Moon Ridge Foods, a pork processing business, cut the ribbon on their flagship processing facility in Pleasant Hope, Missouri. The Missouri facility represents $54 million in investment and the company plans to create 160 new jobs in the region.
“Missouri’s agriculture industry, farmers, food sector, and consumers celebrate today, as this new facility is unveiled,” said Mike Downing, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. “I am pleased to welcome Moon Ridge Foods to Pleasant Hope, where its investment and new jobs will make a huge impact in this community and the surrounding rural area, and further advance economic development in this key industry. Missouri has a long, rich history of feeding the world, and Moon Ridge’s expansion builds upon this tradition.”
The 110,000 square-foot facility is expected to process more than 600,000 hogs annually. This will be the first U.S. pork processing plant to utilize snap chilling technology to boost shelf life, quality, processing and freshness while reducing energy use and its carbon footprint.
Missouri’s robust food production sector includes more than 130 companies, with the capacity for many more, due to Missouri’s leading role in agricultural products including rice, soybeans, corn, sorghum, cattle, turkeys and hogs. Additionally, Missouri gives food producers rapid access to global markets, extensive distribution options, a friendly regulatory environment and a diverse customer base.