What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Wendell Murphy built Murphy Family Farms from a North Carolina feed mill into one of the country’s largest hog businesses, then helped bring contract feeding to the Midwest. His story shows how a business model can reshape farming: producers could raise hogs under contract rather than own the animals and bear all the risks of market prices, while the companies supplying them could expand production across more farms. The change created opportunities for some farm families and controversy in communities adapting to a new kind of livestock production.
How did Wendell Murphy build his hog business?
Murphy’s expansion began with a feed mill, not a plan to become a major hog producer. In 1961, he calculated that starting a mill would cost $13,000; he and his wife had saved $3,000. The mill opened the following year. As it produced more feed than outside customers would buy, Murphy began purchasing feeder pigs to use the surplus. He recalled, “We opened the mill on Labor Day 1962.”
By 1968, the business had stopped serving outside customers and was using the mill’s capacity for its own operation. In 1979, when feeder-pig supply limited further growth, Murphy says the company began raising sows. “Finally it reached a point where we just could not get enough feeder pigs,” he said. The chronology and recollections are from Betsy Freese’s 2025 profile of Murphy.
From buying pigs to raising sows
Buying feeder pigs let Murphy turn surplus feed into a larger business, but dependence on outside pig supply became a bottleneck. Raising sows gave the company greater control over the pipeline of pigs for finishing. Murphy says the company began contracting sows in the early 1980s and built sow farms in the 1990s. He credited larger herds with improving production, while also stressing that a skilled farm manager mattered; size alone did not run a farm.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →#1 Best Overall
What is contract feeding, and why did it matter?
In contract feeding, an integrator or production company arranges for hogs to be raised by a farm operator under a contract. The company’s arrangement can separate ownership of the animals from the work and facilities of raising them. That differs from an independent producer who owns the hogs and buys inputs, then sells into a market whose prices can rise or fall. Contracts can make the farm’s income less directly exposed to hog-price swings, but the contract terms determine compensation, responsibilities, and how much risk remains with each party.
Murphy entered Midwest contract feeding in the mid-1980s after acquiring the struggling Plainview Hog Farms. He recalled, “We were the only contract producer.” In Iowa and elsewhere, the model met resistance: it shifted livestock production toward larger companies and raised questions about the future role of independent farmers and local communities. But the farm crisis left some farmers looking for income, and contracts offered some a way to continue farming without financing and owning all the hogs themselves. Freese’s 2019 account of contract feeding’s effect on the industry presents both the opportunity and the debate.
Rank #2
- Ideal for Gifting
- Ideal for a bookworm
- Compact for travelling
How the arrangement changes the business risks
- Animal ownership: The contract and production arrangement determine whether the company or the farm operator owns the hogs.
- Facilities, inputs, and labor: The parties’ responsibilities vary by agreement. The farm may provide buildings and daily care, while the company may supply animals, feed, or other services.
- Market exposure: Contract payment can reduce an operator’s direct exposure to hog-price changes, but it does not eliminate business risk. The terms, costs, and continued availability of the contract matter.
- Capital and control: Contracting may offer a route into production without buying the animals, but the farm still needs suitable facilities and labor, and its operating choices may be constrained by the agreement.
- Local effects: Concentrated production can bring business activity and farm income while prompting concerns about how production is organized and who controls it.
These are useful ways to compare production arrangements, not a universal contract template: the cited histories do not specify standard contract terms or establish that every grower had the same costs or outcomes.
How large did Murphy Family Farms become?
Successful Farming’s historical Pork Powerhouses rankings, as recounted in the 2025 profile, placed Murphy Family Farms at the top when the ranking began. The reported sow counts show how quickly the business expanded:
| Year | Reported sows | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 180,000 | Successful Farming’s Pork Powerhouses ranking, as described in the 2025 profile. |
| 1998 | 337,000 | The company remained at the top of the ranking as it expanded. |
| 1999 | 325,000 | Reported in Successful Farming’s 1999 Pork Powerhouses report; Smithfield acquired the business in 2000. |
These are historical figures reported in the profile, not current estimates. They illustrate the scale Murphy’s company reached, but do not by themselves explain how the model affected every contract grower or community.
Why did slaughter capacity become a crisis?
Murphy attributed the 1998–99 hog-market collapse to a mismatch between the number of animals reaching market and available slaughter capacity. “We literally had more pigs coming to market than there was capacity to slaughter,” he recalled. He remembered live-hog prices falling as low as 9¢ a pound. By contrast, he recalled a 1997 price of 70¢ a pound and described that as his most profitable year.
Rank #4
The contrast illustrates a risk that contracts cannot solve for the industry as a whole: hogs still need buyers and processing capacity. Murphy Family Farms was sold to Smithfield in 2000. The 2025 profile reports these prices as Murphy’s recollections, not as an independently reconstructed price series.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened to the Murphy business after the sale?
The Murphy family established Murphy Family Ventures in 2004. On December 2, 2024, Smithfield and Murphy Family Ventures announced an agreement under which a Murphy-owned business would assume 150,000 sows and their market hogs. The announced arrangement described capacity of about 3.2 million hogs annually for Smithfield; the profile says Smithfield would supply services including feed and transportation.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Best Value
- It can be a gift option
- Comes with secure packaging
- Helpful in various ways
The May 1, 2025 profile reports the agreement as announced, not as independently verified completed or as confirmation of current operating status. Its stated capacity is part of the announced arrangement, not a claim about the number of hogs produced in a given year.
What did contract feeding change in Iowa?
The 2019 history describes Iowa’s debate as consequential, not inevitable. Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes said, “It was a close call about what happens next. Iowa almost walked away from this opportunity.” The account frames contract production as one option for farm families seeking income during the farm crisis, alongside objections to the growing influence of production companies.
That article quoted Hayes as saying Iowa had 47 million hogs in 2019, compared with 22 million in 1990. It also reported his estimate of 53,000 Iowa hog-industry job holders, excluding packing, and $228 million in taxes each year from Iowa swine production. The article does not give a reference year for the job or tax figures, so they should be understood as numbers attributed to Hayes in that 2019 account, not as current counts or estimates. Pat McGonegle, then CEO of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, credited the production network Murphy helped build: “That is what makes Iowa thrive today.”
These statements document participants’ views and figures in a 2019 account; they are not a complete, neutral accounting of all economic, social, or environmental effects of contract feeding. Murphy likewise described modern production as more efficient than ever, but that is his assessment rather than a comparative measurement established by the profile.
Recommended Free Tools
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
