The executive director for the Missouri Pork Association says he doesn’t expect the closure of 35 sow farms in northern Missouri to have much of an impact the state’s hog production.

In a notice from the State of Missouri this week, Smithfield said it will close the facilities and lay off 92 employees in Mercer and Putnam Counties.

Don Nikodim says Smithfield Foods is expected to use newer facilities in southern Missouri to farrow pigs because the older facilities are less competitive in today’s marketplace.

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