A rural sociologist at Iowa State University is studying the potential impact the new Prestage Farms pork processing plant will have on the nearby town of Eagle Grove when it opens in a few months. I-S-U’s David Peters did surveys in the Wright County community and the surrounding area as the massive 240-million dollar facility is nearing completion.
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The plant is expected to open, at least in a limited form, before the end of the year or in early 2019. Plans call for hiring nearly one-thousand workers initially, with the potential for a second shift to be added later, which could mean hiring 500 more people.
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Initially, the plant will slaughter 10,000 hogs per day, with half of those hogs coming from Prestage’s own barns.