Farms.com Home   News

Premium Iowa Pork finalizes $14 million purchase of bankrupt Minnesota plant

Premium Iowa Pork has finalized its $14 million purchase of a Minnesota pork processing plant that closed earlier this month after filing for bankruptcy, idling its largely foreign workforce.

HyLife Foods Windom closed the plant June 2, leaving about 1,000 workers without jobs. HyLife said in court documents that COVID-19-related disruptions and low pork prices, among other issues, resulted in two years of operating losses, prompting it to seek bankruptcy protection in April.

HyLife placed the plant on the auction block and Premium Iowa Pork was the highest bidder.

The family-owned Iowa company said the Windom plant fits with its processing plants in Hospers in northwest Iowa and Luverne in southwest Minnesota. Windom is about 90 miles from Hospers, where the company’s headquarters is located, and about 60 miles from Luverne.

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Season 6, Episode 7: Takeaways from the Second International Conference on Pig Livability

Video: Season 6, Episode 7: Takeaways from the Second International Conference on Pig Livability

This year’s conference fostered open, engaging conversations around current research in the swine industry, bringing together hundreds of attendees from 31 states and six countries. Two leaders who helped organize the event joined today’s episode: Dr. Joel DeRouchey, professor and swine extension specialist in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry at Kansas State University, and Dr. Edison Magalhaes, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Iowa State University. They share key takeaways from the conference, including the importance of integrating data when evaluating whole-herd livability, building a culture of care among employees and adopting new technologies. Above all, the discussion reinforces that this industry remains, at its core, a people business.