GUYMON – With more than 21,500 animals processed daily at its million squarefoot Guymon location, Seaboard Foods provides top quality pork products to customers around the world.
Prairie Fresh and Daily’s Premium Meats are two of Seaboard’s brands sold in the U.S.; internationally, the company exports pork products to Japan, Korea, Mexico and other countries branded as Seaboard Farms or St. Joe’s Pork.
“Born from a family- owned business,“ since opening in the 1990s, Seaboard has built farming operations in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
According to the company’s 2022 Sustainability Highlight Report, of the more than 5,400 people Seaboard employs, more than 2,400 work at the Guymon plant; 2,600 work in farming operations across those five states. Expansion & Progress In February 2020 a $100M tax-increment financing agreement was approved between the City of Guymon and Seaboard to expand.
“Under the terms of the Seaboard Project Plan, Guymon Public School[s] will receive an annual payment of $220,000 from annual increment revenues generated within the TIF district,” a report on the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s website states. “In addition, renovations to the city’s wastewater treatment facility and lagoons that serve the project will be funded by tax increment notes issued by Seaboard to cover the cost of such improvements, [an] aggregate of $3,000,000, should the City be unable to obtain alternate financing or unable to secure federal grant awards.”
The TIF allowed Seaboard to add “six cooler bays, a new engine room to run the entire facility and completely purge “the primary ammonia system.” They were able to construct “a new freezer with the capacity to store six million pounds of meat, a box storage facility, [expand] the stockyards and construct “a new SNAP Chill in order to replace all of the existing bays in the facility.”
Seaboard was also tasked with adding “198 new employees to propagate $6.5 million annual income, $11.2 million value added to the local economy, and $38.5 million in increased economic output, covering [a] broad swath of industries.” Water Conservation A main concern for Seaboard, the City of Guymon and others in the region is access to water.
The 174,000 squaremile shallow Ogallala Aquifer that extends from southern South Dakota to western Texas is the only water source for the arid Oklahoma Panhandle.
After retiring from a 14-year stint as Guymon city manager in 2007, Michael Shannon returned as interim city manager two years ago.
In 2022 the plant used approximately 3,250-3,500 gallons per minute, Shannon said. By April 2024 Seaboard had reduced its water usage to under 1,538 gpm.
“Seaboard Foods prioritizes water conservation, actively monitors and conserves water, maintains good relations with water authorities and complies with regulations,” said Seaboard Foods’ Senior Director of Communications and Brand Marketing David Eaheart. “We use water-reading meters to monitor weekly usage across our farms and facilities to help us conserve this precious resource. Water usage is also audited to keep equipment in top operating condition and look for ways to continuously improve our water use practices. At our Guymon pork processing plant where we receive water from the City of Guymon, we employ advanced technologies like an automatic waterjet belly
Turn to SEABOARD, p8 trimmer that uses just one tablespoon of water per belly, ensuring precise pork belly cuts.
“Additionally, we treat the plant’s wastewater by using recycled non-potable water rather than fresh water in our Dissolved Air Flotation system to conserve the city’s water supply and to reduce our wastewater discharges. The DAF system, which was fully funded by Seaboard Foods, is a water treatment system that removes solids, such as fats and oils.”
When asked about the plant’s reduction in municipal water usage and ongoing drought conditions, Shannon said, “If our citizens were as conservation- minded as Seaboard, we could get through this rough spot.”
Community involvement “Seaboard Foods has been a loyal supporter of the Guymon community and the surrounding region since we started operations in the early 1990s,” said Eaheart. “Our community activities focus on bringing people together with food, fueling education and serving our hometowns.
“In 2023 we provided $65,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors and $40,000 in grants to teachers to use for STEM classroom education in the region. We support the annual Children’s Health Fair in Guymon. We make regular donations to o ur local food bank and shelters, including the Loaves & Fishes and Oaks of Mamre. To express our gratitude to the community, Seaboard Foods hosts the Bacon, BBQ, Brews and Blues Festival in Guymon every October during Pork Month. We support several community events throughout the year, including serving as the pr esenting sponsor of Pioneer Days and underwriting sessions for the community to attend for free.”
In February 2024 Seaboard, the largest employer in Texas County and possibly the Oklahoma Panhandle, opened its employment office on state Highway 54 adjacent to the plant’s main operations.
“I’ve got friends who’ve worked out there for 25-plus years,” said Shannon. “Seaboard gives them is a sense of pride. Those people go out into the community with their chins held high and contribute to the com munity itself.”
Looking ahead “Our ongoing focus is on continuous improvement, as we’re committed to enhancing resource use, efficiency, and product consistency,” Eaheart said. “Later this year, the Guymon plant will begin producing consumer-friendly 1-pound roll packages of Prairie Fresh ground pork and sausage, along with Daily’s breakfast sausage products. Our market research with Circana (an American market research institute) indicates that sales of ground pork and sausage chub or roll packages have grown by approximately 30% in the past four years.
Additionally, a 2024 Datassential (a platform that provides data and analytics for the food and beverage industry) report reveals that 57% of consumers either ‘love’ or ‘like’ ground pork. Ground pork and sausage are popular choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner, from breakfast burritos to meatballs, tacos and calzones. The newly equipped ground pork room plans to produce Prairie Fresh Natural Ground Pork, Prairie Fresh Signature Nashville Style Hot Sausage and Italian Style Mild Sausage. For the breakfast daypart, Daily’s Original Recipe and Vermont Style Maple breakfast sausages will also be available.”