Council and the subsidiary-level Murphy-Brown Animal Care Committee. Each meets regularly and reviews internal policies and procedures to ensure that they are effective at delivering sound animal care. The committees also ensure the policies are in keeping with our commitment to continual improvement.
Since our last report, we have conducted a careful review of our animal handling and care programs, updated our policies, implemented additional unannounced animal care audits, and continued to enhance our training materials for employees who take care of our pigs.
