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Hord Livestock Company
In 1946, Robert M. Hord began farming in Crawford County with 140 acres of rented land and ten gilts. From the first litters of those ten gilts, he raised 82 pigs within a wooded lot. At this time, there was a ceiling on hog prices at 16-18 cents per pound because of World War II. Just before those hogs were to be sold, the ceiling was lifted because the war had ended. Robert received 32 cents per pound and used the windfall profit to make the down payment on the Marion-Melmore Road Farm in 1948.
The hog enterprise continued to be an integral part of our diversified operations as Robert’s son Duane joined the family enterprise. Duane built several buildings and purchased more sows for continued operations. During this time, our row crop enterprise also grew significantly to include 2800 acres. This enabled the family to use their grain to feed the increasing number of swine. At the height of this expansion in 1979, Robert, Ruth, Duane, and Inez decided to incorporate their family enterprise, thus establishing Hord Livestock Co., Inc.
In 1987, Duane’s son, Patrick, entered the operation, focusing his efforts on the swine enterprise. By 1990, our newest hog building was twelve years old with an inventory of 150 sows. As the swine industry continued to grow more and more competitive, the family had tough decisions to make, but decided to enhance their operational strategies so that they too could remain competitive.
Today, we have expanded to include over 100 team members and over 75 contract growers. We continue to utilize the latest technologies and are dedicated to ensuring production of quality grain and pork products for consumers, while at the same time, ensuring that our practices are environmentally friendly.