Vertical integration has not only allowed three generations of Hord Family Farms of Bucyrus, Ohio, to grow but also to extend that benefit to other family farms as well.
“We realized that building more facilities and managing every hog on a daily basis was going to be a challenge. Subsequently, we looked to our farming friends as a way to help raise the growing hogs,” explains Pat Hord. “We knew the right growers would allow us to focus on other areas of the business. At the same time, this would provide the opportunity for other families to benefit through their diversification.”
Hord Family Farms comprises three generations. Duane and Inez are the senior members. Pat and Janel Hord, Kim and Patrick Greene, along with April and Greg Chance make up the middle generation. Phil, Becca and Colleen Hord comprise the junior members of the business. Pat Hord is currently the chief executive officer and president.
The Hord Family has 28,000 sows under their care with farrowing facilities in Ohio and Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 piglets are born each day with a total of 700,000-plus hogs finished annually.
This decision to expand let the family grow their farrowing operation and expand their milling facilities. “Through our expansion and relationship with the 150-plus families feeding our hogs, we’ve strived to make them feel supported and valued. Our success is directly tied to the dedication and hard work of these families,” Pat adds. “We therefore provide full consultation and training assistance. This includes ideas for their initial facility layout, building a barn, and maintenance over time.”
The Hords also have a team of service directors that assists the growers with the care of the animals. “This ongoing and open communication has resulted in the best group of grower families we could ever ask for,” Hord points out. Vertical Integration
During the early years of the Hord operation, the family marketed their finished hogs through Routh Packing of Sandusky, Ohio. “This relationship worked well as Routh furnished boars to help improve on meat-type hogs.
However, if we were going to grow still further, we needed to consider changes that would benefit our long term goals,” Hord explains.
After exploring suppliers and outlets for their expanding business, additional aspects of vertical integration were implemented. For example, rather than use boars for natural service they obtain semen from Pig Improvement Company
(PIC).
The operation also established a relationship with the Clemens […]