A producer of quality turkey and pork. Prestage Farms is forming of a new company, Prestage Foods of Iowa, to build a $240 million state-of-the-art fresh pork processing facility in Mason City, Iowa.

“We are excited to take the next logical step by building a new high tech pork plant in Mason City,” said Ron Prestage, DVM, on behalf of the Prestage family. “We see this as an opportunity to secure the future of our family business, its employees, and our contract growers, whether they are in the Carolinas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, or Iowa. We have been impressed with the help and support provided by local and state officials, the Iowa Pork Producers Association, NPPC, and the National Pork Board.”

“We have always believed that our family and employees must be engaged in the communities in which we operate and the industry we represent. Having produced market hogs in IA for the past dozen years, we believe Mason City is the right place for us to strategically build this new plant,” added Dr. Prestage.

According to company officials, pending finalization of state approvals, Prestage Foods of Iowa intends to build a 650,000 square foot state-of-the-art, pork processing facility on a proposed tract in Mason City. This state-of-the-art facility will operate one shift, killing 10,000 hogs per day, and employ as many as 1,000 people with future expansion possibilities to accommodate a second shift.

The plant will utilize the latest innovations in processing and automation technology to help ensure that it is a world leader in food, employee, and environmental safety. Construction is set to begin, pending finalization of state permits and approvals, in the summer of 2016 with operations beginning mid-2018.

In explaining its expansion plans the company said “Prestage Farms believes that the consolidation of the pork packing industry has decreased competition for live hogs and helped depress prices to hog producers and sees the need to construct this facility increasing competition and maximizing the value of all hogs produced in the United States. Prestage Farms further believes these improvements will be afforded to all of its divisions and do not anticipate any major shifts in its existing production system.”