CDL A Driver

Minnehaha County judge rules Sioux Falls erred in Smithfield permit process. Oct. 2, 2026 By Jonathan Ellis and Joe Steve, The Dakota Scout The city of Sioux Falls broke its own development rules when it signed off on Smithfield Foods' plans to put a $1.3 billion slaughterhouse nearby residential homes on the edge of town. That's according to a Minnehaha County judge's Friday ruling that now halts the meat processing giant's relocation from its century-old plant downtown to northwest Sioux Falls. The decision by Judge Ann Hoffman reverses the City Council's March 17 approval of a conditional use permit for a modernized hog processing facility at Foundation Park industrial park, remanding the decision back to the council for reconsideration. The decision was a victory for homeowners near Foundation Park who challenged the city's decision in court. Besides failing to comply with the city's ordinances related to conditional use permits, Hoffman also found that the city failed to comply with its 2050 zoning plan because the application did not address a series of mitigation requirements to the level required by the plan. "Although there was mitigation discussed at the public hearings, there was not 'extensive documentation to prove that external effects are fully mitigated' as required by the 2050 Plan," Hoffman wrote. "Smithfield's conditional use that was approved by the City Council did not conform to the minimum requirements set forth in the zoning ordinance." Hoffman also pointed out that the 2050 Plan said that heavy industrial areas near residential areas are "highly incompatible." "This is not a complete ban on a heavy industrial use being next to a residential use," she wrote. "The incompatibility of the two uses requires mitigation to minimize the impact of a heavy industrial use upon a residential use. Here, this mitigation was not completely attained as the City Council did not place the minimum requirements of Sioux Falls City Ordinances§ 160.616 upon Smithfield's CUP, which in turn resulted in the CUP not being in compliance with the 2050 Plan pursuant to Sioux Falls City Ordinances § 160.605." Mayor Christine Erickson and her chief of staff, Jim David, deferred questions to the city attorneys office, which acknowledged the ruling in an email but stopped short of ruling out an appeal. "The City of Sioux Falls respects the court's decision and will carefully review the judge's opinion. We will move forward in accordance with the court's directives," Sioux Falls City Attorney David Pfeifle said in a statement provided to The Dakota Scout. Hoffman found the city's process wanting in several areas. She said Smithfield failed to conduct a neighborhood meeting to gain input about "methods to transition the business from the adjacent residential homes through building design, screening, landscaping, buffer yards," and other standards required by the city's own standards. Nor did it require Smithfield to present building designs that prevented groundwater contamination. The company was also not required to submit a report to the fire department regarding building standards or concerns the department might have. And the company did not include a site management plan that addressed litter, odor or product control measures that were approve by both zoning and health departments. "Therefore," she wrote, "the Court finds that the City Council pursued its authority in an irregular manner by not complying with the requirements of Sioux Falls City Ordinance § 160.616." Hoffman did reject the land owner assertion that the City Council had been "biased." The City Council was required to handle the matter in a quasi-judicial manner. While city councilors discussed the advantages to moving Smithfield out of downtown Sioux Falls, she noted that councilors also discussed the disadvantages to moving the facility to Foundation Park. "There is no evidence that various levels of government entities working together on a largescale economic project resulted in bias towards petitioners," she wrote. "The court finds that petitioners have failed to show that there was a direct pecuniary interest, actual bias, or a serious risk of actual bias such that their due process rights were violated." The ruling means Smithfield, which was not a party in the case, cannot move ahead with its project. It's unclear whether that will require redesigned plant, an adjusted location with Foundation Park or otherwise. "We are aware of the ruling and have no immediate comment," said Jim Monroe, vice president of corporate affairs for Smithfield. The Sioux Falls Development Foundation, which had intervened in the case - it negotiated plans to relocate Smithfield Foods' to the industrial park it began developing in 2014 - also declined to comment.

Smithfield Foods warns fresh pork business will swing to loss as margins tighten. Smithfield Foods expects its fresh pork division to swing to an operating loss in the third quarter as falling hog prices and squeezed industry margins weigh on the company. The pork processor forecast an adjusted operating loss of between £52m and £67m for its fresh pork business in the three months to September, compared with a £7.4m profit in the same period last year. Smithfield said falling USDA pork cutout values and hog prices had narrowed the spread available to processors, prompting it to take a more cautious view of profitability across the division. Chief executive Shane Smith said the deterioration in its outlook was being driven by "external market conditions" across parts of the pork supply chain. The group is also bracing for weaker profits from its hog production arm, where adjusted operating profit is expected to come in between £18.5m and £33.3m for the quarter, down from around £66m a year earlier. Across the business, Smithfield now expects adjusted operating income of between £85m and £130m for the third quarter, substantially below the £229m generated in the corresponding period last year. However, its outlook for packaged meats (Smithfield's largest division) remains unchanged, with the company continuing to forecast between £799m and £851m in adjusted operating profit for the full year. Smithfield, whose brands include its namesake range, Eckrich and Nathan's Famous, has been navigating a tougher consumer backdrop as shoppers remain cautious over spending. The company generates more than £11.5bn in annual sales and employs around 32,000 people in the US. The latest warning follows Smithfield's decision last month to cut its full-year sales and profit forecasts. At its second-quarter results in August, the meat giant lowered its full-year fresh pork adjusted operating profit guidance to between £133m and £178m, from £148m to £192m previously, while cutting its hog production forecast to between £56m and £93m. Despite the worsening outlook, Smithfield had delivered record adjusted operating profit of around £472m in the first half of 2026, up 2.3 per cent year on year, highlighting the sharp change in conditions facing parts of its pork operation. Smithfield shares fell almost 2 per cent in after-hours trading following the update.