FARMLAND FOODS INC.

FARMLAND FOODS INC. Successor to FDL FOODS INC Designated as the #1 smoked ham processor in the United States based on total volume, Farmland Foods was a subsidiary of Farmland Industries, the largest agricultural cooperative in the United States in 1997.

Farmland’s purchase of the FDL plant in Dubuque came as good news to the community. INTERSTATE POWER COMPANY had seen its usage drop 40% with the closing of the plant. Between $350,000 and $400,000 had been lost of the wastewater treatment general fund that supported the operation of the wastewater plant and sewage system.

Farmland received a package of $18.65 million in state, county, and city loans to assist in the renovation of the facility in addition to utility company grants and job-training money. The City of Dubuque agreed to purchase nineteen acres of FDL property and to indemnify Farmland from possible environmental problems on that land. The city, FDL, and Farmland also signed an agreement indemnifying Farmland from lawsuits brought by IBP Inc. that had been in negotiations to purchase the Dubuque meatpacking company.

In September 1996, the kill and cut operations were reopened. Farmland representatives announced that they expected a first-year payroll of over $40 million with expenditures of $6.5 million in the community for services and supplies. In October 1996, the plant had an estimated 1,100 production employees with fewer than 100 remaining to be recalled from layoff. By December 1996 Farmland announced that employment had reached 1,350.

Farmland continued to operate the plant until 2001. Smithfield Foods purchased the plant and stated its intention to refurbish and reopen it. This never occurred. The buildings sat empty until 2004 when local developer Wayne Briggs announced plans to tear down the buildings and construct a shopping center. On March 21, 2005 the city council approved the rezoning. By October 1, 2006 the demolition of the plant had been completed.