HogSlat’s Billy Herring Inducted into National Pork Industry Hall of Fame

Humble. Innovative. Quiet. A good friend. Honest. A man of faith. Those are just a few ways William “Billy” Herring’s friends would describe the 2023 inductee of the National Pork Industry Hall of Fame. With a successful career spanning more than 50 years in the pork industry, he’s quick to attribute his success to his employees and family.

Herring founded Hog Slat, the largest contractor and manufacturer of hog equipment in the U.S., as a solution to a supply chain problem when he was building a new nursery for his family’s 300-sow farrow-to-finish operation in North Carolina. In response, Herring made his own slats, and his quality workmanship and attention to detail was the start of a multifaceted international enterprise.

“Billy’s contribution to the U.S. pork industry is second to none. He’s influenced how pigs are raised not just in the U.S. but worldwide,” outgoing NPPC President Terry Wolters, a producer from Pipestone, Minn., said in a release. “Billy has made countless lasting contributions to the U.S. pork industry and has led with values that he has instilled in the next generation of pork producers. We congratulate Billy for his induction to the Hall of Fame because the pork industry wouldn’t be where it is today without his contributions.”

Herring’s family is critical to his success, he points out. This includes his wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and the 2,000-plus Hog Slat employees. Herring and sons Tommy, David and Mark manage the family-owned business together that also includes a 30,000-sow farm and construction jobs around the globe.

Herring’s business mode has been a success and has lasted through many changing times.

“Billy was a producer himself,” Bynum Driggers, Ph.D., professor emeritus at North Carolina State University, said in a release. “He saw the benefit and how people responded to the need for equipment and the technology he could provide. His company just kept growing and growing under his leadership.”

Although Herring has recently retired, his company continues to uphold the direct-to-farmer model he established, allowing not only for affordable and quality products but also for service, research and development.

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