Hormel Foods Completes Sale of Farmer John and Saag’s Speciality Meat Brands to SmithField Foods

05 Jan 2017 --- Hormel Foods has completed the sale of Farmer John and Saag’s Speciality Meat brands, along with farming operation in California, Arizona and Wyoming to SmithField Foods for $145m. Clougherty Packing, the parent company of Farmer John and Saag’s brands, is based in Southern California and produces and processes branded pork products.

Founded in 1931, Farmer John is a well known bacon and sausage brand in southern California while Saag’s Specialty Meats is a premium brand of deli meat and specialty sausage made without any artificial flavors or colors.

Farmer John harvests around 7,400 hogs per day and in 2016 the businesses accounted for approximately $500 million in sales, according to Hormel.

“While the businesses have performed well, they no longer align with our company's growth strategies,” Hormel chief executive Jim Snee said in a statement.

Smithfield, bought by WH Group in 2013 for $4.7 billion, is the world's largest pork processor and hog producer.

“By folding Farmer John into our operations, we are better positioned to take advantage of our long-term strategic growth goals, which includes an increasingly diversified customer and consumer base and greater supply chain efficiency,” said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods. 

“As we continue this transition and expand our operations, we are proud to welcome these new West Coast employees into our growing Smithfield family.”