For Joe Rotta, a hog farmer in Merrill, a new hog processing facility expected to op­­en in Sioux City in 2017 means fewer miles to truck his hogs to market and a lower cost to get them there.

Rotta currently sells his market hogs to the Triumph Foods processing facility in St. Joseph, Missouri, nearly 500 miles round-trip from his farm.

"It’s $1,200 to run a semi down...