Sioux Falls Voters Say “No” to Slaughterhouse Ban
Sioux Falls, S.D., voters chose to keep the pork processing industry within the city going forward on Tuesday, voting 52% in favor of not supporting the ballot initiative that would have prevented construction of a pork processing plant.
Of the 71,833 total votes, 52% no (37,605) versus 48% yes (34,228), according to the South Dakota Secretary of State as of 2 p.m. on Nov. 9.
In June 2021, Wholestone Farms announced that the $500-million facility will employ 1,100 workers and process up to six million hogs a year.
This summer, an organized opposition campaign collected signatures to add an initiative to the Nov. 8 ballot that would have prohibited the construction of any new meat processing plants in Sioux Falls city limits.
Wholestone officials have maintained that the small "custom slaughterhouse" currently being built would have grandfathered them into compliance with city ordinance if it passed, an ongoing court fight with an opposition group, Smart Growth Sioux Falls, had been looming in the background, even as they cut the ribbon on the building late last month.
“And though it may not be the last time the issue sees the inside of a courtroom, the vote takes the wind out of the sails of Smart Growth Sioux Falls, whose legal argument had been largely dependent on the fact that Tuesday’s vote could go in their favor,” the Argus Leader reports.
According to Meatingplace, Smart Growth Sioux Falls received considerable donations, including more than $1 million from Sioux Falls biofuel company POET, with $10,000 donations coming from POET COO Robert Casper and Todd Broin, the brother of POET CEO Jeff Broin.
Christine Erickson, executive director of the South Dakota trucking Association and who chairs Sioux Falls Open For Business (a group that supported Wholestone and opposed the ballot initiative), told the Argus Leader she is "proud that the citizens of Sioux Falls did what's right for our community and chose to keep Sioux Falls open for business."
Attorneys for both sides have indicated that they expect to be back in court regardless of how the election went on Tuesday.
More from Farm Journal's PORK:
Wholestone Farms Permits Stand; Completes Butcher Shop Construction
Special Olympics Reverses Position, Now Supports S.D. Pork Plant
Non-Profit Group Tries to Stop Construction of Pork Processing Plant
Wholestone Farms CEO Discusses Concerns About Potential Sioux Falls Pork Plant
