Des Moines Register
10-13-06
Smithfield grants in deal to aid hog output projects
By JERRY PERKINS
REGISTER FARM EDITOR
Smithfield Foods Inc. will provide $100,000 each year for the next 10 years for
projects that advance and enhance swine production in Iowa, Attorney General
Tom Miller announced Thursday.
The $1 million in grants will be given to projects that can help independent hog
producers compete, increase profits, and protect the environment, among other
goals, Miller said.
The grants are part of an agreement that settles a 2005 legal dispute between
Miller and Smithfield Foods, Murphy Farms and Prestage-Stoecker Farms over
an Iowa law that banned the feeding of livestock by packers.
In addition to the grant program, Smithfield agreed to pay $1 million to Iowa
State University for a 10-year environmental training program and $240,000
over four years to fund Smithfield-Luter scholarships at ISU.
Grant applications are due by Dec. 1. Projects should demonstrate financial need
and promote Iowa hog production in an innovative way, Miller said. The
proposals will be reviewed by a panel made up of representatives from the
attorney general's office, Smithfield Foods, and two Democratic and two
Republican legislators to be named.
Information about the grants can be found at www.iowaattorneygeneral.org, by emailing the farm division of the attorney general's office at farm@ag.state.ia.us or
by calling the farm division at (515) 281-5351.