Click photos to enlarge

John Morrell campaign volunteers pictured at a check presentation in January with the company's $377K donation for the United Way. Included in photo are: Steve Moeller, Campaign Coordinator, Kirk Zittlau, Loaned Executive, Mick Cornelius, Heart Club Coordinator, Kathi Bosch and Rosalynn.

"Together we…nurture, heal, comfort, support and strengthen." These are the words of the Sioux Empire United Way’s campaign.

John Morrell employees generously donated $377,000 to the Together we… Sioux Empire United Way campaign.

This contribution marks a milestone for John Morrell employees who have donated a record $2.1 million to the United Way organization since 2005. Employees from Canning, Hog Kill and Casing departments increased their giving last year by 130%, 128% and 429% respectively.

“John Morrell and its employees have been leaders in our community through their giving to United Way,” said Jay Powell, President of the Sioux Empire United Way. “There is such a wonderful community spirit at John Morrell. The volunteers have been so caring and enthusiastic over the years. I really appreciate all that John Morrell has done for our community through United Way.”

We give a special thanks to the campaign volunteers - Steve Moeller, Campaign Coordinator, Kirk Zittlau, Loan Executive, Mick Cornelius, Heart Club Coordinator, Kathi Bosch and Rosalynn Johnson, Secretary and numerous department solicitors.

Click here to let us know about recent subsidiary events!

In December 2008 our Smithfield Prod Romanian IOC received top honors for its exemplary waste and wastewater-management program in Timis County.

ListaFirme ranked participating companies as part of an annual survey recognizing businesses that excel in various fields. The database managed by ListaFirme and used to establish this ranking included more than 750,000 Romanian companies. Following the analysis of the financial data provided for 2007 and the evaluation of required criteria (geographical location, turnover and industry sector), Smithfield Procesare received the first-place distinction.

“We are extremely honored to receive this distinction and we are happy to be recognized for our investments in Timis County,” said Morten Jensen, CEO of Smithfield Prod. “This achievement was possible due to our teamwork and the support received from local government institutions."

Smithfield Prod is Smithfield Romania’s rendering and processing operation, whose primary product line is fresh pork, principally for retail customers. Smithfield Prod owns one waste treatment station and one animal waste neutralization unit, approved by the EU Directive 1774/2002, method 1, with a processing capacity of approximately 60,000 tons of animal waste a year. The stations comply with all operating parameters specified in national and EU environmental laws.

Click here to let us know about recent subsidiary events!

A biologist gently holds a Bachman’s sparrow. Courtesy of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

For the second time, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has awarded Murphy-Brown, LLC the 2008 Lawrence G. Diedrick Small Game Award. Decided by the Commission's Small Game Committee, the award is named for former Wildlife Commissioner Larry Diedrick, a lawyer from Rocky Mount who died in 2002. Diedrick was a passionate hunter of doves, quail and other small game, as well as a strong advocate of sound wildlife conservation practices.

The Commission honored Murphy-Brown for its work to improve water quality and restore songbird and quail habitats on more than 5,500 acres of its property. The company worked in cooperation with the Commission field staff in planting nearly 60 acres of native warm season grass on its Ammon Farm property in Bladen County and installed 150 acres of field borders. In addition, Murphy-Brown has also had 78 acres of timber thinned, and clear cut more than 100 acres of the property to aid in habitat restoration. The company allows the Ammon Complex to be used as an educational site, and helps sponsor workshops on water quality and early-successional habitat management. Murphy-Brown also won the award in 2006. For more information on habitat restoration, visit http://www.ncwildlife.org/CURE/index.htm.

Click here to let us know about recent subsidiary events!

Click photos to enlarge

For the third year running, Smithfield Romania was one of the main sponsors of Millions of People, Millions of Trees, a tree-planting movement presented by the PRAIS Foundation, the Romanian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the National Environment Guard. The movement, which is open to all Romanian companies, foundations and state institutions, plants trees and plants every autumn and spring. See www.milioanedecopaci.ro for the campaign’s results.

This afforestation and reforestation program carries great weight in Romania as the country’s membership in the European Union depends on its increasing the size of forests from about a quarter of all land to as much as 35%. Romania would have to plant trees on a surface of 2 million hectares, in the next 25 years, so that 33-35% of the country’s territory would be covered.

Smithfield Ferme employees (the farming IOC) planted more than 3,900 trees around 11 farms in Timis County. “Environmental protection and ecological renewal are major goals for our company and common values of our employees and local communities,” said Bogdan Mihail, General Director of Smithfield Ferme.

Smithfield Prod also participated in the program, turning a greyfield into a park by planting 456 trees with the help of local kindergarteners. Smithfield Prod educated the children about the importance of preserving forests and then they took the lesson outside: Prod employees and teachers showed pupils how to plant trees and care for them. Each child received one fruit-bearing tree from Smithfield Prod and a certificate of honor for their contribution. All printed items were made at a center that employs people with disabilities.

Over the past two years, program partners (companies, institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations) have cumulatively planted more than 20 million trees and almost 5 million plants and younglings. The program is recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and was nominated in 2008 in the CSR environmental programs category by the International Public Relations Association (IPRA).

Click here to let us know about recent subsidiary events!

Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced that it will consolidate the international sales and logistics of Smithfield Packing, John Morrell and Farmland Foods into one organization, the Smithfield Foods International Group (SFIG). This group will be led by Jason Richter who currently serves as Vice President International Sales at Farmland Foods. Farmland Farms has the largest and most profitable international business within the corporation and Mr. Richter has contributed much to this success. This transition has begun and will be completed by the end of the year.

This group will be primarily based in Kansas City with a small office in Smithfield and other locations around the world.

The combined sales of SFIG are expected to exceed one billion dollars this year which will represent one of the fastest growing and most profitable sales channels within our organization. This growth has been driven by increased meat consumption in developing countries and lower meat costs in the United States relative to the rest of the world. Smithfield being one of the largest among several low cost pork producers in the world will be able to expand quickly meeting increased demand internationally.

This consolidation is designed to improve efficiency, reduce redundancy, and enhance shareholder value by providing our strategic customers with additional quality products with superior customer service. Sales will be allocated to the operating plants based on quality of product, cost to produce and cost to deliver.

Click here to let us know about recent subsidiary events!