Wednesday morning, Tyson's spokesman revealed a plan to sell 20,000 of its 70,000 sow herd. This move is being made to slow the losses seen in hog production. Five farms will be sold located in Arkansas and Missouri. While this news sounds exciting it is not market moving. Tyson is the #11 hog producer in the US if you put the five producers who own Triumph Foods as one. If you treat the Triumph Foods producers separately then Tyson is officially #12. The real thing to consider is the fact they only have 1.2% of the nation's breeding herd. While their company owned farms produce slaughter hogs that go to other packing plants, a good many of their hogs are sold as weaner or feeder pigs. Company owned sow farms are located in North Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. The company is a powerhouse in the packing sector though. They are #2 in the nation for slaughtering and can handle 16% of the daily kill. Their six plants are located in Iowa (four), Indiana (one), and Nebraska (one). Tyson's Pork Unit, which includes pork packing and the small hog production group together, has been making money every quarter since summer of 2005. While this story is not one to move lean hog futures prices it does represent decisions that are being made all across the US right now.
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