Carthage System
Professional Swine Management, LLC operates the Carthage System, providing turnkey production management, nutrition, veterinary, and compliance services to family-owned pork operations across the U.S. Midwest, managing approximately 180,000 sows among the largest U.S. pork producer systems.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersCarthage, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Carthage System does
Professional Swine Management, LLC (PSM) operates the Carthage System, a collective-style model providing turnkey management services to family-owned pork production operations across the U.S. Midwest. Founded in 2000 by Dr. Joe Connor and Dr. Bill Hollis, the company manages approximately 180,000 sows and 500,000 finishing flow capacity, ranking the system among the top ten U.S. pork producers. Geographic concentration centers on Illinois with active expansion into Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
Service delivery spans production management, human resources, accounting, logistics, nutrition (PhD-formulated), environmental compliance including Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) coordination, and genetic performance tracking through the Agritec Porcitec swine management platform, which incorporates OCR-based reproductive data capture and Statistical Process Control (SPC) monitoring of key performance indicators. PSM also operates one of the largest U.S. boar stud systems for genetic inputs, and maintains PQA+ and TQA certifications across its managed operations.
Revenue is generated through three streams: managed services fees under multi-year contracts with member family farms (the primary revenue base), contract-based professional services to non-member producers covering CMR marketing/records, nutrition, and environmental planning, and transaction-based wean pig sales facilitated through an Open Pigs mailing list notification system. Pricing is not publicly disclosed across any stream.
Carthage System firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Carthage System
- Legal name
- Professional Swine Management, LLC
- Website
- https://carthagesystem.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Professional Swine Management, LLC operates the Carthage System, providing turnkey production management, nutrition, veterinary, and compliance services to family-owned pork operations across the U.S. Midwest, managing approximately 180,000 sows among the largest U.S. pork producer systems.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Carthage System industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Swine Farm Management Services
- NAICS
- Hog and Pig Farming (112210), Hog and Pig Farming (1122), Hog and Pig Farming (11221), Support Activities for Animal Production (11521)
- SIC
- Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200), Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Wean-to-Finish Hog Operations (AFAEAEAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- High-Health/Biosecure Hog Production (SPF/Pedigree Nucleus) (AFAEAEAL), Nursery Pig Production (Weaned Pig Growers) (AFAEAEAD), Feeder Pig Production & Sales (AFAEAEAH), Diagnostics & Laboratory Coordination (Sample Collection, Lab Liaison, Interpretation) (AFACALAE)
Keywords
Where Carthage System is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Carthage
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Carthage System business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Farm Management Services: Professional Swine Management provides comprehensive management services to family owned breed to wean and wean to finish pork facilities. Revenue is generated through management fees for turnkey farm management services including production, human resources, accounting, logistics, nutrition, and environmental sustainability services. Services are tailored to individual client needs.
- Consulting Services: External consulting services provided to non-member clients on a contract basis covering Carthage Marketing and Records (CMR), marketing, records, nutrition, and environmental planning services. These services are offered to individual clients who are not ready to join the Carthage System as partners.
- Wean Pig Sales: The Carthage System produces wean pigs through their managed sow facilities and offers an Open Pigs Mailing List for customers interested in purchasing wean pigs when available for open sale.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Consulting services - pricing varies by service scope |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Management services - pricing not publicly disclosed |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Carthage System product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Carthage System, through Professional Swine Management (PSM), provides turnkey management of family-owned breed-to-wean and wean-to-finish pork facilities, covering every phase of production from breeding, gestation, farrowing, nursery, and finishing through to marketing. The offering bundles production management, veterinary services, nutrition, logistics, HR, accounting, environmental compliance, and records management into a single integrated service for member farms. It also sells wean pigs produced by managed sow facilities and provides contract-based consulting to non-member producers.
Product overview
Carthage System is a collective network of family-owned pork farms in the Midwest, managed by Professional Swine Management (PSM). The core offering is comprehensive farm management services encompassing production, human resources, logistics, environmental sustainability, nutrition, administration, accounting, and records management. The product portfolio includes Farm Management Services as the primary offering, supported by specialized service modules (Production Management, Human Resources Services, Logistics, Environmental Sustainability Services, Nutrition Services, Administration Services, Accounting Services, Production Records via Porcitec, and Finishing Records). PSM also offers consulting services to external clients through Carthage Marketing and Records (CMR), Nutrition Consulting, and Environmental Consulting. Employee development is supported through three training programs: Future Leader Trainee (FLT), Total Leader Experience (TLE), and Carthage Management Training (CMT), along with PQA Plus and TQA certification training. An Open Pigs Mailing List notification service enables purchasers to receive alerts when wean pigs are available.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Farm Management Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Top ten pork producer system in the U.S.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Carthage System
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Carthage System technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Carthage System partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Boar Stud System PartnerscoreDr. Doug Groth joined the Carthage System in 2003 and developed the boar stud management service to provide farms with boar genetics through state-of-the-art facilities with highly trained production teams. The Carthage System includes one of the largest boar stud systems in the United States.
