Food Processing
More than 5,000 workers in Northwest Iowa are employed in the Food Processing Industry. As a percentage of total employment, the Food Processing Industry represents significantly greater percentage of the employment in our Region(8.4%)than is represented in the State of Iowa (2.6%)and the nation(0.5%).
Leading Food Processing companies located in Northwest Iowa include:
- Wells Dairy - 3rd largest ice cream manufacturer in the US
- Dean Foods - fluid milk manufacturing
- Sioux-Preme Packing - specialty pork processor
- Iowa Lamb - lamb slaughtering and processing
- Premium Iowa Pork - custom harvesting and processing of pork
- Siouxpreme Egg Products - egg processing
- BoDeans Baking - manufacturing of ice cream cones and sandwich wafers
- Associated Milk Producers - a dairy marketing cooperative with members in Iowa and 5 other states
- SIG International Iowa - producer of premium pork products, primarily for the Japanese market
- Agropur - milk and cheese processor
According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, there are nearly 6,400 farms in the six counties in Northwest Iowa, and these farms have a combined total of 2.2 millioacres. Our Region accounts for just over 7% of the farms and farmland in the State of Iowa, and it is a leading producer of agricultural commodities.
Northwest Iowa offers many benefits for Food Processing Companies: