The Maschhoffs, based in Carlyle, IL, have signed an agreement to purchase the majority of Land O' Lakes' (LOL) swine production assets.

Terms of the agreement were not announced, but the transaction was finalized Feb. 25.

The agreement involves about 60,000 sows, associated inventory, market hog production and contract production facilities in Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa and Illinois.

“We are pleased to have found a buyer for our swine business with more than a century of swine production experience, a solid reputation and history of success, financial strength and long-term commitment to the swine industry,” says LOL President and CEO Jack Gherty.

Ken Maschhoff, president and CEO of The Maschhoffs Inc., says: “We view this as a very attractive growth opportunity. Land O' Lakes swine production assets, operations and people reflect our own focus on values, quality, environmental leadership and production efficiency. This is a natural fit both with our existing operations and our commitment to growth.

“We plan to continue to invest significantly in research and technology, and this transaction allows us to leverage those dollars to get a payback over a larger number of farms, basing it on our own type of wean-to-finish systems with our own genetics, feed and nutrition programs,” he adds.

Growth has been explosive, from a few thousand sows in 1998 to around 50,000 sows prior to the acquisition, which will put The Maschhoffs at about 110,000 sows — vaulting them up into the top ten largest hog operations in the nation, says Maschhoff.

The plan is to retain LOL producers and facilities and honor current pork producer production agreements and feed contracts with local cooperatives.

LOL will continue to hold all current aligned system contracts, supplying them through an agreement with The Maschhoffs.

More information can be found at www.themaschhoffs.com and www.landolakesinc.com.