Hord Family Farms expands to Minnesota - remains committed to Crawford County

Hord Family Farms specializing in pork and other meat and grain production completed an acquisition of New Horizon Farms, a farrow-to-finish swine operation in Pipestone, Minnesota.

The farm will operate as Hord Farms West and maintain New Horizon’s current pork operations, according to a news release.

Hord Family Farms President Phil Hord said the deal, along with some other recent developments on Hord Family Farms, will have a positive impact not only on Crawford County but also on the agriculture in the area in general.

“While we will always have deep roots in Ohio and continue to make investments here, this acquisition reflects our deliberate strategic growth and dedication to producing quality food products for consumers,” Hord Family Farms CEO Pat Hord said.

A challenge Hord was willing to take on

Speaking on the history of the deal, Phil Hord said the company had prior connections to the farm through various industry meetings and groups, and when they became aware of the opportunity to purchase it, the representatives of the Hord Family Farms visited the business and decided it was a challenge they were willing to take.

He said the family decided to expand because they wanted to grow their business, and at the Minnesota property they will be doing similar work to what they are doing in Ohio.

“There is a little geography between us, but ultimately it will expand our business,” Phil Hord said.

He said geography was not the primary factor in choosing to Minnesota, it was more of an opportunity presenting itself. He said it is known that in the West there is typically more agricultural production than there is in the East.

More: It Happened in Crawford County: The Hord farm family

Monitoring the progress on the Minnesota location will not be difficult, Phil Hord said, due to technological advances and periodical travel of the leadership.

“With the advance of technology it’s very easy to jump on a virtual call or a phone call and continue working with them to initiate the plans of improvement,” he said.

He said Minnesota business is about half the size of the one the family owns in Ohio. The businesses will be run separately, and thus not many changes are expected.

“We have a management team there in Minnesota just as we do here in Ohio,” Phil Hord said.

Farm produces pigs, grain with 200 team members

However, Phil Hord noted one of the differences between the businesses will be a more diversified nature of production in Ohio where the farmers produce meat and grow crops, while in Minnesota they are more focused on meat production.

“It’s different,” he said. “It’s a lot more focused in Minnesota, versus here it’s a little bit more diverse.”

Hord Family Farms were founded in North Central Ohio a century ago, and since then its farming operations have continued to expand in the Midwest. It produces more than 800,000 pigs per year, raises grain, and is run by more than 200 team members, said the company in its press release.

Founded in 1993, New Horizon Farms has over 150 team members working in five sow farms, six nurseries, and 60 finishing farms, located across southwest Minnesota, eastern South Dakota, and northwest Iowa. Hord Farms will oversee all swine operations, including 16,000 sows in production and more than 400,000 pigs marketed annually.

Ohio focus

Despite expansion to a different state, said Phil Hord, they wanted to make the residents aware the Hord family's dedication to its farm in Ohio did not decrease. One of the Hord Family Farms' latest project is a 125,000 square feet birthing barn, demonstrating just that, Hord said.

“That will expand our production,” he said. “By roughly 10% increase.”

Hord noted with the projected increase of in meat production, the owners will have to purchase more grain from the local farmers to be able to feed the animals, and that will bring “a very positive development not just for Crawford County, but for the surrounding region as well.”

Nearly 200 local families are engaged in growing and harvesting corn to support Hord Farms operations and 150 more families are involved as growing partners. The project will create 12 new job opportunities in the community while retaining nearly 200 existing jobs, according to the news release.

“We want to continue investing in this region and in this area, we love working with our community and our partners here in Ohio as well,” Phil Hord said.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Hord Family Farms acquires New Horizon Farms, expands to Minnesota