- Carthage Veterinary ServicecoreCarthage Veterinary Service Ltd. was founded by Veterinarian Joe Connor as a mixed animal practice with strong interest in pigs. It evolved to become the veterinary services arm of the Carthage System. Dr. Bill Hollis joined in 1996 and later partnered with Dr. Connor to develop managed hog farm services. Multiple leaders of Professional Swine Management serve on the board of Carthage Veterinary Service, including Dr. Bill Hollis and Dr. William Fombelle.
- Research Partners (Genetic Testing)minorThe Carthage System works with research partners who test new genetic lines alongside existing sources to ensure genetic performance and economic performance targets are met for the managed farm families.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves12 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Carthage System competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Iowa Select Farms: One of the largest family-owned pork producers in Iowa with hundreds of thousands of sows; comparable scale and Midwest family-farm production model.
- Christensen Farms: Minnesota-based family pork production enterprise operating a large sow base with integrated services structure analogous to Carthage System.
- The Maschhoffs: Family-owned pork production network headquartered in Illinois with similar multi-generation family-farm partnership structure and turnkey management services across Midwest sow and finishing operations.
- Prestage Farms: Family-owned pork and turkey producer with large Mid-Atlantic/Southeast sow operations, offering a directly comparable family-pork production footprint and management services scale.
- Pipestone System: Minnesota-based swine management service company that provides turnkey production management to independent family hog farmers — the closest direct comparable to Carthage System's managed-services model.
Broad incumbents
- Seaboard Foods: Vertically integrated pork producer with significant sow operations in Oklahoma/Kansas/Texas; comparable producer-system scale though geographically distinct.
- Smithfield Foods: Largest U.S. pork producer and processor with vertically integrated hog production across multiple states; a broad incumbent whose scale and contracting power shape the same competitive environment as Carthage.
- Tyson Foods Fresh Pork: One of the largest U.S. protein producers with significant pork operations, competing for finishing capacity, packer contracts, and shelf space against mid-tier systems like Carthage.
- JBS USA Pork: Major U.S. pork producer and processor operating large-scale Midwest hog production as part of a diversified global protein platform, competing for similar farm partners and packer contracts.
Regional players
- HyLife: Canadian hog production and processing company with a similar vertically integrated family-farm network structure, providing a North-American comparability benchmark outside the U.S. Midwest.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Carthage System social profiles
Digital presenceCarthage System compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Carthage System financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Carthage System leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Carthage System funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Carthage System M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Carthage System
What does Carthage System do?
Carthage System, through Professional Swine Management (PSM), provides turnkey management of family-owned breed-to-wean and wean-to-finish pork facilities, covering every phase of production from breeding, gestation, farrowing, nursery, and finishing through to marketing. The offering bundles production management, veterinary services, nutrition, logistics, HR, accounting, environmental compliance, and records management into a single integrated service for member farms. It also sells wean pigs produced by managed sow facilities and provides contract-based consulting to non-member producers.
Is Carthage System a public or private company?
Carthage System is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Carthage System founded?
Carthage System was founded in 2000. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Carthage System based?
Carthage System is headquartered in Carthage, United States, in the North America region.
How does Carthage System make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Farm Management Services are the primary driver. The others are consulting Services and wean Pig Sales.
Who are Carthage System's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Iowa Select Farms, Christensen Farms, The Maschhoffs, Prestage Farms and Pipestone System. Broad incumbents are Seaboard Foods, Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods Fresh Pork and JBS USA Pork. HyLife is listed as a regional player.
Does Carthage System have an API?
No public API is recorded for Carthage System.
What industry is Carthage System in?
Carthage System's product category is Swine Farm Management Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAEAEAC, Wean-to-Finish Hog Operations, with a secondary code of AFAEAEAL, High-Health/Biosecure Hog Production (SPF/Pedigree Nucleus). Its NAICS code is 112210 and its SIC code is 200.