Highlights from the Greatest Gains list:

Jensen Meat Co. opened its first plant-based division in September 2021.

Prime Meats is looking to take advantage of expansion opportunities in existing markets as well as in new territories, along with growth in value-added products.

Abbyland Foods Inc. continues to see strong demand for its products.

Monogram Foods achieved record sales, acquired a bacon-processing plant in Dennison, Iowa, and a food assembly facility in Dickson, Tenn. Building of a new facility in Boston area is underway.

Golden State Foods received several honors, including the American Manufacturing Leadership Award, ADS Package of the Year Award, the Best in Biz Gold Award for Most Socially Responsible Company of the Year and the NAMI Worker Safety Award.

Cloverdale Foods Co. launched a $2 million plant expansion project to meet increasing demand, completed a retail packaging rebrand and continued its U.S. expansion.

Case Farms ramps up its automation-driven renovation and expansion of its Winesburg, Ohio, processing plant.

Swaggerty Sausage Co. Inc. completed a state-of-the-art freezer with automation and added breakfast sandwiches to its product line. The company reported a sales increase of $56 million.

John Soules Foods opened its Valley, Ala., processing facility, employing high-tech automation and expanding production capacity. Experienced strong sales growth.

Trim-Rite streamlined its product mix and focused on finding direct customers and increased labor.

STX Beef Co. is strengthening its brand and exploring value-added opportunities.

Williams Sausage Co. Inc. installed a new biogas reactor for wastewater pretreatment that will generate electricity for onsite use.

Branding Iron Holdings Inc. has established a national distribution footprint and looks to continue to expand branded sales through foodservice and retail channels. Introduced Bradshaw Ranch Thick N juicy 2 Lb. burgers. Achieved a 99.6% order fill rate for all foodservice and retail customers, along with double-digit growth in foodservice sales.

Other highlights from the Top 100 processors:

Brookwood Farms clocked record sales in 2021 and is adding a cook room and fabrication and distribution centers.

Dole & Bailey has opened 200 new accounts, and sales have grown 44% over 2020 and beat pre-pandemic 2019 results. For the second consecutive year, The Boston Globe named the company one of the Top 100 Women-Led Business in Massachusetts and the Boston Business Journal placed Dole & Bailey at number seven on their list of the Largest Women-Owned Businesses in the state.

Hormel made the largest acquisition in the company's history with its purchase of Planters and its affiliated snack nuts brands. Also achieved record net sales, exceeding both $10 billion and $11 billion in sales for the first time. The company reported its two largest net sales quarters in company history and invested more than $230 million into capital projects that expanded production capacity and enhanced capabilities. Opened Papillion Foods, a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Nebraska, and started shipping product from its expanded pizza topping production area at its Burke Corp. manufacturing facility in Iowa.

Rantoul Foods made multiple donations to its community, including food pantries and local FFA members. Completed a barn expansion and began utilizing it. Started a large wastewater project.

The Greatest Gains Charts

The Greatest Gains chart is designed to showcase the companies that have shown the strongest growth over the past year. These are not necessarily the largest companies in the country. However, their successful years deserve to be mentioned as well.