Smithfield Foods bought Farmer John in 2017 as part of its acquisition of Clougherty Packing, the company that owned the Farmer John and Saag’s Specialty Meats brands. The deal also included PFFJ farm operations. It closed on January 3, 2017; Hormel Foods was the seller.
What Smithfield bought from Hormel
The transaction covered Clougherty Packing and PFFJ farm operations in California, Arizona, and Wyoming—not Hormel Foods as a whole. Hormel announced the sale, and Smithfield confirmed that the acquisition closed on January 3, 2017, after approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
At the time of the sale, Hormel described the businesses included in the transaction as having approximately $500 million in fiscal 2016 sales. It also reported that Farmer John harvested approximately 7,400 hogs per day. Both figures describe the businesses around the 2017 transaction; neither is a current revenue or operating figure.
Farmer John remained a Smithfield brand
Farmer John’s official history says, “In 2017, Farmer John and Saag’s Specialty Meats brands joined the Smithfield Foods family of brands.” Smithfield also listed Farmer John among its core packaged-meat brands in its 2025 annual report. The brand’s history mentions products including hot dogs, smoked sausage, bacon, and breakfast links, but that historical list does not confirm that every item is currently available.
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What happened to the Vernon plant?
Smithfield announced in June 2022 that it would stop harvest and processing at its Vernon, California, facility in early 2023. The company cited escalating costs of doing business in California and said it would continue serving California customers with Farmer John and other brands from Midwest facilities. Smithfield’s 2025 annual report records the facility’s sale in 2023.
The plant closure did not mean that Smithfield had sold the Farmer John brand: the brand remained part of Smithfield’s portfolio. Brand ownership and the location where products are processed are separate matters.
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